One of the biggest challenges in implementing a ‘unified’ IT Change Management process is crossing the gap that often exists (very large in some organizations) between the infrastructure and applications groups. Depending on the organization, this gap is emphasized by the fact that each group has independently chosen a different enterprise application to automate the Change Management process.
The application group most often chooses a change application from a vendor whose roots are in (not surprising) application management. While this seems to make sense, it is important to be wary of vendors who have bolted on a less-then-optimal Change Management module or solution to their core suite of application management products.
Likewise, the infrastructure side often chooses a Change Management solution that is a module or part of their current Service Management platform (both Remedy and Peregrine offer a Change Management module?). The danger here is that what works well for infrastructure changes (i.e., a server move) might not work so well for the application group (i.e., development of a new business application).
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As we speak to clients about their 2006 priorities, Service Catalog is gaining ground as one of the top initiatives in the ITIL environment. In fact, in a recent Evergreen survey of 127 IT managers, 37% of respondents said that Service Catalog was an important activity for 2006. Logically, we also perceive that SC software vendors are enjoying increased visibility too. Why? Well, each IT organization will have its own particular reasons for pushing SC to the top of the list, but below are some common drivers that Evergreen is observing in the marketplace:
Business Alignment: This is always a great buzz word among ITIL consultants, but in the case of Service Catalog, one can easily understand how SC does in fact ?align? IT services with the requirements of customers. Just the act of crafting pre-defined service definitions and/or bundles based on actual demand makes the end-user selection, procurement and delivery vastly improved. Also, an argument may be made for how increased IT agility can drive performance of market facing units.
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We would like to announce that Tony Iannetta (Real World ITIL Blogger) and Don Casson (Business Value of IT Blogger) will be attending the itSMF Regional Event in Minneapolis and will be available to talk in booth #317.
Tony will be also presenting at the event. Tony’s presentation, Configuration Management: Learning from Your Peers, will analyze the commonalities in three Fortune 500 organizations? CMDB projects and provide guidance on strategy, planning and execution best practices for other organizations looking to implement similar projects.
The organizations examined, from the healthcare, insurance and retail banking industries, showcase commonalities crucial to effective implementations that observers can apply to their own organizations.
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Here is what has happened on Evergreen’s Blog for this Week:
The Top 10 Post on Evergreen’s Blogs:
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Hello All,
I was thinking about the business value of ITIL (surprise), and an article from the January 2006 issue of itSMF’s Research Newsletter caught my eye. Here’s the headline: “Heavy Hitters VISA and BP Cite Significant ITIL Benefits.”
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I’ve recently completed consulting engagements with two clients where I’ve been asked to assess the relationship between Change and Configuration Management. In each case the companies I worked with are planning to implement Configuration Management, with the ambitious goal of developing an enterprise Configuration Management Database (yes, the magic CMDB). Fortunately, both organizations have realistic goals and expectations and realize this cannot be achieved overnight. They also understand that successful Configuration Management is dependent on Change Management, and thus asked Evergreen to assess their current Change Management processes and tools with respect to their ability to support a CMDB.
During these engagements I reviewed some of my ITIL materials and also read a book on CMII to refresh my memory on some of the Change and Configuration Management theories. While both knowledge sets provide useful guides and theories on how best to implement Configuration and Change processes, neither provides the details necessary to know how best to apply the theories in the real world using today?s technologies. Some of the questions both the companies I’m helping are struggling with are:
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Evergreen Strategies is a monthly research e-newsletter designed to aid IT Management engaged in transforming complex IT Operations.
“IT Management is working to align IT with the business, improve compliance, agility, service quality, efficiency and accuracy; while also reducing risk and costs. Much of the challenge lies in IT’s very nature: a structure of technical silos, which naturally conflicts with enterprise level activities.” said Don Casson, President and CEO of Evergreen. While the rising tide of compliance has stressed IT organizations and will continue to do so, for those who are looking deeply it also shines a light on opportunity. By reviewing IT processes and controls, driven at first by Sarbanes Oxley, a significant amount of inefficiency and unnecessary redundancy was uncovered in the way IT processes its work end to end.
According to Don Casson, it’s simple logic. “In a large IT organization, there are dozens of activities they perform literally thousands of times every year. Yet, very few of these activities have ever been base-lined end to end in IT and then streamlined and simplified. Common sense dictates that terrific opportunity for improvement lies untapped.”
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We are announcing the release of a white paper analyzing the results of our latest ITIL Maturity Survey. This white paper provides an analysis of the overall market trends shaping the future direction of ITIL based on the survey data and our experience consulting in large, complex organizations. The data also suggests key areas for improvement for ITIL practitioners and hidden opportunities that can be exploited to deliver business value and alignment.
The survey was conducted at the 10th International IT Service Management Conference hosted by Pink Elephant and was completed by IT managers, directors and executives from 108 companies. Respondents answered questions about current IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) processes and best practices in use. The survey focused on the following:
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If you have been keeping up with all the rhetoric about the latest Configuration Management technologies, you will find many vendors sharing their insights into how Configuration Management technologies should work. They typically start with ITIL’s definition of Configuration Management and then develop their white-paper argument of why their particular approach to the business problem fits best. Yes, the holy wars have begun. What should an IT professional do first to get his or her arms around the problem? Should the focus be on technology or process and data? Because there are no real standards for the technology, how does one know what is really needed to be successful? Here is what I recommend:
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