Version 3 of theIT Infrastructure
Libraryframework can help IT departments
achieve thecultural change needed to realise the
business benefits of IT service management, but there is still a
long way to go regardingITIL implementation, an analyst group
has said.
Howard Kendal, principal analyst at the Service Futures Group,
said, "Businesses are not really seeing the value of ITIL and
IT service management. And people running IT services are not
really understanding where the business is going."
"But
ITIL version 3 talks more about how
IT links to the business. It is too early to gauge the exact
impact, but just by existing it draws attention to the fact that
this is an important area."
Managers are "cherry picking" the parts of the programme that
they want to implement, and few measure ITIL's business benefits,
research by training company Parity, and the Service Futures Group
found.
Parity questioned 100 IT managers and found only 20% are
measuring the return on investment in ITIL. The Service Futures
Group sampled just under 100 managers and found that although 44%
want to take IT service management further, 17% have not been able
to because it requires too much cultural change.
At a recent seminar, Parity training director Allan Pettman
said, "It is important to make sure the board realises that IT has
far more to offer than being a support and delivery function."
But he added that attitudes are starting to change. "Progressive
companies are just starting to realise that IT is a business
enabler. People in IT have to start thinking in users' shoes and
this requires a cultural change."
Frank Pretty, a senior commercial manager at Accenture who
recommends ITIL to clients, said, "IT managers have always had a
problem getting the message across because of jargon and suspicion.
I am hoping ITIL version 3 will help to break that barrier
down."
He added, "Previously, ITIL has always been a simple IT process,
but I am interested in version 3 because it looks more towards the
business.
"IT managers who focus on IT without looking at what it delivers
are leaving themselves open to be outsourced."
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