What is ITIL? The IT Service Management Framework Explained

Introduction to ITIL

In today's fast-paced technological landscape, effective IT Service Management (ITSM) is critical for organizations to thrive. The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is the most widely adopted framework for ITSM, providing a comprehensive, consistent, and coherent set of best practices for managing IT services. This article delves into what ITIL is, its core components, benefits, and how it can transform IT service management within an organization.

History and Evolution of ITIL

ITIL was developed in the 1980s by the United Kingdom's Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) to address the growing dependence on IT and the need for standardized practices. Since its inception, ITIL has undergone several revisions, with the most significant updates being ITIL v2, ITIL v3, and the current ITIL 4, which was introduced in 2019. Each version has built upon its predecessor, integrating new practices and concepts to stay relevant in the ever-evolving IT landscape.

Core Components of ITIL

Service Value System (SVS)

The ITIL 4 framework is centered around the Service Value System (SVS), which ensures that all components and activities of the organization work together to facilitate value creation. The SVS is comprised of five key elements:

1. Guiding Principles: These are recommendations that guide organizations in all circumstances, regardless of changes in their goals, strategies, type of work, or management structure.
2. Governance: This component ensures that the organization's activities are aligned with its strategic goals and objectives.
3. Service Value Chain: A set of interconnected activities that provide a structured approach to creating, delivering, and improving services.
4. Practices: ITIL defines 34 management practices, categorized into general management practices, service management practices, and technical management practices.
5. Continual Improvement: This is a recurring organizational activity aimed at ensuring that an organization's performance continually meets stakeholders' expectations.

The Four Dimensions Model

The four dimensions model provides a holistic view of the various factors that need to be considered to create value through products and services. These dimensions are:

1. Organizations and People: This dimension emphasizes the importance of organizational culture and ensuring that employees are empowered and equipped to contribute to the service value system.
2. Information and Technology: It focuses on the critical role of data, information management, and technology in service management.
3. Partners and Suppliers: This dimension addresses how external relationships with partners and suppliers can impact the delivery of services.
4. Value Streams and Processes: It looks at how the organization's activities are organized and managed to create value.

Key ITIL Practices

Service Desk

The Service Desk practice provides a single point of contact between the service provider and the users. It handles various tasks such as incident management, service request management, and communicating with users about service changes.

Incident Management

Incident Management aims to restore normal service operation as quickly as possible and minimize the adverse impact on business operations, ensuring that agreed service levels are maintained.

Change Control

Change Control ensures that all changes to IT services are recorded and evaluated, balancing the need for change with the potential impact on business continuity.

Problem Management

Problem Management seeks to reduce the likelihood and impact of incidents by identifying actual and potential causes of incidents and managing workarounds and known errors.

Service Level Management

Service Level Management involves negotiating, agreeing, and managing the performance of services against the agreed service levels to ensure that both current and future needs of the business and its customers are met.

Benefits of Implementing ITIL

Improved Service Delivery

Implementing ITIL practices leads to a more structured and systematic approach to ITSM, improving service delivery and ensuring that IT services align with business needs.

Enhanced Customer Satisfaction

By adhering to ITIL guidelines, organizations can enhance customer satisfaction through improved service quality, faster incident resolution, and more effective communication.

Increased Efficiency and Productivity

ITIL helps streamline processes, reduce redundancy, and eliminate inefficiencies, leading to increased productivity and more efficient use of resources.

Better Risk Management

ITIL provides a framework for managing risks related to IT services, helping organizations identify, assess, and mitigate potential risks more effectively.

Alignment with Business Goals

ITIL ensures that IT services are closely aligned with the overall goals and objectives of the organization, enabling better strategic planning and decision-making.

Conclusion

The ITIL framework offers a robust set of best practices that can transform IT service management in any organization. By adopting ITIL, businesses can improve their IT service delivery, enhance customer satisfaction, increase operational efficiency, and better manage risks. As technology continues to evolve, ITIL remains a vital tool for organizations striving to stay competitive and meet the ever-changing demands of the digital age.

Continue reading

Understanding ITSM and ITIL: Streamlining Your IT Operations

Introduction

In the dynamic landscape of modern business, Information Technology (IT) plays a pivotal role in ensuring operational efficiency, seamless communication, and effective decision-making. To manage IT services effectively, organizations often turn to frameworks like IT Service Management (ITSM) and IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL). In this comprehensive guide, we delve into the intricacies of ITSM and ITIL, unraveling their significance and how they contribute to organizational success.

What is ITSM?

IT Service Management (ITSM) is a strategic approach to designing, delivering, managing, and improving the way IT is used within an organization. At its core, ITSM focuses on aligning IT services with the needs of the business and ensuring that the right processes, people, and technology are in place to support those services effectively.

Key Components of ITSM:

1. Service Desk Management: Centralized point of contact for users to request IT assistance and report incidents.
2. Incident Management: Process for managing and resolving unplanned interruptions to IT services.
3. Change Management: Systematic approach to managing changes to IT infrastructure in a controlled manner to minimize disruption.
4. Problem Management: Proactive identification and resolution of underlying causes of recurring incidents.
5. Asset Management: Tracking and managing the lifecycle of IT assets to optimize usage and reduce costs.

Understanding ITIL

IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), on the other hand, is a set of best practices for ITSM that provides a comprehensive framework for managing IT services. Originally developed by the UK government, ITIL has evolved into a globally recognized approach for delivering high-quality IT services.

Core Principles of ITIL:

1. Service Strategy: Aligning IT services with business objectives and customer needs.
2. Service Design: Designing new or changed services to meet business requirements.
3. Service Transition: Managing the transition of services into production to minimize disruption.
4. Service Operation: Ensuring that IT services are delivered and supported effectively on a day-to-day basis.
5. Continual Service Improvement (CSI): Iteratively improving the quality of IT services over time.

ITSM vs. ITIL: Understanding the Relationship

While ITSM and ITIL are often used interchangeably, it's important to recognize the distinction between the two. ITSM represents the overarching approach to managing IT services, encompassing various methodologies and frameworks. ITIL, on the other hand, is a specific framework within the broader realm of ITSM, providing detailed guidance on best practices for service management.

Benefits of Implementing ITSM and ITIL

Operational Efficiency

By adopting ITSM principles and implementing ITIL best practices, organizations can streamline their IT operations, leading to increased efficiency and productivity. Standardized processes and procedures help eliminate redundant tasks and minimize the risk of errors, allowing IT teams to focus on delivering value to the business.

Improved Service Quality

ITSM and ITIL promote a customer-centric approach to service delivery, emphasizing the importance of meeting user needs and expectations. By aligning IT services with business objectives and implementing rigorous service management processes, organizations can enhance the quality and reliability of their IT services, leading to higher levels of customer satisfaction.

