Today, any organization, company or public institution depends enormously on uninterrupted digital services. When service discontinuities occur, end users and customers are immediately affected. IT teams can only react promptly to prevent the situation from worsening further with negative economic and reputational consequences. 

Two functions in particular are fundamental for achieving effective IT Service Management (ITSM): incident management and problem management. 

Although they are often mentioned as a generic single entity, these two components have distinct purposes and follow separate workflows. Understanding the differences between incident management and problem management is essential for any IT organization that aims to optimize operations and provide precise, timely, reliable service. 

Table of Contents 

1. The role of incident and problem management in ITIL 

2. Understanding the ITIL 4 framework 

3. Incidents vs Problems: knowing the difference to reduce costs related to outages  
   3.1 Definition of incident
   3.2 Definition of problem 
   3.3 When does an incident become a problem? 

4. Incident management and problem management: fundamental differences 

5. Best practices for effective implementation 

6. Why it’s important to understand the difference between incident and problem management in ITSM 
7. FAQs 

The Role of Incident and Problem Management in ITIL 

The ITIL framework provides structured guidance for delivering quality IT services. Within this framework, incident management and problem management are distinct but closely connected. 

Incident management focuses on rapid service restoration after an outage, often operating with limited information to ensure minimal impact. Problem management aims to investigate and eliminate the root causes of incidents and focuses on long-term improvement. 

Rather than treating each problem in isolation, ITIL encourages organizations to maintain a continuous feedback loop between these two practices. When applied effectively, this synergy strengthens service resilience and improves user satisfaction over time. 

Understanding the ITIL 4 Framework 

In the last ten years, incident management has been redefined by two converging forces: the rise of collaboration between DevOps and SecOps and the release of ITIL 4 in 2019. With the increasing complexity of microservices, cloud-native stacks, and hybrid infrastructures, the responsibility for maintaining operational continuity is no longer exclusively within the competence of a central IT team, but is now shared between development, support, and security. 

ITIL 4 reflects this cultural change: rigid and compartmentalized processes are abandoned in favor of an approach based on value flow and continuous improvement. In this sense, incident management and problem management are explicitly connected within a structured set of complementary practices. 

Modern tools support the new paradigm, feeding increasingly sophisticated analytics into post-incident reviews. The point is not to find the “culprit,” but rather to focus on systemic corrections. Organizations measure success with service level objectives and mean time to recovery, not with endless work shifts. 

The synergy that ITIL 4 aims to encourage is exactly this: reduce repeated incidents and accelerate root cause analysis, promoting communication and collaboration. 

Incidents vs Problems: Knowing the Difference to Reduce Outage-Related Costs 

The most successful organizations are those capable of reacting to stress factors that inevitably act on IT infrastructures. Unplanned downtime continues, despite progress, to test the digital resilience matured in recent years. 

Even today, according to Oxford Economics, due to unexpected outages, the annual cost for companies is around $400 billion, with average losses of $200 million per year for each company. 

To reduce these costs and enable effective and efficient resolution, it’s essential to adopt a structured approach to operational continuity, which begins with the correct distinction, from an ITIL perspective, between incidents and problems. 

Definition of Incident 

An incident is any unplanned interruption or reduction in the quality of an IT service. These interruptions can range from minor inconveniences, such as a website loading slowly, to serious service outages affecting a large number of users. 

The primary objective of incident management is to restore normal operation as quickly as possible. This doesn’t necessarily imply identifying the root cause. The emphasis is placed, rather, on resolving the “symptoms” encountered by the user, so that the service can function normally. 

Definition of Problem 

In the ITIL context, a problem is the underlying or potential cause of one or more incidents. Unlike an incident, a problem might not be immediately visible to end users. However, if not resolved, it can lead to recurring or more serious incidents. Problem management deals with root cause analysis and the development of temporary or definitive solutions to prevent the problem from recurring. 

Problem identification often involves reviewing trends that have led to recurring incidents and conducting post-incident analysis. It requires deeper technical investigation. These are complex issues whose resolution is inevitably linked to collaboration between different teams. 

When Does an Incident Become a Problem? 

