The recent release of ITIL v3 has brought the Service Catalog into the lime-light
BOULDER, Colo., Oct. 2, 2007 – The IT Service Catalog is no longer simply a document listing available services nor is a standalone service request management software solution. Rather, it is a dynamic application tied into IT workflow and service request management, says Enterprise Management Associates’ director of IT service management consulting, Hank Marquis. Recent research and direct feedback from EMA’s Service Catalog Assessment Service shows that, when implemented properly, Service Catalogs continue to improve user productivity and IT service quality, often with tangible cost savings.
The modern Service Catalog of today automates IT operations by providing specific interfaces and views that enable business executives and IT to manage the IT portfolio and IT consumers to efficiently obtain services from IT. It also helps to standardize and streamline IT operations as well as make governance and demand management a reality – leading to business-IT alignment.
“Service Catalogs have begun to bridge the gap between IT and the business,” says Marquis, “A Service Catalog can transform IT assets into a portfolio of manageable business investments allowing the business to make more informed decisions based on value and risk rather than strictly measuring IT on costs alone.”
The research also shows that along with the overwhelming benefits of a Service Catalog, there are new challenges associated with proper implementation. The seemingly simple task of documenting services can prove difficult in a world where “tribal knowledge” is rampant and everyone in IT has a different name for the same process or service. When services aren’t properly documented, IT has problems communicating within its own department, let alone communicating across the business.
Additional challenges include understanding every stakeholder’s point of view – from the business to IT to the users – as well as organizational issues of people, process and tools. All of these challenges can create a real business-IT disconnect, says Marquis.
“What’s needed to address these challenges is evolution, not revolution,” says Marquis. “EMA’s Service Catalog Assessment Service uses a proven 8-step methodology to help plan and produce an actionable Service Catalog – starting with assessing the tools and processes already in place and then moving on to address an organization’s current maturity and eventually produce a Service Catalog that meets the organization’s needs.”
During a free Webinar on Tues., Oct. 9, 2007, Marquis will explore the benefits and common challenges of implementing a Service Catalog as well as discuss EMA’s 8-step strategy for successful Service Catalog implementation.
In addition, Marquis’ has also published a white paper, “Service Catalog and the CMDB: Partners in Improving IT Service Quality and Controlling Costs.” In this paper, Marquis examines the benefits of considering the Service Catalog and CMDB as partners that work together to improve IT service quality, control IT costs and align IT with the business.
About Enterprise Management Associates
Founded in 1996, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) is the leading independent industry analyst and consulting firm dedicated to the IT Management market. The firm provides IT vendors and enterprise IT professionals with objective insight into the real-world business value of long-established and emerging technologies, ranging from security, storage and IT Service Management (ITSM) to the Configuration Management Database (CMDB), virtualization and service-oriented architecture (SOA). Even with its rapid growth, EMA has never lost sight of the client, and continues to offer personalized support and convenient access to its analysts. For more information on EMA’s extensive library of IT Management research, free online IT Management Solutions Center and IT consulting offerings, visit www.www.enterprisemanagement.com.