It has become blatantly obvious that ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) skills are no longer an interesting resume add-on but an essential job prerequisite.
In fact, according to a recent survey by ITjobWatch.co.uk, there has been a 21% increase in UK ITIL job ads compared to the same period last year.
ITIL and (the very audible) ISO/IEC 20000 skills have become all-important service management enablers which are now applicable on a worldwide scale.
A recent Service Management Forum (itSMF) conference held in Sydney, Australia confirms this sentiment. It was generally accepted that IT service management governs service delivery and support, and that certification standards such as the ITIL framework and ISO/IEC 20000 are increasingly used as best practice benchmarks in the industry.
With this in mind how are we faring?
Firstly, the South African and Middle Eastern adoption of ITIL have been significant in the last 24 to 36 months and ISO/IEC 20000 is beginning to pick up pace as well. Furthermore, our government, like many governments worldwide, now requires critical ITIL adherence and ISO/IEC 20000 certification to be in place with their partners before they start conducting business.
One step at a time?
The question then remains; can we compete with our European counterparts when it comes to our ITIL skill-set? Well, for one, we`ve had a head start; we`ve been using mature frameworks and processes from the word go; the Europeans have had all the pain in drafting and perfecting them over many years. Another major plus for us is that just a few years into our service management evolution and we now have ISO/IEC 20000 against which we can have our work tested - our timing has been very good.
Secondly, local companies and even those in the Middle East tend to be less sceptical when it comes to ITIL. Again we can now offer them mature, audible frameworks and processes.
Our massive advantage is that our growth has been radical - we`re getting into the game at ITIL revision two and the soon to be released revision three while European ITIL implementers have had to pioneer through the first bumpy phases.
It is also important to remember that we`re all working with the same material; a published framework with no exceptions. And the goal always remains the same - improving companies` service delivery and now with ISO/IEC 20000 we have a means to audit what we have achieved.
The bottom line?
In South Africa we have two very pertinent service management challenges, particularly in light of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
For one, we need to radically and rapidly up-skill the base segment of the population; again we`re in the fortunate position that we can do this against a recognised framework.
Secondly, we have to dispel the perception that our service delivery cannot compete with global standards. Again, working with the right partners who offer critical and certifiable service management skills will enable companies to their take service delivery to the next, globally-accepted level.
Fortunately what the ITIL framework offers is a service management environment that continues to dynamically improve itself. Once you`ve educated the marketplace it should run itself.
Business abroad
Stepping away from our local challenges, with an increasing number of South African business providing services to the Middle East, it`s also important that we look how we can meet its service management needs.
If you look at the current Middle Eastern marketplace, there are two key customers to consider: multinationals and home-grown industries.
Both offer their own unique challenges - multinationals for one demand that their operating standards meet those set by their global operations, while home-grown markets, particularly those moving away from the oil industry, require best practices that will enable future business growth.
As a South African company you should therefore consider the above and provide ITIL-based and ISO/IEC 20000 skills that aren`t just tailored for our own, unique challenges.
The good news is that our IT service management endeavours are well on their way - we`ve made enormous progress and should in all honesty not feel threatened by any other country but continue to drive ITIL skills throughout the marketplace.
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