Cost Optimization

Effective ITSM and ITIL implementation can result in cost savings for organizations by optimizing resource utilization, reducing downtime, and minimizing the risk of costly IT incidents. By proactively managing IT assets and resources, organizations can identify opportunities for cost reduction and make informed decisions about resource allocation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, IT Service Management (ITSM) and IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) are invaluable tools for organizations looking to optimize their IT operations and deliver high-quality services to their customers. By adopting ITSM principles and leveraging ITIL best practices, organizations can enhance operational efficiency, improve service quality, and drive cost optimization. In today's competitive business environment, investing in ITSM and ITIL is essential for staying ahead of the curve and achieving long-term success.

Continue reading

Unveiling the Profound Benefits of IT Service Management

In the dynamic landscape of today's business world, Information Technology (IT) plays a pivotal role in the success and sustainability of organizations across industries. As businesses continue to rely heavily on technology to streamline operations, enhance productivity, and drive innovation, the significance of effective IT Service Management (ITSM) cannot be overstated. In this comprehensive guide, we delve deep into the benefits of IT Service Management, shedding light on its transformative potential and the value it brings to modern enterprises.

Enhancing Operational Efficiency

IT Service Management serves as the cornerstone for optimizing operational efficiency within organizations. By establishing robust frameworks and standardized processes, ITSM enables businesses to streamline their IT operations, minimize downtime, and enhance service delivery. Through efficient incident management, problem resolution, and change management practices, ITSM empowers organizations to proactively address IT issues, ensuring uninterrupted business continuity and seamless operations.

Maximizing Cost Savings

In today's competitive business landscape, cost optimization is paramount for sustainable growth and profitability. IT Service Management facilitates cost savings through various avenues. By implementing proactive monitoring and management practices, ITSM helps identify and mitigate potential IT risks before they escalate into costly disruptions. Additionally, by streamlining processes and leveraging automation, ITSM reduces manual intervention, thereby minimizing operational costs and maximizing resource utilization.

Fostering Business Agility

In an era characterized by rapid digital transformation and evolving market dynamics, business agility is indispensable for staying ahead of the curve. IT Service Management empowers organizations to adapt swiftly to changing business requirements and market trends. Through agile methodologies and flexible service delivery models, ITSM enables businesses to respond promptly to emerging opportunities and challenges, fostering a culture of innovation and adaptability.

Improving Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction

At the heart of IT Service Management lies a relentless focus on delivering exceptional service quality and exceeding customer expectations. By adopting best practices such as ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library), ITSM enables organizations to standardize service delivery processes, enhance service reliability, and ensure consistent performance across the IT landscape. This commitment to excellence not only boosts customer satisfaction but also strengthens brand reputation and loyalty in the marketplace.

Empowering Strategic Decision-Making

In today's data-driven business environment, informed decision-making is critical for driving strategic initiatives and achieving long-term success. IT Service Management provides organizations with valuable insights and analytics that empower informed decision-making at every level. By leveraging metrics, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), and performance analytics, ITSM enables stakeholders to gain visibility into IT operations, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions to optimize IT investments and drive business outcomes.

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management

In an increasingly stringent regulatory landscape, compliance with industry standards and regulations is non-negotiable for organizations across sectors. IT Service Management plays a pivotal role in ensuring regulatory compliance and mitigating IT-related risks. By implementing robust security protocols, risk management frameworks, and compliance controls, ITSM helps organizations adhere to regulatory requirements, safeguard sensitive data, and mitigate potential security threats, thereby enhancing trust and credibility among stakeholders.

Cultivating a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement lies at the core of IT Service Management philosophy. By fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and learning, ITSM enables organizations to evolve and adapt in response to changing business needs and market dynamics. Through practices such as continual service improvement (CSI) and feedback mechanisms, ITSM encourages stakeholders to identify areas for enhancement, implement corrective actions, and drive ongoing optimization across the IT service lifecycle.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the benefits of IT Service Management extend far beyond operational efficiency and cost savings. By fostering business agility, enhancing service quality, empowering strategic decision-making, ensuring regulatory compliance, and cultivating a culture of continuous improvement, ITSM serves as a catalyst for organizational success in today's digital age. As businesses navigate the complexities of the modern IT landscape, embracing IT Service Management is not merely a choice but a strategic imperative for driving innovation, competitiveness, and sustainable growth.

Continue reading

13 Tips for Managing a Major Incident

Managing a major incident is a daunting task that requires a lot of skill and experience. Whether it’s a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, or a cyber-attack, being able to manage the situation effectively can mean the difference between life and death. In this article, we will provide 13 tips for managing a major incident that will help you respond effectively to any situation.

1. Understand the Nature of the Incident

The first step in managing a major incident is to understand the nature of the incident. This includes identifying the cause of the incident, the scope of the incident, and the potential impact of the incident. By understanding the nature of the incident, you can develop an appropriate response plan and allocate the necessary resources.

2. Establish an Incident Management Team

The next step is to establish an incident management team. This team should be composed of individuals with the necessary skills and experience to manage the incident effectively. This includes individuals from various departments within the organization, as well as external stakeholders such as first responders and government officials.

3. Create an Incident Response Plan

Once you have established an incident management team, the next step is to create an incident response plan. This plan should outline the steps that will be taken to manage the incident, including how resources will be allocated, how communication will be managed, and how the recovery process will be handled.

4. Define Roles and Responsibilities

To ensure that everyone is on the same page, it is important to define roles and responsibilities. This includes assigning specific tasks to individuals within the incident management team and establishing lines of communication.

5. Communicate Effectively

Effective communication is critical in managing a major incident. This includes communicating with internal stakeholders, external stakeholders, and the general public. It is important to provide regular updates on the situation and to ensure that all stakeholders are informed of any changes.

6. Establish a Command Center

To ensure effective management of the incident, it is important to establish a command center. This is the central location from which the incident will be managed, and it should be equipped with the necessary technology and resources to facilitate communication and decision-making.

7. Develop Contingency Plans

No matter how well you plan, there is always the potential for the unexpected. That is why it is important to develop contingency plans that will enable you to respond to unforeseen circumstances. This includes identifying alternate routes of communication and backup resources.

8. Prioritize Actions

When managing a major incident, it is important to prioritize actions based on their level of urgency. This will enable you to allocate resources effectively and to ensure that critical tasks are completed in a timely manner.

9. Monitor and Evaluate the Situation

Throughout the incident, it is important to monitor and evaluate the situation. This includes tracking progress, identifying any new developments, and making adjustments to the response plan as necessary.

10. Manage Resources Effectively

Managing resources effectively is critical in managing a major incident. This includes allocating resources based on their level of importance, tracking resource usage, and identifying opportunities to conserve resources.

11. Ensure Continuity of Operations

Managing a major incident can disrupt normal business operations. That is why it is important to ensure continuity of operations by identifying critical business processes and developing plans to maintain those processes during the incident.

