Service Catalog - A visible ITIL initiative that’s gaining ground
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.
Business Case Development: This is never easy task; however, in the case of SC development, improved metrics and associated ?hard? dollars are viable. More on this in an upcoming blog.
Service Quality: Clear messaging and expectations of services (on both the provider and customer sides), efficient selection and faster fulfillment will create improvement in service quality.
Internal Marketing: Progress, even if incremental in the short term, can be displayed and marketed by IT organizations. Visible and measured results in the near term are critical to maintain momentum for change and, perhaps more importantly, funding for any ITIL initiative. SC can demonstrate short-term visible wins to upper management. Indeed, this is important!
First Tactical Step to Cost Transparency and Charge Backs: Based on the success of the Service Catalog initiative, many organizations strive to influence and measure purchasing behavior through cost transparency or in direct charge backs to business units.
Service Catalog, although only a sub-set of the Service Level Management element of ITIL, is really moving up as a priority within our client organizations. More tidbits on the business case drivers in the next blog.
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