"Currently IT is still viewed as a cost center, a glass
house with staff working away in the dark," said HP
Suen, chairman of the IT Service Management Forum (itSMF)
Hong Kong Chapter organizing committee, and also manager
of IT operations at Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Suen is working with fellow committee members to try
and gain approval to establish the Hong Kong Chapter
of the itSMF and hopes to promote the benefits of IT
service management best practices to Hong Kong firms.
"IT management must move away from the old days of
simply filing and printing, executing, bringing systems
up and down with little consideration of business,"
Suen stressed. "Now IT is about supporting services
and serving the business."
The itSMF has chapters worldwide and oversees the IT
Infrastructure Library (ITIL) set of best practices
that originated in the UK. The framework is a set of
books and references that detail steps and processes
for incident, change, configuration and problem management.
Many large firms have used the framework to help cut
costs and improve IT service delivery.
ITIL has been popular in Europe, with interest in
the US and also in Australia picking up dramatically.
Forrester research predicts that, "2005 will the year
that ITIL goes mainstream."
While Gartner notes that "fully adopting an IT service
management strategy can cut an organization's cost of
IT ownership by about 50 percent."
A new chapter
Suen points out that while certifications such as Capability
Maturity Model (CMM) for software development and the
ISO business standards are commonplace in Hong Kong,
there is a distinct lack of best practices for day to
day IT operations management.
A set of courses can be taken by individuals to gain
an itSMF certification, which Suen believes is important
in getting IT managers and staff, "onto the same page,
when discussing IT management issues." The itSMF Manager's
certificate is offered in Hong Kong starting this year
and Suen himself recently passed the examination with
distinction.
While following the guidelines set in ITIL and getting
certification are useful steps in getting better IT
service management, firms should bear in mind that "they
should set their own best practices," said Suen.
He observes that ITIL is something that should be modified
for each environment, with firms finding ways to adopt
and improve the guidelines set in ITIL.
When approved, the itSMF HK Chapter will arrange seminars
and work closely with HK firms to get certified and
deliver more effective IT service management.
Help on hand
Firms should also look to vendors for help in getting
services and technology that can improve management
processes.
Suen credits vendors for bringing IT service management
and ITIL to the attention of IT managers, while Forester
also notes that more vendor direction has made the best
practices system clearer to CIOs.
Vendors can offer ITIL-compliant products which help
automate and set processes to ensure reporting and escalation
of incidents to the relevant parties who are tasked
with taking action when required.
ITIL is likely to become more relevant as vendors start
using common terminology, and reporting methods in their
management products. Vendors can also help firms to
understand their processes, identify gaps and aid in
filling those gaps. But Suen stresses that firms must
themselves put in the required effort to identify and
rework their processes.
Also he advises managers to challenge vendors and consultants.
"Don't be afraid to question the experts," he said.
"You shouldn't blindly go by the book."
When examining IT service management, traditional service-level
agreements (SLAs) must go beyond basic system performance
levels. IT service management requires SLAs relate to
money terms, and factor in capacity management and business
continuity, according to Suen.
Communicating service levels to business managers is
also key to better IT service delivery. "It must be
fully aware of business processes and requirements,
yet business managers themselves must have a clear understanding
themselves of their processes," said Suen. "How often
does IT ask business what the requirements are and they
are unable to detail their needs?"
Effective IT service management really is a joint effort,
noted Suen. "Of course IT people must be aware of the
business, but the users themselves must articulate their
business needs clearly and have an appreciation of what
IT can do for them."
(Last updated: 28th June, 2005)
Source: This passage was provied by Computerworld Hong
Kong.
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