12. Manage the Recovery Process

Once the incident has been resolved, it is important to manage the recovery process. This includes restoring critical systems and operations, assessing the damage caused by the incident, and developing plans to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

13. Conduct Post-Incident Review

Finally, it is important to conduct a post-incident review. This includes analyzing the response to the incident, identifying areas for improvement, and developing plans to address those areas. The post-incident review should be conducted with all stakeholders, including internal team members and external partners.

In conclusion, managing a major incident requires a combination of planning, preparation, and quick thinking. By following the 13 tips outlined in this article, you can be better prepared to manage a major incident and ensure the safety and well-being of all those involved.

Continue reading

What ITSM Pros Need to Know About Network Security

Networking is a critical part of IT operations and thus plays a central role in IT service management (ITSM). Corporate networks are under constant threat of attack, and the attacks are increasingly more frequent and sophisticated. According to the IBM Cost of Data Breaches study, the average data breach costs organizations $4.35 million. Understanding these network security threats and the required security infrastructure to defend against them is becoming a core part of ITSM.

What Is Network Security?

Network security is a set of technologies and practices that protect the availability and integrity of a company’s infrastructure, preventing potential threats from entering or spreading within a network.

A network security architecture consists of tools that protect the network itself and the applications running within it. An effective network security strategy uses multiple scalable, automated defenses. Each layer of protection applies a set of network security policies determined by network administrators and security teams.

What Are the Challenges of Network Security?

One of the major challenges of network security is the speed at which cyber attacks evolve. New vulnerabilities and threat vectors are discovered daily, and new defenses are required to protect networks from sophisticated attacks.

Another issue is that security is both the responsibility of the organization and its individual users. Developing policies that keep everyone accountable, and can also keep up with the latest threats, is challenging.

Specifically, the now common Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach means a more distributed and complex network of devices accessing a corporate network exists. Remote work is also more common, making wireless network security even more important because users are more likely to use public networks when accessing corporate networks and sensitive data stored within them.

Yet another concern is cloud security. Cloud service providers, providers of managed security services, and security products share responsibility for security with cloud customers. Identifying what a company needs to do to secure its cloud presence is important. Identifying which third parties have access to cloud systems is critical to avoid third-party risk.

Network Security Technologies and Solutions ITSM Professionals Should Know About

Network Firewall

A network firewall is a mature network security product with many features that prevent direct access to servers hosting an organization’s applications and data. Network firewalls can be used both for cloud and on-premises networks. In the cloud, managed firewall products can be deployed in an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) or software as a service (SaaS) model.

Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)

An Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) detects and blocks attacks by identifying attack patterns and exploits for unpatched vulnerabilities. IPS is typically deployed as an inline appliance or software application that intercepts incoming network traffic. IPS functionality is often included in other network security products, but standalone products also exist. IPS is increasingly used in cloud-native environments to compensate for the slow adoption of cloud-native security controls.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is an endpoint security solution that continuously monitors end-user devices to detect and respond to cyber threats like ransomware and malware.

EDR security solutions log activity and events on endpoints and workloads, giving network security teams the visibility they need to uncover hidden events. An EDR solution must provide continuous, comprehensive real-time visibility into what is happening at the endpoint.

Secure Web Gateway

Secure web gateways were originally designed to optimize Internet bandwidth but now aim to protect users from malicious content on the Internet. It provides features such as URL filtering, anti-malware, decryption, the inspection of websites accessed over HTTPS, data loss prevention (DLP), and cloud access security brokers (CASBs).

Microsegmentation

Microsegmentation is a security technique that divides a network into zones and uses policies to dictate how data and applications within those zones are accessed and controlled.

Unlike network segmentation, which requires hardware and primarily focuses on north-south traffic (client-server communications or data flow between data centers), microsegmentation relies on software and focuses on east-west traffic (data flowing between servers, applications, or microservices).

Microsegmentation divides the network into smaller pieces and limits the types of traffic that can laterally traverse the network. It can be applied across on-premises data centers and cloud environments. Microsegmentation allows network security teams to determine how applications and workloads share data within the system, the direction in which data is shared, and whether security or other means of authentication are required for each segment.

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)

SASE is a new framework that combines comprehensive network security features such as SD-WAN, SWG, firewall as a service (FWaaS), and ZTNA (which supports microsegmentation). It provides extensive WAN capabilities to support organizations’ secure access needs. Its goal is to provide a unified security services model for delivering connectivity and network security in a scalable, flexible, and low-latency manner.

How ITSM Professionals Can Improve Network Security

ITSM professionals can work with their organization’s security team to develop and implement network security protocols and policies that outline the proper handling of sensitive data and the use of secure practices. This may include guidelines for password management, data handling, and access controls.

They can also conduct regular risk assessments to help identify potential vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the network. This information can then be used to develop and implement appropriate countermeasures. ITSM can help identify potential threats, including analyzing logs, monitoring for unusual network activity, and implementing incident response procedures.

Security teams can use ITSM tools to implement network security controls, such as firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and encryption. This helps protect against unauthorized access and attacks but must be appropriately configured and maintained.

ITSM professionals can also help implement a security awareness program to educate employees about the importance of security and how to identify and prevent threats. As well as raising awareness, this approach can help reduce the risk of security breaches caused by employee behavior.

Finally, if an organization relies on third-party vendors, ITSM professionals can work with their security team to ensure that these vendors have appropriate network security measures in place. This may include reviewing vendor contracts and conducting security assessments of vendor systems.

In conclusion, network security is essential for ITSM professionals. As the role of IT continues to expand and evolve, so too do the security threats and challenges that organizations face. To protect their networks and their data and resources, ITSM pros must be familiar with the latest network security technologies and practices and be prepared to implement and maintain a robust and effective security strategy.

By staying up-to-date on network security and taking proactive steps to protect their organizations, ITSM pros can help ensure their networks’ confidentiality, integrity and availability, and the data they contain.

Source: itsm.tools

Continue reading

What is Strategy Management for IT Services?

Strategy management for IT services is a process of defining and maintaining the perspective, position, plans, and patterns (which constitute the 4 Ps) of an organization with regards to its services and management of those services. The purpose of strategy management for IT services is to make sure that a strategy is defined properly, maintained, and managed adequately to achieve its purpose.

Objectives of Strategy Management for IT Services

The objectives of strategy management for IT services include the following:

◉ A statement that clearly expresses the vision and mission of the service provider, which is reviewed on a regular basis. This constitutes the perspective of the service provider.

◉ A proper definition of the services that will be provided by the service provider, to what market spaces they will be provided to, and the strategies by which the competitive advantage of the service provider will be maintained. This constitutes the position of the service provider.

◉ The production, communication, and maintenance strategic planning documents of the service provider. This constitutes the plans of the service provider.

◉ A definition of how exactly the service provider will consolidate itself to allow the business objectives to be met. This is a pattern of the service provider. An organization works because of a pattern of action.