Not all incidents need to be reported as problems. However, repeated incidents or those with significant impact of unknown origin must be taken up for further investigation. Over time, patterns may emerge that highlight deeper problems requiring root cause analysis. 

Criteria for initiating problem management include: 

• Recurrence 

• High business impact 

• Complexity 

The occurrence of one of these three conditions suggests an underlying defect to be investigated further. Establishing these criteria helps the teams called to intervene make consistent and informed decisions about whether to report a given problem. 

Incident Management and Problem Management: Fundamental Differences 

Although both processes aim to improve service reliability, their objectives, timelines, and approaches differ significantly. 

The most obvious difference lies in the fact that incidents are resolved taking into account substantially speed, even if this involves applying a temporary solution. Problems, instead, are addressed by focusing primarily on further investigations and prevention, often operating over a longer time frame. 

Furthermore, although both processes overlap in terms of inputs, such as system logs, alerts, and user reports, they differ significantly in terms of outputs. 

Incident management concludes with problem resolution, while problem management concludes with documented improvements and knowledge useful for future operations. 

SUMMARY 

Category	Incident Management	Problem Management
Approach	Reactive	Strategic
Objective	Rapid service restoration	Prevention of future outages
Timeline	Immediate, present-oriented	Thoughtful, long-term oriented
Main lifecycle phases	Detection, recording, categorization, diagnosis, resolution, closure	Problem identification, cause analysis, solution proposal, documentation, implementation, closure
Focus	Minimize impact in the shortest time possible	Eliminate root causes of incidents
Type of outages managed	Single outages or immediate malfunctions	Recurring or serious incidents

Best Practices for Effective Implementation 

The effective integration of incident and problem management into an ITSM strategy requires careful planning and high-performance tools capable of supporting rapid ticket creation, categorization, and routing. Among the best practices to implement, we highlight: 

Building a common and well-updated knowledge base – with documentation related to known errors – to enable operators to quickly apply proven solutions. 

Involving cross-functional teams in root-cause investigations, which can significantly reduce time spent on recurring issues. 

Adopting modern ITSM platforms, which offer functionality supporting both disciplines: from workflow automation to integrated templates for standardizing response procedures, from monitoring recurring problems to automatic incident detection to AI-based categorization. 

Over time, a structured approach that connects incidents to known problems becomes a force multiplier for IT effectiveness. It ensures consistency, reduces resolution times, improves transparency, and simplifies workflows. 

Why It’s Important to Understand the Difference Between Incident and Problem Management in ITSM 

In an increasingly complex and interconnected ITSM context, clearly distinguishing between incidents and problems is not just a terminological matter, but an operational necessity. Confusing the two practices can produce inefficiencies while making it more complicated to identify and seize growth opportunities. 

If incident management teams attempt to analyze root causes during a serious outage, they risk delaying restoration. Conversely, if recurring problems are never reported for investigation, the same incidents might continue to occur. 

Clear definition of roles and responsibilities and adoption of a structured approach favor both timely service restoration and long-term stability. And this balance is fundamental for providing consistent, high-quality IT services. 

Investing in the most suitable tools for effective incident and problem management means, ultimately, strengthening digital resilience and protecting business continuity. 

FAQs 

What is the main difference between an incident and a problem? An incident is an unexpected interruption of an IT service and requires rapid resolution. A problem is the root cause of one or more incidents and is analyzed to prevent recurrence. 

When should an incident be classified as a problem? An incident repeats over time, has high impact, or presents an unidentified cause: these are the main criteria for initiating thorough analysis as a problem. 

Why is it important to distinguish between incident and problem management? Because confusing the two processes can slow service restoration or prevent definitive resolution of causes, resulting in increased costs and inefficiencies. 

How does ITIL 4 help in integrated incident and problem management? ITIL 4 promotes a collaborative and continuous approach, connecting incident and problem management in a cycle of constant improvement, supported by modern tools and advanced analytics. 

What tools are most suitable for effectively managing incidents and problems? Modern ITSM platforms that offer automation, automatic detection, intelligent categorization, and an integrated knowledge base are ideal for supporting both processes efficiently and consistently.