ITSM Newsletter Volume 3

Preface
Last month we discussed in detail a concept called ITSM Managed Services. In essence, we presented a solution offering that is part in-sourcing and part out-sourcing that if done in the correct proportions and fashion can be a "win-win" for both the ITSM Managed Services Provider and the customer.

Introduction
This month's newsletter will present those other necessary infrastructure areas needed for the assessment, planning, implementation, and ongoing support of ITSM service provisioning.

The Need for ITSM Support Resources and Expertise
As an increased number of organizations begin to focus on best practices for managing IT service and look to implementing ITSM, issues of developing and maintaining the appropriate support resources and expertise become critical.

The focus of an ITSM implementation effort is to enable IT to be an enterprise wide service provider that is aligned with business. This certainly requires best practice resource and expertise internal to IT but additionally interaction and inclusion of expertise outside of IT is needed.

Typically, an ITSM implementation effort begins with an assessment that will qualify and quantify a set of baseline maturity levels across 5 perspective areas of people, process, technology, organization, and integration. Subsequently a determination of some future desired state is done, a "roadmap" to achieve it is developed, and finally the steps required to implement the roadmap is planned and the project is initiated.

Due to the scope and complexity of any ITSM implementation effort, a significant amount of resources and level of expertise is required. However, it is commonplace that the effort is undertaken using whatever internal IT manpower resources and expertise are available. From its inception, ITSM requires dedicated resources with sufficient expertise for the duration of the effort in order to ensure success. Even in organizations that meet these criteria tactically, it is typical that strategic ITSM efforts experience a decline in commitment due to resource and expertise shortage issues that arise since the timeframe is too long.

In this scenario, the resultant ITSM project is unsuccessful or abandoned entirely and any initial findings that are produced either remain static or change minimally over time losing value and applicability.

A critical factor to help ensure a successful ITSM implementation from a tactical perspective is to dedicate sufficient resources and expertise from both within IT and the business areas; a major way to help ensure that IT is a successful and effective enterprise wide service provider is to retain these resources and expertise at sufficient levels on an ongoing basis.

Additional success factors include the following:
   • Commitment: of management as well as resources and expertise as previously mentioned
   • Coordination: between and across all appropriate areas and levels of the organization, business units, and IT
   • Cooperation: both formally and informally among all appropriate areas involved
   • Communication: formalized, on a specific timetable, among all appropriate areas involved

RL Consulting Announces New ITSM Tools and Workshops

Utilizing SolutionMethod™ proprietary questions and evaluation processes, RL Consulting employs 3 automated tools; ITSM Assessment Worksheet, ITSM ROI Worksheet, and ITSM Implementation Readiness Worksheet.

1, 2, and 3 Day ITSM Workshops that offer a broad range of training beginning with Management level, through Strategy and Planning, to Implementation.

To Learn More About These Tools and Workshops and How They Can Help You - Click Here -

Find Out About Our 4 Week ITSM Maturity Assessment Service
and How It Can Assist You - Click Here -

The Need for ITSM Infrastructure Support
There are several areas outside of those typically found in ITSM and ITIL methods and best practices that help ensure or are critical to the success of service management efforts. In some cases these other areas are identified and included as a result of an organization's specific requirements or their need or desire to attain a higher or required level of service management maturity.

Since these areas are directly interrelated and affected by service management and in most cases support, interface, and impact it, they are referred to as ITSM infrastructure support areas.

These areas include but are not limited to the following:
   • Project Management: the ability to identify, assign, and manage manpower, cost, and time is critical to any organization and the potential success of any effort undertaken.
   • Knowledge Management: the ability to gather, store, manage, and selectively make available appropriate and necessary information, where and when it is needed is critical to any organization. It can effectively accommodate methods, processes, technology, templates, documents, etc. that are portable, refreshable, re-useable, and applicable.
   • Quality Assurance: the ability to ensure that methods and processes are in place such that the results of any effort are of the highest possible quality, achieving and exceeding the requirements specified while maintaining or exceeding cost effectiveness.
   • Security Management : the ability to identify, assign, and manage that given the appropriate authority; anyone has access to information from any place at any time if applicable. This is critical to any organization.
   • Risk Management: the ability to mitigate, manage, minimize, or eliminate risk and the factors that affect it.
   • Education and Training: the ability to determine, identify, develop, and disseminate information and knowledge for and to the appropriate people to maximize effectiveness, use, and applicability.

Is Your Company Triple "A" Rated?
   • Aware - Of internal and external factors that could impact your business
   • Adaptable - To change the focus of your company's resources and expertise depending on changes in internal and external factors
   • Agile - To focus your company's resources and expertise effectively and efficiently in the quickest manner possible

What if you could do this proactively?

RL Consulting Introduces:
The Proactive Business Model, Realization of Benefits,
SAGA Business Strategy, and Enterprise Infrastructure Architecture

Leveraging Knowledge Management to Optimize Decision Support Systems Proactively
One step beyond IT Service Management,
One Generation beyond Information Systems
Downloads
White Papers:
   » SLA Description and Templates
   » Consolidation Questionnaires
   » Service Continuity Methods
   » Project Management Practices
   » Developing a Communication Plan
   » Data Management Process
   » Proactive Business Model
   » Realization of Benefits
   » SAGA Business Strategy
   » Enterprise Infrastructure Architecture

Service Briefs:
   » ITSM Maturity Assessment
   » Incident and Problem Management
   » Service Continuity
   » Configuration and Change Management
   » Service Level Management
   » Capacity Management
   » Availability Management
   » Release Management

- Click Here -

Additional Information
Visit www.itsm.info to learn about ITSM, IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), and SolutionMethod™ (a Policy Based ITSM Approach). In addition, you can download free and informative white papers, questionnaires, and service briefs. This includes more in-depth information on the topics presented in this newsletter.

To learn how RL Consulting can assist in achieving IT Service Management goals and our full range of solutions:
Contact us at RL_Consulting@ITSM.info or phone us at 602-996-6830

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* In the upcoming months this newsletter will contain important information concerning the various aspects of IT Service Management. If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter simply reply to this message with "REMOVE" in the subject line.

Volume 3 - March, 2003
This newsletter and the information contained herein is maintained by Rick Leopoldi and property of RL Information Consulting LLC.