Scope of Strategy Management for IT Services

◉ The responsibility of strategy management falls on the executives of an organization, and it allows them to set the objectives of the organization. The executives also have to mention exactly how the organization will meet those objectives and prioritize the investments required to meet those objectives.

◉ The strategy of an organization is not limited to a single document or department. The organization’s overall strategy is broken down into separate strategies for each business unit in the organization.

◉ It is the duty of strategic management of the organization to make sure that the individual business strategies for the business units are consistent and linked to one other.

◉ Strategy management for IT services also has to ensure that the services and their way of management support the overall strategy of the organization.

◉ The IT strategy and IT service strategy are usually derived from the business strategy of the organization and validate the business strategy as well.

◉ The IT strategy is capable of determining the technical feasibility of a strategic objective and the level of investments that would be needed to meet that objective.

◉ Based on these reports, the organization will be able to decide whether or not the objective should be included and whether it should be prioritized.

Basic Concepts of Strategy Management for IT Services

It is important first to understand that a service strategy is not the same as an ITSM strategy. The following differences exist between them.

◉ Service Strategy

This is a strategy provided by the service provider to define and execute the services which meet the business objectives of the customer. The Service Strategy is a subset of the IT strategy for an IT service provider.

◉ Service Management (ITSM) Strategy

This is the plan for identifying, implementing, and executing the various processes used to manage services that have been identified in a service strategy. The ITSM strategy will be a subset of the service strategy in an IT service provider.

Value of Strategy Management for IT Services

The objectives of an organization are defined by its strategy. This includes how it will meet the objectives and how it will know that the objectives have been met.

If the objective is not defined, the organization can only react to the demands of its stakeholders. They would not have the adequate capabilities to assess each and every demand and understand the impact of each demand on the organization.

A strategy that is well-defined and managed ensures that the organization’s resources and capabilities are aligned in such a way that their business outcomes can be achieved. It also ensures that the investments made by the organization match its intended development and growth.

Strategy Management Benefits

The following are a few benefits that strategy management provides:

◉ It ensures that all the stakeholders involved are represented in making decisions regarding the appropriate direction in which the organization should head.

◉ Ensures that all the stakeholders should discuss and agree on the objectives of the organization and the means by which resources, capabilities, and investments are prioritized.

◉ It ensures that resources, capabilities, and investments are managed in a suitable manner to achieve the required strategy.

Strategy Management for IT services provides the following benefits to a service provider:

◉ It makes sure that an appropriate set of services are present in its service portfolio.

◉ Ensures that all the services have a clear and focused purpose and all the employees in the organization of the service provider are aware of their role in achieving that goal.

◉ It encourages suitable levels of investment, which leads to cost savings and increased levels of investments for key projects. It also makes sure that investment priorities are shifted to ensure that effort and budget are expended on the areas which have the highest level of business impact.

Process Activities of Strategy Management for IT Services

The key process activities are:

1. Strategic Assessment

◉ To analyze the internal environment and identify the current strengths and weaknesses.

◉ To analyze the external environment and identify the opportunities and threats and find out how they will develop in the future.

◉ Defining opportunities in a market space where a service provider can deliver the necessary value to the customer.

◉ To establish the objectives that need to be achieved.

2. Strategy Generation, Evaluation, and Selection

◉ To determine perspective: It defines the overall direction, values, belief, and purpose

◉ To form a position: It defines how the service provider can be differentiated from the other service providers.

◉ Create a plan: A strategic plan will identify how the organization will go about achieving its objectives, vision, and position.

◉ Adopt patterns of working: The patterns which are believed to be efficient and effective in achieving objectives by the executives should be adopted. Ways of dealing with change so that the strategy adapts to and evolves along with the organization and its environment should be adopted.

3. Strategy Execution

◉ Service management processes assist the service provider to achieve the necessary alignment. This is done between the services and the required outcomes on a continuous basis.

◉ It helps to align the assets with the outcomes desired by the customer.

◉ Optimizes the Critical Success Factors (CSFs)

◉ It helps to prioritize the investments

4. Measurement and Evaluation

◉ Continual Service improvement activities measure and evaluate the achievement of strategy over a period of time.

5. Expansion and Growth

◉ After the organization has become successful by using its strategy, it will be in a better position to deliver services to the existing market spaces and expand into new customers and services.

Challenges of Strategy Management for IT Services

The following challenges are faced by Strategy Management for IT services:

◉ Usually, strategy management for IT services is conducted at an inappropriate level in an organization. It needs to start from the top, with the senior executives driving it and each organizational unit following them. These units should follow them by generating a strategic, tactical, and operational plan. Which is also a subset of the organization’s strategy.

◉ There can be a lack of accurate information about the external environment.

◉ The absence of support from the stakeholders can prove to be a challenge.

◉ A lack of appropriate tools or lack of understanding regarding the usage of tools and techniques required.

◉ Failure to match operational targets with strategic objectives will result in operational managers struggling. They won’t be achieving targets that are not aligned with the strategy.

Risks of Strategy Management for IT Services

The risks faced during strategic management of IT services are:

◉ A governance model which has flaws can allow managers to decide whether to implement all the aspects of a strategy. Or, to deviate from the strategy for short-term goals.

◉ Short-term priorities can sometimes override the directives of the strategy.

◉ Making strategic decisions in the absence of key information.

◉ Choosing an incorrect strategy that does not match the goals of the organization.

◉ Strategies are often seen as an exercise that happens once a year. And has no effect on what happens for the rest of the year.

Source: invensislearning.com

Continue reading

Best ITSM Tools or Software You Need to Know

To establish and maintain a robust IT ecosystem, boost staff productivity, decrease IT risks, and enhance the end-user experience, it’s no wonder that the majority of firms are using the best ITSM solutions.

However, we now face a hurdle.

Searching for the “best ITSM tool or software” can yield thousands of results. So how can you identify the tool that properly matches your demands in this situation?

We have done the tough lifting for you, so don’t worry. After extensive investigation, we’ve selected around 7 ITSM tools to make your life significantly easier. This blog post will examine eight such tools, including their top features.

Before moving to the ITSM tools, first will discuss what does IT service management entail?

What Does IT Service Management Entail?

IT Services include the use of the printer by the entire team. The installation of applications on your laptop, the modification of passwords, etc. In addition to resolving day-to-day concerns, the IT support team is responsible for the end-to-end management of these services.

ITSM utilizes multiple frameworks. ITIL is the most common certification (Information Technology Infrastructure Library). It contains many procedures like Incident Management, Request Management, etc. Incident Management, Change Management, Problem Management, and Knowledge Management are the most widely used processes. Businesses may also utilize eTOM, COBIT, FitSM, ISO/IEC 20000, Six Sigma, etc., as ITSM frameworks.

