ITSM
Uncovered
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John McDermott Favourite IT gadget Most influential management book IT industry figures most admired |
Why is effective IT service
management (ITSM) important for
financial services companies?
IT service management fosters and
encourages IT departments to fully
engage with the business in order to
meet its needs in a quality-controlled,
cost-effective and measurable
manner. The introduction of
BS 15000 (the standard for service
management) is proof that both IT
and the business are working
together to cement the relationship.
How can effective IT service
management improve
performance?
How many facets has a diamond?!
Effective service management is a
series of service improvement
programmes – each facet of which
should be designed with performance
in mind. The definition of performance
is up to the business to decide.
What is ITIL, and why is it
important?
ITIL – the IT Infrastructure Library – is
a series of books that provides a
framework for best practice based
upon real-life, within real organisations.
Originally there were 40 books, these
were updated a couple of years ago
and condensed in to the seven
publications available today. ITIL is
the foundation stone of IT service
management, which we encourage
people to ‘adopt and adapt’ to meet
the needs of their business. Many
other systems are based upon it, for
example Microsoft’s Operations Framework is essentially ITIL tailored
for a Microsoft environment.
What are the challenges of
implementing ITIL?
There are many indeed, the main
one is buy-in. This must be achieved
at all levels – both financially and
culturally. The former is difficult in
itself, as justifying a return on
investment can be complex due to
the tangible and intangible nature of
the benefits likely to be achieved.
Increased availability to a bank could
mean saving hundreds of thousands
of pounds or not losing customers,
but assessing and measuring the
return on such a benefit would be a
massive challenge.
It is also important not to try to
implement everything at once – it
will not work! ITIL is a framework
that allows you to implement a
series of targeted improvement
programmes. Choose an area,
measure where you are, decide
where you want to be and look at
the gaps. Remember that quick
wins can provide confidence
and a springboard for larger
improvement programmes.
How will ITSM evolve in
the future?
Specifically, the OGC, which owns
ITIL, has announced an ITIL refresh – version 3. I anticipate this will
have as its bedrock processes that
will be seen to encourage, foster
and facilitate a change culture
within any organisation. Generally,
I believe that IT will continue to
integrate with the business,
eventually developing into more of a
symbiotic relationship, with both
relying on each other to ensure
survival in a given market place.
Who needs the ‘IT’ in ITSM then?
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