ITIL (information technology and infrastructure library) and other IT service management (ITSM) literature is too theoretical, even for academics.
So says Professor Reinhardt Botha, a speaker at deliverIT, ITWeb's ITSM summit, which took place at The Forum, in Bryanston, yesterday. Many students fail to get a good grasp on how to implement ITSM principles because of the lack of practical experience they receive, he said.
Industry, business and education need to engage meaningfully to ensure that governance guidelines and technologies are understood, and then implemented, Botha emphasised.
Customers and technology will lead industry, not methodologies, said Barclay Rae, an international service management consultant and business manager, who also spoke at the deliverIT event.
Organisations need to adopt an outside-in approach and not an inside-out approach, thinking consumers will follow, he continued.
He says organisations need to answer three questions to see if they're on the right track in terms of service: Are you delivering what your customers need? Can the organisation demonstrate deliverables? And how would your customers respond if asked the same questions?
Tore Brynaa, BMC consultant, echoed these sentiments, saying people want an IT supermarket, a one-stop shop where they can get everything, and do anything. Self-service is vital in enabling customers, he said. IT needs to find out how to create platforms that give customers self-service tools that offer them the convenience they desire, he added.
ITSM is all about the customer and how IT relates, said Hannes Lategan from CA Southern Africa.
Simple guidance is what people want; real-world governance is what's needed, Rae concluded.
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