According to research, the ITSM tools industry is valued at $1810 million in 2019 and is projected to reach $3600 million by 2024.

Best ITSM Tools/Software You Need To Know

ITSM is the implementation, regulation, management, and delivery of IT services, rules, and procedures within an organization. This includes planning, generating, delivering, and supporting requests for IT services.

ITSM practices are the means through which IT teams manage the end-to-end delivery of services to the client. And are crucial to the customer journey and operational efficiencies inside the organization. ITSM can also affect the employee experience by automating superfluous operations and streamlining the process.

Additionally, ITSM software may have capabilities to:

◉ Find solutions to reduce downtime and prevent events before they occur, and incident management technologies to streamline the process

◉ Track solutions, assign work depending on specializations or technical experience, and analyze trends in the scope of work using the Ticketing Tool

◉ IT Service Model Compliant: Use current models of best practices to guide your operations with models of IT service management and problem management that are already incorporated

◉ Asset Management: Track and manage physical items and accessories throughout their useful life

◉ View licensing requirements, manage updates, and be notified about future modifications or renewals

1. SolarWinds Service Desk

SolarWinds Service Desk was developed using ITIL guidelines. This cloud-based service desk system provides a centralized Help Desk contact point and asset management capabilities. The utility’s help desk functions include an automated ticketing system that allows you to input technician and operator availability to receive an automated task allocation methodology. In addition, the system features a task manager to resolve calls.

Other technical support capabilities include a self-service portal and a knowledge base tool to assist users in resolving issues without Help Desk assistance. Recent industry comparisons have placed the Service Desk in the number one position.

The suite includes configuration management, change management, release management, service level management, and IT asset management. In addition, a benchmarking tool enables you to monitor performance and plan for expansion, while a reporting module enables you to monitor system utilization.

2. InvGate Service Desk

The InvGate package offers comprehensive IT administration, including service, support, discovery, monitoring, and mapping. InvGate Insight enables the mapping of an organization’s entire infrastructure on a single platform by integrating asset data and information from all of its technology domains. This covers cloud instances from AWS and Azure, and IoT devices. In addition, any network monitoring solution can be readily incorporated.

A task module enables the automation of work in a request or the execution of a process, dividing the required efforts to find a solution. A knowledge management system will aid in organizing pertinent information, so it is always accessible. As end users generate a new self-service request, InvGate Natural Language Technology analyses their content using heuristics to offer relevant articles in real-time. Integration with other InvGate products enables IT asset discovery, monitoring, and change management. Integrating InvGate Service Desk with third-party asset managers, such as FileWave and Microsoft SCCM, is possible. It is offered as SaaS and on-premises.

3. Jotform

ITSM Service Management’s key operations revolve around forms and database tables, an area in which Jotform shines. Jotform, an online form builder, offers form templates that may be customized, including IT ticket and request forms and software survey forms. Additionally, the platform provides more than 100 app connectors. In addition, Jotform Tables can optimize your records management and increase the openness of incident management monitoring across teams. With convenient table templates (such as issue tracking), you can support critical ITSM activities without having to design a tracking system from the start — and without any coding experience.

4. NinjaOne Ticketing Software

NinjaOne – formerly NinjaRMM – is a cloud-based platform that provides the support specialists of a managed service provider with all the tools they need to manage the client sites’ systems. It can also be utilized by the IT operations departments of firms with several locations. This system is hosted in the cloud and is accessible from anywhere using a basic Web browser. There is no requirement to maintain a set of tools on-site, and professionals can even work remotely.

NinjaOne’s ticketing system provides team managers with a traditional technician task scheduler. This is not only available for users to report problems; it can also be used to assign system maintenance duties and expand project workflows to individual employees.

Each technician receives a prioritized To-Do list and an area for noting open issues. The team leader can view which tasks are assigned and waiting to be assigned. The management view also displays the estimated completion time and date for each work and whether the task is behind schedule. A computer algorithm can automatically assign jobs, and assignments can be split or shared. Additionally, manual allocation is facilitated.

5. Cherwell

Cherwell Ivanti offers ITSM tools for small to large enterprises with various deployment choices, such as on-premises and software as a service (SaaS). Codeless integration enables your service management software to interact with other applications and upgrade without requiring IT department personnel.

Ivanti also offers IT service management and asset knowledge management. Allowing teams to monitor and enhance procedures about their knowledge base, asset management, and updates. In addition, the cloud and on-premises versions of the system share the same code, making it simple to transition between settings.

Ivanti bought Cherwell and its Service Management solution in early 2021 to enhance service operations across enterprises, extending beyond IT to HR, Facilities, Information Security, and Project Management.

The purchase solidified Ivanti’s status as the only enterprise service management provider to enable end-to-end service. And asset management from IT to business lines and from every endpoint to the IoT edge.

6. Zendesk Suite

Zendesk is a cloud-based help desk management application that provides customized tools for creating a customer support portal, a knowledge base, and online communities. Its best feature is, without a doubt, the live chat, administered via a centralized panel, to facilitate easier communication between users and their clients.

Zendesk Suite is a popular tool among businesses that provide subscription services. It is an easy-to-use program with maximum functionality, and it places the utmost priority on multi-channel interaction capability. Customers can submit questions to the support desk via phone, email, chat, and social media. All of these communications are stored under a consolidated, unified interface, which facilitates the agent’s ability to respond to inquiries in an organized and timely manner. Agents do not have to go between platforms to view customer questions. And the likelihood of a customer ticket being missed is greatly diminished.

Another good aspect of Zendesk Suite is that your staff is always supported. This technique, as “support for support” by Zendesk, involves providing your team with access to specific information geared to boost their productivity. It’s refreshing to see a program prioritizes the IT team delivering the service, as most technologies are designed to make the end user’s life easier.

Zendesk has also created a modern and engaging interface for your team, devoting as much attention to your experience with the platform as it does to the end user’s experience. In addition, the dashboard is straightforward and requires no extensive training, so your team may begin using it immediately.

7. Jira Service Desk

Jira Service Desk adapts to existing workflows and service agents to give support. It emphasizes minimal touch and includes stock reports, such as created vs. resolved, time to resolution, SLA met vs. breached, and resolution by component. In addition, it supports integration with business intelligence (BI) and Google Analytics analytics technologies.

Jira Service Desk can be used independently or as part of the Atlassian DevOps package, including Jira Software, Bitbucket, Confluence, Opsgenie, and Statuspage. Confluence, for instance, is a collaborative document management and storage application where you may construct a knowledge base of content for your web portal. It is available as a self-managed single server SaaS option or as a self-managed enterprise edition from Atlassian.

As a relatively new platform, it lacks some of the capabilities of its more established rivals. It also requires CMDB and reporting tools from a third party.

