Modern technological problems also produce modern solutions for organizations. In this way, information technology is helping a lot of organizations to be successful. But there is a problem in this regard; IT problems and their problems have been spread so widely that it is not easy for organizations to choose the right concept, technique, or tool to tackle a specific problem. Moreover, it is also difficult to even problem configuration. It is because of the wide scope of the IT field.
Some concepts are so similar that it’s difficult to differentiate them. IT service catalogs and self-service portals are also like these concepts. Due to their similar goals and practices, they are commonly mistaken as similar concepts. They have many similarities, but there are many differences as well. In this article, we discuss the term IT service catalog vs self-service portal. In this regard, we discuss the similarities and differences between them. Before moving forward, we should first know the basic concepts of these two concepts so let’s move forward to it.
An IT service catalog is a perfect combination of resources and offerings from a service provider. It could enhance the end-user experience. It is like a menu card of products, services, and organizations’ resources available to its consumers. According to Mike Roper;
“As all 24×7 organizations know, on-demand access to resources is critical and the focal point for those services is the service catalog. It is the one-stop shop to fulfill your users’ needs.”
The self-service portal is a way to provide consumers with a platform where they can solve their problems on their own without anyone’s help. It causes more satisfaction to the consumers of an organization. It is because a large number of consumers, as well as employees, prefer to solve their queries and requests on their own despite contacting the service team’s long processes. According to Meredith Metsker;
“A self-service portal is a digital extension of a product or service (webpage or application) where people can go to find information, answers to questions, and help to troubleshoot issues on their own.”
From the initial discussion above, we are sure you have got a little knowledge about these concepts. Now, the question is, how are they different? If the IT service catalog is a one-stop shop, then what is the need for a self-service portal? And if the self-service portal provides everything to the customer, then what is the need for an IT service catalog? If they both are needed, then what is the difference between them? Because they seem to be similar concepts in the far view.
IT service catalog and self-service portal no doubt seem similar concepts and are similar, but there are also many differences between them. The main difference is in their scope. The scope of the IT service catalog is broader than the self-service portal. We said this because the self-service portal only displays the services, products, or resources that the end-user could execute on their own without contacting the service team. In contrast, the IT service catalog displays the detail of all available services, products, and resources in the present time regardless of their way of execution. It also displays the products, services, and resources that are available on the self-service portal. There are also many other minor differences between them, but the main difference between them is the difference in their scope.
From the above discussion, we learned that there are not so many differences between them. In fact, we can say that the IT service catalog is incomplete without a self-service portal. It is because the IT service catalog displays the whole self-service portal separately in it. The self-service portal has been displayed on the IT service catalog because the self-service portal is like a service the organization provides to its consumers. If we look back on the concept of an IT service catalog, we learn that an IT service catalog displays the details of all products, services, and resources. How could we say it is an ideal IT service catalog if it did not display the self-service catalog? That’s why we said that the IT service catalog is incomplete without an ideal self-service portal.
The IT service catalog and self-service portal goals are relatively the same. Both concepts are working to enhance the end-user experience. Both concepts’ efforts revolve around the enhancement of end-user satisfaction levels. That’s why we can say that they are not entirely the same concepts, but there are many similarities between them.
After all the above discussion, a question came to mind; okay, they are similar concepts with a few differences, but which one is the best or which one could work in a better way than the other? The answer is there could be no question of best or worst in the case of a comparative overview of these two concepts. They were never and shall never be two opposite concepts, but they are incomplete without one another. We said this because how could a self-service portal be effective if it is displayed separately from all other things in the service catalog? On the other hand, without adding a self-service portal, we could not say it is an ideal IT service catalog. It is because how could it become ideal without adding a most important concept to it? So, we can say that the perfect combination of these two concepts could provide a better result.
The above discussion taught us that the IT service catalog and self-service portal are relatively similar concepts. They are not two opposite concepts and do not have any competition between them. Instead, both are incomplete without one another. We can say that they have a necessary connection between them. That’s why we said that their perfect combination could provide better results. So, you should not take them as two separate concepts. Instead, it would be best if you tried to make their perfect combination.
