IT service: Who makes it happen?

Conn Wood, training director at Foster-Melliar, shares his views on IT service in SA, the current state of affairs in this area, roles and responsibilities. Foster-Melliar has been instrumental in creating an awareness and adoption of IT service management (ITSM) in the South African ICT industry, a sector that continues to come under fire for poor performance. Conn elaborates.

What does your organisation`s structure look like? If it`s typical of most companies, a chief information officer (CIO) will head the IT department supported by a chief technology officer (CTO) and increasingly an information security officer (ISO). The third level of management incorporates heads of strategy, research and development, architecture, development and operations.

The CTO and ISO positions are fairly new, evolving in line with the organisation`s changing needs. The CIO is charged with ensuring the company`s information technology infrastructure is in place and sound, enabling IT to carry out its core competencies and meet its goals, a duty that encompasses functions such as desktop architecture and support, network implementation, software development and information management.

The CIO is assisted by the CTO who oversees the design of suitable technology solutions and policies. The ISO completes the trio ensuring the smooth functioning of information security throughout the organisation. To do this successfully, the ISO relies on the line function of organisational departments ranging from strategy to research and development architecture, development and operations.

On the third management layer, each of these individuals is naturally concerned with what happens within their own departments. For example - development`s prime concern lies in executing, developing and implementing, new projects on time and on budget, while operations focuses on turn-around and operational efficiencies. While this is to be expected, it has the undesirable effect of creating a `silo` mentality within the organisation - department leaders are often unaware of issues affecting other organisational divisions until it is too late, and their department has felt the impact too.

IT within the modern organisation has changed to meet the business challenge - it`s now considered an equal business partner. Traditional roles have evolved and developed to meet business needs that have also changed. In today`s climate it`s not surprising that the roles of the chief technology officer and information security officer have assumed great importance.

But what about the focus on IT service - providing and supporting end-to-end? Today`s world is all about service. Most organisations define service either as one of their key differentiators, focus areas or core competencies. It is fair to say that many businesses are totally dependant upon their IT infrastructure and IT services and without these the business would not exist. In line with this, do today`s corporations understand the importance of ensuring their IT service levels provide the foundations on which business can in turn offer excellent service? In fact, do they fully understand what the management of good IT service entails? Where is the overall emphasis on the provision of IT service and quality of overall service?

It may be argued that service quality is the responsibility of all IT team members. However, more commonly, this duty falls to the service level managers who create and control service level agreements. Unfortunately, these managers are often buried in a lower layer of the organisational structure. They try to achieve their objectives from the operational silos - typically network, mainframe, midrange, desktop support, service desk and development. Sadly, these centres of excellence do not concentrate on service - rather, they are technologists busy with operating and developing, and the result is divergence in objectives and outcomes.

Business often has a service director, but frequently this role appears restricted to business functions and has little impact on IT functions. This means there is no end-to-end approach. The solution? Introduce a director with similar responsibilities to oversee IT.

This situation can be likened to the structure and problems formerly experienced with security-related issues - everyone has a role but no one is accountable. That`s why the introduction of an ISO and a matrix approach is important to enable a high-level focus on facilitating co-ordination across the entire IT infrastructure, as well as the development and implementation of appropriate levels of IT security for the organisation.

Similarly, why not introduce a service management officer (SMO), also with a matrix approach across the centres of excellence? This ensures the creation of an end-to-end view of IT service provision across the entire IT organisation. Service management encourages the adoption of a holistic approach. Potential problems can be identified and addressed immediately - no matter where they may occur.

Why then have very few organisations thought to appoint a service manager at a very senior level? Because few companies realise the importance of a unified, comprehensive end-to-end approach to IT service management. Just as corporates remained oblivious to the importance of end-to-end information security until the tragic events of 9/11, so they have yet to realise why IT service management should be a priority. At present, few organisations have a designated IT executive solely responsible for IT service. And as no one owns the function, it tends to slip through the cracks.

Ultimately this creates a vicious circle - until IT service management is viewed as a priority, it will remain a subset of other departmental responsibilities. Then again, it`s unlikely that such a position will be created until IT service management is recognised as the organisational essential it is.

But this is likely to happen in the very near future. I predict that, just as CTOs and ISOs have become integral to an IT organisation`s structure, so to will SMOs - service management officers. It`s ironic that most companies claim that service is their top priority, considering the current organisational approach.

Why have organisations shied away from this vital function until now? Perhaps they feel intimidated because service has traditionally been viewed as a separate function, particularly in the IT sphere. Once it becomes an integrated part of the company`s activities, however, it will become more accessible - organisations will see how it affects every aspect of each company division. Do IT organisations understand the precise meaning of IT service? Perhaps not yet, but should they adopt the SMO approach they will soon see how IT service management is central to meeting the needs of their customers and ultimately bridging the gap between business and IT.