ITIL will get the job done

Haydn Pinnell, MD of Gallium (an EOH company), says IT service management (ITSM) is a journey, a quest to deliver improved service. Unplanned journeys can be fraught with the unexpected, but those that are well deliberated and supported by expert guidance can deliver exceptional experiences. And, exceptional customer experiences are, after all, what business is all about today.

He says that since ITSM is an approach to IT management, there isn't and cannot be a single path to its adoption. Regardless of the path chosen, an organisation should understand that the road to ITSM success demands a structured approach and responsiveness to shifting priorities along the way.

“The demand for business-critical systems to run at peak performance, enable strategic changes, and drive revenue, are escalating. Now CEOs are crunching the numbers while trying to prove IT's value to the business. Evolving IT into a true business partner requires the adoption of an ITSM framework, investment in the right types of technology, development and implementation of the correct IT processes, and training people to apply these technologies and processes properly. It is also crucial that this framework is able to adapt to changing business needs without sacrificing service quality.”

While there is no “one size fits all” approach to fine-tuning service management practices, Pinnell says most IT departments are now applying ITSM best practices and standards to make lasting enhancements to their operations. The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is the proven way for IT organisations to align with the business, control costs, improve quality, and balance resource allocations. Trends indicate that there has been a dramatic increase in ITIL adoption over the last few years, as businesses actively seek out means to secure that all-important competitive edge.

ITIL is the industry's bible; the ultimate handbook on how to manage IT as a business in order to deliver competitive advantage. Its guidance spans all IT activities from strategy to operations, and the purpose of its comprehensive direction is to deliver on four primary goals:

* Align IT activities and projects to business requirements;
* Control IT costs;
* Improve IT service quality; and
* Balance resource allocations.

While achieving goals, these may seem like a tall order, but Pinnell says ITIL has the experience to deliver. “Once of interest to a minority of businesses, implementation of ITSM best practices is now mainstream. One thing is clear - businesses that are not in the process of implementing these or using them to improve current operations will be at an inherent disadvantage compared to their competitors.”