Source: invensislearning.com

Continue reading

Ever Wondered What Cloud Computing Is? Let’s Dive Into It

Cloud Computing is the greatest technology developed in recent decades that paved the way for all other technological development. Individuals and business organizations use it to make the job easy and fast. It delivers most of the services online, and hence the benefits it offers are also more. Other technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Blockchain, and others, also use it. The following sections will discuss cloud computing in detail with its types and benefits. In addition, uplift your career in DevOps because DevOps Master Certification training is an advanced level course for the individuals/professionals and organizations that look ahead to gain a thorough understanding of DevOps skills, knowledge, and principles.

Cloud Computing – Definition

Cloud Computing is the concept of providing various services over the internet. It transforms the computing infrastructure into an easier and more accessible manner. Moreover, we can easily access applications remotely, store them remotely, and move everything to the cloud-based services. The base of cloud computing is the internet. If you have internet access, you can access all your needs remotely. It is mainly based on the Information Technology resources available physically. The basic concept is to locate all the infrastructure in any different location and access it easily and at any time. Many organizations prefer to move to cloud computing, considering its advantages. In conclusion, it reduces the cost of purchasing different computing components on their own.

Cloud computing is a method of gaining access to actual data centers, servers, storage, computing power, databases, networking components, etc. It’s a capsule that contains all of the infrastructural components. You can access them as per the requirement. In addition, there are many different cloud service vendors in the market, and you have to choose based on your needs and cost. Above all, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure are the top performers in the market with experience and features available.

How Does Cloud Computing Work?

Have you ever wondered how this is possible and how the data and applications are stored?

Yes, there will be a server and storage location located remotely, which you can access through remote credentials. The access provided will be free or paid, depending on the usage. A simple example of cloud computing is ‘Google Drive.’ It is an application most of us will use. The server and storage for Google Drive are located in some locations, and we are accessing the storage and application with the login credentials. Moreover, the front-end application will help access the server and storage stored in a different location. You will not have any private server, and it will be a shared server provided as per the plan you have selected.

For example, Google provides 15GB of storage for free, and if you need more space, you have to choose the plan and pay according to that. The plans are based on monthly rental and annual rental. Thus, this is somewhat related to renting a house. Suppose you think yes, then you got the point right. If the more facilities and space are available, the more you need to pay. Likewise, you need to pay more if you need more space and features.

Who Uses Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is used for both personal as well as organizational needs. To answer who does need cloud computing, you need to know where it is helpful. It widely uses software development, data backup, storage, disaster recovery, virtual desktops for employees, data analytics, etc. In addition, every department in the business organization needs cloud computing to make things easier. Apart from Information Technology, cloud computing is used in various industries like manufacturing, medical, education, gaming & entertainment, agriculture, etc.

The actual need for cloud computing is to reduce the organization’s space, teams, employees, etc., to run the organizational needs. Business organizations demand cloud computing for all their needs. Irrespective of the organization’s size, the processes used are the same. In addition, it helps organizations rent the computing needs from the cloud vendors. With this, the need to set up specialized infrastructure will reduce. Organizations pay as per the need of the features and the usage. In conclusion, the implementation and the maintenance costs of the server, storage, network, and database are reduced.

Types of Cloud Computing

While dealing with the types of cloud computing, two concepts are available. One is the services they offer, and the other is the deployment model. Each of these has three basic categories described in the following.

Cloud Computing Services

It is divided into three categories based on the usage and features provided to the users. The following sections explain three categories in brief.

Infrastructure as a Service

Infrastructure as a Service or IaaS is a cloud service that delivers infrastructure or computational components through the cloud. With the help of the internet, users can easily access the computing components like servers, storage, and networking.

Platform as a Service

Platform as a Service or PaaS is a cloud service in which the computing platform is provided to the users through the internet. In addition, software development tools and other requirements are provided for the developers with which they can develop the software application.

Software as a Service

Software as a Service or SaaS is a cloud service that delivers software applications through an online cloud platform. Most of us use SaaS daily, as Google Drive is an example. It’s also useful to access software applications from a remote location.

Cloud Deployment Models

Depending on the ways of deploying the cloud services in an organization, cloud services are categorized into three models. Following are the cloud deployment models, which give a brief explanation.

Private Cloud

A single business organization uses cloud deployment, and only internal employees have access to the resources. The services and other infrastructure will be privately inside the organization’s premises.

Public Cloud

It is a cloud deployment model for delivering cloud services to the users via the web browser. Third-party cloud service providers will handle this public Cloud where users can access the resources with a single login.

Hybrid Cloud

A hybrid cloud is a cloud model that combines both a public cloud model and a private cloud model. The organization can select between the services and infrastructure to provide for the internal employees and the other users with this hybrid Cloud.

Major Benefits of Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing offers several benefits for both personal usage and business organizations. Following are some of the major benefits of cloud computing.

◉ Cost-saving is the primary benefit as the need for installing servers and storage reduce

◉ As everything is accessible via the internet, the accessibility and the speed highly increases

◉ The organization’s productivity increases with the increase in access, speed, and features with cloud computing

◉ The computing performance is improved compared to traditional computing modes

◉ With cloud computing, your business will be highly reliable along with the boost in security aspects

Source: invensislearning.com

Continue reading

IT Strategy Needs to Focus More on Employee Productivity

A search on the internet for the 2022 concerns of CIOs and other senior technology leaders turns up an interesting list. One might assume that the latest technologies are getting their attention, but instead, many of the topics they’re concerned about relate to people. Not surprisingly, high on the list, we see:

◉ The “Great Resignation” and competition for top talent

◉ The emergence of the “hybrid work environment”

◉ The skillset mismatch between current skills and needed skills for the future

◉ Burnout.

When we do see technology-related factors, they’re the competing priorities of Digital Transformation and cost reduction, with much of the latter aimed at IT support.

Self-service portals as a cost-reduction example

In many cases, IT is focused on reducing costs by getting people to use a self-service portal and closing the email channel — and telephone in some cases — without checking whether people would be happier to use the portal than they are using email. If we think about it, email is a good channel for employees. It’s easy. You can use it on your mobile, you can add attachments, and everyone knows how to add pictures so screenshots can be attached.

However, in reality, there’s often no gain for IT, end-users are less happy, and there have been even more reassignments for the portal tickets than there are from email. These reassignments cause delays, and delays mean continued interruption and loss of productivity and increased end-user unhappiness.

Unfortunately, IT is pushing people in a direction that appears on the surface to be beneficial to IT, without thinking about the whole end-user journey and its consequences for the entire organization. Those consequences are most often seen in the loss of employee productivity.

Using IT Experience Management to improve employee productivity

Gartner research says that IT Experience Management is now done by 5% of enterprises and in four years it’ll be 50%. Importantly, CIOs and IT directors can make informed decisions about where to best focus their efforts and money if they have good data on what really helps end-users be productive.

