What Does Service Request Management (SRM) Mean And How Can It Help You?

The concept of “help desk tickets” is fading away, and more often seen is Service Request Management (SRM), a discipline, system, and mindset that defines how organisations handle routine employee and customer demands for access, support, services, or information.

For C-suite leaders in Africa aiming to leapfrog legacy inefficiencies, SRM is foundational to agility, cost control, and competitive positioning.

Onpoint, with its deep industry experience and African footprint, is positioning itself as the partner of choice for organisations seeking to re-architect how service flows inside and beyond IT.

What is Service Request Management — and Why Now?

At its core, SRM is the structured process of receiving, categorizing, prioritizing, routing, fulfilling, and closing requests for services (e.g. access to a system, software installation, change of privileges). It sits within the broader IT Service Management (ITSM) framework, but with sharper focus on user-initiated demands, not just incidents.

The SRM software market (2024 baseline) is estimated at USD 1,371 million, with forecasts reaching USD 2,317 million by 2031, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 7.9%. This trajectory is powered by rising demand for automation, self-service, integration capabilities, and AI augmentation in organizations trying to do more with less.

In Africa, the managed services sector (within which SRM is often embedded) is currently valued at about USD 4.95 billion (2025), with a predicted CAGR of ~11.94% toward 2030. This underscores the appetite for outsourcing and intelligently operated support functions across the continent.

Gartner research underscores that the future of service delivery is shifting from reactive to predictive and proactive models and that includes an elevated role for SRM technologies that anticipate demand, enforce service agreements, and embed experience metrics into workflows.

In their 2025 Magic Quadrant for AI Applications in ITSM, Gartner warns that 50% of AI projects at IT service desks will be abandoned due to unforeseen cost or delivery challenges. This is a cautionary reminder: technology matters, but discipline, governance, and change management matter more.

The Business Case for SRM

1. Operational Efficiency and Cost Savings

SRM drives standardization and automation. When every request passes through templated forms, automated routing rules, and fulfillment workflows, organizations reduce manual handoffs, avoid “who does this next?” friction, and shrink resolution times. In practice, enterprises using mature SRM systems report 20–40% uplift in service desk throughput, with up to 25% reduction in overhead.

2. User Experience, Transparency & Trust

Employees and customers increasingly expect predictable, frictionless service. A well-designed SRM portal (with status dashboards, self-help, mobile access) elevates trust and reduces “where is my request?” calls. Embedding satisfaction surveys, experience metrics (XLA), and feedback loops enables continuous improvement.

3. Governance, Compliance & SLA Control

SRM enforces service level agreements (SLAs) or experience-level agreements (XLAs). When executives can see backlog, breached SLAs, escalation patterns, and trends — in real time — they gain control and accountability. This becomes mission-critical in regulated industries (finance, telecom, healthcare).

4. Enterprise Service Management (ESM) and Cross-Department Reach

Forward-thinking firms extend SRM principles beyond IT into HR, Facilities, Finance, and beyond — known as ESM. Gartner and other ITSM thought leaders increasingly advocate this expansion of service management disciplines across business units.

The consensus in Gartner peer forums is instructive:

“Every tool available in the market is best fit for some specific use case only… the best solution is the one with the fewest trade-offs, supporting adaptability long term.” (Gartner)

Why OnPoint Is Well-Positioned in Africa Service Request Management

1. Local insight + global standardsWe blend deep African market knowledge (regulations, fibre infrastructure, cost pressures) with global best practices in ITSM, automation, and governance. This hybrid approach reduces “foreign tool misfit” risk.

2. AI-aware but realisticOnpoint uses the Atlassian AI toolset(e.g. for routing, escalation prediction) within guardrail governance, minimising risk of derailments that Gartner warns of.

Outlook & Imperatives for Africa’s Service Request Management

In the next 3–5 years, SRM will be a defining capabilities layer. Leaders who embed SRM into their operating fabric will gain real strategic advantage: leaner operations, enhanced agility, better customer/employee experience, and a firmer grip on compliance and risk.

But the path is fraught. According to Gartner, half of AI-based service desk initiatives fail, often because organizations leap too far ahead without landing foundational discipline. African enterprises, with volatile infrastructure, talent constraints, and regulatory pressures, must tailor SRM deployments carefully.

Thus, for firms considering a SRM journey, a trusted partner matters. Onpoint’s blend of continent-aware pragmatism with global architectural discipline positions it as a prime ally. For top executives in telecoms, banking, energy, fast-moving consumer goods, or the public sector, investing in SRM should be in your plan for 2026.