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Foster-Melliar`s ITIL breakfast oversubscribed as corporate SA grapples with IT service management


Johannesburg, 09 Mar 2005

Corporate SA is hungry for vendor-neutral, insightful information on IT service management and ITIL and the role it plays in managing IT services and increasing the value IT organisations can add to the business.

Foster-Melliar will host a breakfast session with around 100 guests representing blue chip South African and multinational companies on Thursday, 10 March 2005. In little less than a week after the announcement was sent to guests, the event was fully subscribed.

According to David Anderson, CEO of Foster-Melliar, corporate SA is crying for a solution to manage IT services effectively. "We often hear clients say they have service level agreements in place and that they are being met, yet somehow their customers still aren`t happy with the service. The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) addresses challenges like these and provides a comprehensive framework for organisations to adopt and adapt to suit their unique requirements."

The ITIL was the brainchild of the UK government`s Office of Government Commerce (OGC) in the late 1980s. The OGC called for insight from industry leaders as well as leading hardware and software vendors in an attempt to find a standard, consistent and repeatable approach to managing IT services.

"The result of this exercise was the collective knowledge of hundreds of individuals as to the best way in their experience, to build, deploy and manage IT infrastructure, applications and services. The library, originally consisting of some 30 books, quickly grew in popularity and adoption, and was fast on its way to becoming a de facto standard. From 1999 through 2001 saw the library under go a major revision, and Version 2 of the library was condensed into the seven books that today make up the IT Infrastructure library," says Anderson.

IT service management, an area of ITIL focusing specifically on the delivery and support of IT services, is housed in two books in the library - Service Delivery and Service Support. Service Delivery focuses on the tactical aspect of planning and negotiating for IT service. Service Support is structured around the more operational aspect, supporting everyday IT service delivery.

"This is what makes ITIL`s service management framework one of the most widely accepted worldwide. But as many companies soon find out, it`s not a bed of roses," adds Anderson. "We know the value ITIL and ITSM can provide to an organisation is immense. We believe the more our customers understand about ITIL and its challenges, the more successful they will be in their own adoption, which is why these communication sessions are invaluable to all concerned."

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Foster-Melliar

Foster-Melliar is the leading local provider and pioneer of ITIL and IT service management in SA. Driven towards optimising IT services within organisations, Foster-Melliar offers a host of solutions to assist companies capitalise on their IT investments. Foster-Melliar focuses on an end-to-end service management solution in the form of assessments, training and coaching. FM Software, a division of Foster-Melliar, boasts a broad range of software products that assists organisations to manage and control their infrastructure and in doing so, dramatically improves the efficiencies and effectiveness of their IT services while proactively managing their costs.

For more information on Foster-Melliar, visit www.foster-melliar.co.za.

Editorial contacts

Teresa Settas
Teresa Settas Communications
(011) 894 2767
teresa@tscommunications.co.za
David Anderson
Foster-Melliar
(011) 785 9900