In 2019, Forrester surveyed 14,000 information workers across industries. Among all the factors included in the resulting Forrester Employee Experience Index report were six items specifically related to IT:

◉ Belief that their IT department helps them be productive

◉ Sufficient training on the technology they use

◉ Technology that helps them work on what’s important

◉ Technology that helps them easily collaborate

◉ Easy access to the information they need

◉ Belief that they have the right technology and equipment.

This list might sound easy enough to meet, but does your IT organization understand how well it’s meeting these productivity-related factors for employees?

4 tips for driving productivity-improving decisions with employee data

Instead of writing off feedback from end-users as “complaining,” we can learn from what they are telling us if we start listening as well as looking at data. This experience-based insight will allow your IT organization to focus its improvement efforts on “what matters most.” First, for employee productivity. Second, as a result, for business operations and outcomes.

If your organization is wanting to leverage experience data to improve IT service delivery and support in pursuit of better business operations and outcomes, then the first steps in collecting and analyzing the data are important. These include:

1. Starting with a baseline. Don’t do anything in terms of improvement until you’ve established where your IT organization currently is. This doesn’t need to be a be a great leap into the experience measurement waters. Instead, it can start with some focused attention and questioning. What are the top 10 issues end-users are contacting your service desk about? Build a survey based on this top 10 to ask the end-users which of these issues is stifling their productivity the most. By cross-tabbing with existing service management data, analyze the result to determine where to focus improvement. Then measure the effects of the reduced interruption on employee productivity. This data starts to offer previously unseen insights into how end-users feel about the IT organization and its capabilities and can be used to help justify further investments in the capture and analysis of experience data and information.

2. Considering ways to expand and accelerate the effort so trends become apparent and measures are done closer to real-time. The baseline mentioned above is merely a snapshot in time. It’s also highly focused, retrospective, and perhaps IT-led, rather than being a true reflection of everything affecting end-user productivity. The real power of experience data comes from having a consistent, real-time stream of feedback that not only brings statistical validity but also an immediacy of response that provides more accurate feedback and the ability to address identified issues swiftly.

3. Establishing consistent ways to analyze the experience data so that it informs strategic decisions about where and how resources should be used to improve the technical environment. There’s a wealth of data and insight available with experience-focused feedback and, in many ways, fully understanding what it means is like peeling the proverbial onion. Moving on from the immediately obvious insights to correlating data sets to uncover new trends, issues, and strategic needs.

4. Continually refining the data-gathering and analysis process to discover whether, where, and by how much productivity is being increased. Plus, what the results are suggesting about your current IT delivery and support model, specific applications that may need to be upgraded or replaced, and how and where automation and machine learning tools can eliminate unproductive time. This is where the discovered insights get turned into improvement-focused actions and the experience measurement continues to ascertain how the changes are affecting operations, services, experiences, and outcomes. When the changes aren’t delivering the expected improvements, the experience data can be used to understand why and what course correction is needed.

Experience data in action

To take a very basic example of how end-user experience can help drive IT decisions, think about the time it takes for a laptop to start up. Let’s say it takes 45 seconds now. IT can expend technical resources on figuring out how to optimize the settings and accelerate the startup time to 30 seconds, but what if this doesn’t matter? What if end-users are happy to refill their coffee while the computer starts up, and then set to work? If you ask end-users what is important to their productivity, they’ll tell you. Without this feedback and the insight it brings, your IT organization is likely to be focusing its improvement activity on the wrong things. Perhaps based on what it thinks is most important, or being led by the loudest voices. Either way, it’s suboptimal decision-making at best and very likely to be missing the opportunity to improve employee productivity.

End-users know what helps them to be productive, work on what’s important, collaborate with their colleagues, and have access to information they need. Using the available experience data to influence the strategy of IT can put the organization’s technology resources to the best, most effective use. It’s a win/win/win for employees, the IT organization, and the business as a whole.

Source: itsm.tools

Continue reading

What is ITSM? IT Service Management Explained

So, what is ITSM? There are many available definitions. For instance, ITIL – a globally-popular IT service management best practice framework – defines ITSM as:

“The implementation and management of quality IT services that meet the needs of the business”

It might be simpler though to think of it as:

“Improving business performance through better IT delivery”

ITSM is: IT delivered as service

Many people will automatically think of the ITIL processes – such as incident and change management – when ITSM is mentioned, but ITSM “thinking” is a very important part of designing and delivering superior IT services and support. With ITSM based on the concept of “IT delivered as a service” and the terms IT service delivery and IT support commonly used.

This means, rather than thinking of IT provision and management across the separate domains of network, compute, and storage, ITSM involves the delivery of IT services. For instance, an email or a managed desktop service. These IT services are the things that employees, or customers, use or consume (and know that they are doing so).

When it comes to understanding what ITSM is, it’s important not to get bogged down in the processes – with an important thing to remember that ITSM is about making your company’s IT, and business operations, better. That it’s ultimate aim is to improve business performance.

What is ITSM? The key ITSM capabilities in ITIL v3/2011

ITSM has many processes – for instance, ITIL v3/2011 had 26 and four “functions” (we’re now on ITIL 4 – see below), but it’s better to think of them as capabilities. These business processes enable IT departments or service providers to design, create, deliver, support, and manage IT services.

The most common of these processes are:

◉ Incident management – dealing with requests for help with IT issues, usually via an IT help desk or service desk

◉ Request fulfillment (service request management in ITIL 4) – dealing with requests for, and providing, new IT services, again via an IT help or service desk, and

◉ Change management (change enablement in ITIL 4) – the effective management of IT and business change.

If you’re interested in what the full 26 ITIL v3 ITSM processes/capabilities are, then here you go (and listed by ITIL book):

Service strategy:

1. Strategy management for IT services

2. Service portfolio management

3. Demand management

4. Financial management for IT services

5. Business relationship management

Service design:

1. Design coordination

2. Service level management

3. Service catalog management

4. Availability management

5. Capacity management

6. Supplier management

7. IT service continuity management

8. Information security management

Service transition:

1. Transition planning and support

2. Change evaluation

3. Change management

4. Release and deployment management

5. Service validation and testing

6. Service asset and configuration management

7. Knowledge management

Service operation:

1. Event management

2. Incident management

3. Request fulfillment

4. Problem management, including root cause analysis

5. Access management

Continual service improvement:

1. Continual service improvement (CSI) – the capabilities that allow organizations to continuously improve.

However, ITIL v3/2011 was refreshed in 2019-2020 to a new version – ITIL 4. This is detailed in the next section.

The key ITSM capabilities in ITIL 4

Much of this changed with the ITIL 4 release. These changes included that:

◉ The focus of ITIL 4 moved from service management

◉ ITIL 4 is centered on value creation, or “value co-creation”

◉ The 26 ITIL v3/2011 processes and four functions changed to ITIL 4’s 34 management practices

◉ The guiding principles introduced in 2016’s ITIL Practitioner Guide were updated and added.

ITIL 4’s 34 management practices are as follows:

General Management

1. Architecture management

2. Continual improvement

3. Information security management

4. Knowledge management

5. Measurement and reporting

6. Organizational change management

7. Portfolio management

8. Project management

9. Relationship management

10. Risk management

11. Service financial management

12. Strategy management

13. Supplier management

14. Workforce and talent management

Service Management

1. Availability management

2. Business analysis

3. Capacity and performance management

4. Change enablement

5. Incident management

6. IT asset management#

7. Monitoring and event management

8. Problem management

9. Release management

10. Service catalog management

11. Service configuration management

12. Service continuity management

13. Service design

14. Service desk

Technical Management

1. Deployment management

2. Infrastructure and platform management

3. Software development and management

Why ITSM is important

Often the why is more important than the what.

ITSM can help you, your IT team, and your organization as a whole, i.e. there are both IT and business benefits that will come from ITSM’s adoption and use.

When starting with ITSM, or more realistically building on what you already have, it’s good to create the business case for ITSM adoption rather than just approaching it as “a good thing to do.”

Importantly, though, it’s best not to paint it as a “business case for ITSM” but rather a business case to improve something, with ITSM the “means” rather than the “end.” For example, your company might want to leverage ITSM and ITIL to:

◉ Reduce operational IT costs

◉ Improve quality of service

◉ Increase customer satisfaction (for both internal and/or external customers)

◉ Improve governance or to reduce risk

◉ Increase competitive advantage through better IT enablement

◉ Offer improved flexibility or increased agility/speed of delivery for new IT services, or

◉ Something similar.

Plus, of course, it might want to receive benefits across multiple of these examples.

Benefitting from ITSM

ITSM-driven quality of service improvements could involve:

◉ Fewer, and better-managed, incidents – providing increased availability of IT and business services

◉ Increased business productivity – due to the higher IT service availability and quicker restoration of service for end-user IT issues

◉ Improved customer experience – related to both IT services and IT support.

Reducing the long-term cost of IT provision, management, and support (through ITSM) could involve:

◉ Improving efficiency – through the consistent use of best practice ITSM processes and fit-for-purpose ITSM technology

◉ Reducing IT wastage – through the better understanding and management of IT assets and services

◉ Reinvesting IT savings – to deliver new or improved IT services that ultimately improve business operations and results.

Reducing risk and improving governance through ITSM could involve:

◉ Remaining compliant – to both internal and external risk management requirements, through formal, and embedded, internal controls, and the ability to rely on and demonstrate their consistent application.

There are of course many other benefits of ITSM and ITIL, for both IT and the business as a whole, but hopefully these are enough to whet your appetite.

Digging deeper into the potential benefits

In these financially-conscious times, it’s worth digging deeper into how ITSM can save your IT team, and business, money.

Firstly, there’s “increased IT efficiency,” where ITSM principles and the use of fit-for-purpose ITSM technology can:

1. Provide technology-enabled process workflow and automation – removing labor-intensive manual processes, and improving collaboration and handovers between different people or teams

2. Result in the more-focused use of scarce IT people resources. Making for less admin, waiting, and even incident “fire-fighting” – and freeing this scarce resource for more strategic work

3. Support “service-based incident management” – allow IT support personnel to understand which IT issues have the most-significant business impact and thus the highest resolution priority (rather than dealing with issue on a first-in, first-out basis)

4. Save time and money through knowledge management – in particular, reusing incident-based knowledge, rather than having to “reinvent the wheel,” to reduce incident resolution times and, thus, the impact on end users or the business as a whole

5. Make reporting easier and increase both service and operational insight and value – moving from manual to system-generated reports, with the added benefit of trending over time.

Then there’s “increased business efficiency,” where ITSM principles and the use of fit-for-purpose ITSM technology can:

1. Reduce downtime – through the use of incident, problem, and availability management best practice in particular

2. Prevent serious, business-affecting issues before they occur – through problem management and capacity management best practice

3. Help businesses to quickly bounce back from critical, operations-affecting IT issues – through major incident management and IT service continuity best practice.

Finally, there’s “reduced wastage,” where ITSM principles and the use of fit-for-purpose ITSM technology can:

1. Help to reduce, if not eliminate, duplication of effort and rework – saving time and labor, and therefore unneeded costs, particularly through defined roles and responsibilities and the use of consistent, best-practice-inspired, processes

2. Ensure that any new IT spend is essential – though asset, configuration, and capacity management best practice

3. Prevent change-related or inconsistency-based wastage – avoiding the costs of “reworking” mistakes that’s ultimately the duplication, or even triplication, of effort.

4. Remove the costs of duplicate or obsolete applications, hardware, hosting, cloud services, and their support – again through asset management best practice.

Potential “quick wins”

Rome wasn’t built in a day – and the introduction of ITSM can take time, potentially significant time. So, it’s worth understanding not only what can be done to improve things (through ITSM) but also what to do first to deliver what many term “quick wins.” This is both the targeting of business pain-points and the realization of maximum benefit as early as possible.

Starting with “resource optimization,” there are a number of easy ways to start to eliminate IT waste:

1. Only buy what you need, or think that you need, through the use of formal capacity management activity best practice.

2. Reuse, rather than buying more, hardware or software using asset management, particularly for software licenses. Your IT estate could be a sea of software over-provision.

3. Reduce failed changes with better change management – have you ever stopped to think about how much failed changes cost your business? Even if just the adverse impact of change-related incidents.

4. Look for duplicate, underused, or even unused applications or IT services using asset management and service portfolio management. If your business has been through significant merger and acquisition activity, then you will most likely have, and be paying for, “two of everything.”

Then look to make “labor-saving changes”:

1. Automate as much as possible – especially the repetitive, low-“intelligence” tasks

2. Offer employee self-service capabilities backed by automation – to allow end users to serve/help themselves, and probably with a better customer experience

3. Use remote resolution tools – the less time spent traveling the better, plus it delivers a quicker resolution with most likely a better customer experience again

4. Do some problem management – prevent your service desk from having to waste time on repeat incidents.

Finally, instigate “ongoing business dialogues” – they could save you money and improve the perceived worth of corporate IT:

1. Get a better understanding of IT demand to better understand future business requirements and the impact on IT’s strategies and purchasing decisions. This can be via demand management, capacity management, service level management, or even business relationship management

2. Actively communicate IT success stories – as sadly IT’s successes often don’t sell themselves, unlike its failures

3. Discuss how service level targets stack up against the costs associated with delivering varying levels of service. For example, a slightly lower service level target might make a considerable IT and business saving with a minimal impact of perceived service.

This page only scratches the surface of what ITSM is, but hopefully it has given you an appreciation of what’s involved and how it can help. If you wish to read more about ITSM, then please check out the site.

Source: itsm.tools

Continue reading