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Next Practices in Business Service Management

SPOTLIGHT

The Essence of Professionalism: Will it make a difference in your IT career? by Pete McGarahan and Ric Mims

Is Going Agentless “Essential” for Business Service Management Initiatives? by Bill Keyworth

ITIL 2011: A Quick Overview by Malcolm Fry

WEBINAR: Can Business Service Management Navigate the Turbulent Air Currents of Cloud Computing? by Bill Keyworth

itSMF Seminar: Key CXO Take-Aways by Paul Wilkinson

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INTRODUCTION
The Why & What of Business Service Management by Bill Keyworth
Editor Bill Keyworth explains the purpose of this site »

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BOOKS

Book Review: The Concise Executive Guide to Agile by Bill Keyworth

ITIL Lite: Vital ITIL by Malcolm Fry
We get a sneak peek at Malcolm Fry's book - ITIL Lite, and discover why he advocates a selective approach to implementing ITIL v3. »

INTERVIEWS

IT Underneath the Fashion: An Interview with BCBG MAX AZRIA's Kent Fuller by Bill Keyworth

Control and Agility in IT: An Interview with Evolven's Sasha Gilenson by Rick Berzle

CIOs on BSM: An Interview with BMC Software's Mark Settle
by Bill Keyworth

Interview: Dave Howard, Toyota Financial Services by Bill Keyworth

CIO Interview: Robert Urwiler, Vail Resorts Inc. by Rick Berzle

Agile Expert: An Interview with Jim Highsmith by Israel Gat

FROM THE BLOG

HUMOR
Bet you didn't know that ITIL expert Malcolm Fry's fondest wish is to make it on late-night television as a comedian (not on NBC). Watch:

How to Improve Corporate Productivity by 40%

BUSINESS - IT STRATEGY

Survey Results of “Attitude, Behavior and Culture” on Business Perception of IT’s Value
by Paul Wilkinson
Many ITIL initiatives fail to realize the expected Business Value of Service Management. Here's why >> 

Top 10 Types of Resistance to ITIL Improvement Initiatives by Paul Wilkinson
As IT becomes increasingly important to business operations more and more IT organizations are turning to ITIL and other such ITSM frameworks to bring IT under control and provide services that deliver business value. ITIL V3  sums up perfectly what we in IT need to deliver "Value to customers in terms of outcomes they want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks." More >>

Strategy: 4 Waves of Disruption: The Cloud – what it is, how it got here, and where it is going
by John Hagel and John Seely Brown
Today cloud computing is generally viewed as a potentially attractive new form of low cost IT outsourcing, and cloud technology providers and users are focused on tackling the many limitations and challenges, especially in serving enterprise scale needs.Looking ahead, though, we see a series of significant disruptions that will be catalyzed by the evolution of cloud computing. Learn more >>

ITIL and Value Network Analysis
by Laurence Lock Lee
Laurence Lock Lee traces the evolution of the ITIL business model to the point where it is today with regards to value networks. He delves into the what and how’s of "value network analysis" (VNA) and how it differs from more familiar analytical techniques like business process analysis and functional systems analysis. More >>

Defining the Cloud Storage Maturity Model
by Steve Lesem
One way to look at cloud computing adoption is to evaluate cloud storage adoption. By defining a maturity model for cloud storage, we can, in effect, define a maturity model for cloud computing itself. Learn more >>

Turning Service Management Green
by Karen Farris
An initiative that most businesses are not undertaking is embedding sustainability into processes and workflow. Businesses can use their existing service management framework to improve the sustainability of IT and the goods and services that they provide. Learn more >>

Value-Based Management: Demonstrating the “Business” Face of IT by Tim Stratton
Here's a new, pragmatic approach to IT value: a measurement process called Value Based Management (VBM). The goal is to create, document, and predict the business value of IT.

Financial Management – the Lost ITIL Process Returns! by Bob Multhaup and Ken Turbitt
Can you, the savvy IT Service Manager, turn the tables on your bean-counting colleagues and use Financial Management to IT's favor and benefit?

ITIL Goes to Harvard
by Bob Multhaup and Ken Turbitt
What might a "balanced sorecard" for IT look like? It's about time we aligned IT services with the business portfolio. Wait a minute. Are we talking about Business Service Management (BSM)?

Capacity Planning: Critical for Business and IT Success by Richard L. Ptak
Early on, for expensive mainframe systems, the focus was exclusively on job management and control to ensure high utilization rates. The IT staff focused on keeping the infrastructure busy, but as available as possible to serve business needs. This remains true today for Business Service Management (BSM).

Resolution Ownership - It Matters for BSM!
by Peter J. McGarahan
"You Answer It; You Own It!" A customer-focused service culture designed with the customer in mind will quickly benefit from the practice of Total Contact Ownership (TCO), where there is no ambiguity of ownership and direct accountability when it comes to the customer experience and ultimate satisfaction. »

Are People the Forgotten Part of ITIL within BSM? by Peter Doherty
IT departments are now being required to talk, measure, manage and deliver in terms of the business service consumed (BSM), not the terms of IT Metrics used in the past. »

Interview: Dave Howard, Toyota Financial Services
by Bill Keyworth
Dave Howard, IT National Manager for Toyota Financial Services, with specific responsibility for Service Management speaks to Bill Keyworth about Toyota's BSM initiative. »

CIO Interview: Robert Urwiler, Vail Resorts Inc.
by Rick Berzle
Vail Resorts' CIO explains why IT should constantly work to build meaningful business relationships as the basis for ongoing alignment. How to build of trusted relationships with key business managers »

The IT Value Hierarchy: A framework for articulating IT Value using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a metaphor by Robert Urwiler
A simple model for articulating the desire for increasingly sophisticated applications of information technology using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a contextual reference. »

IT as a Service Provider: Strategies for Building Trust by Steve Lesem
IT teams that adopt a service provider mindset and who dedicate themselves to closing service gaps will succeed in the new world. »

Business Service Leadership: The Time is Now! [Part 2] by Peter J. McGarahan
A mentor of mine reminded me that my audience would take us seriously if we had a track record of results. He called it credibility with the IT organization and stated factually, “they won’t listen to you strategically, unless you can deliver tactically.” »
See also: Business Service Leadership: The Time is Now! [Part 1]»

Considerations for Migrating to the Cloud: How Cloud Computing is Changing the Enterprise
by Martin Jones and Christian Sarkar
With the advent of cloud computing and the timing of the global recession, IT is being asked to "lead or get out of the way." IT's job is to find new ways to create business value through innovation and optimization. »

A Measured Approach To Cloud Computing: Capacity Planning and Performance Assurance
by Annie Shum
IT professionals should underscore the critical roles played by integrated virtualized service oriented management, governance, performance assurance, and analytics-based feedback loops. Together, they can safeguard the successful adoption and, ultimately, the viability of Cloud Computing in enterprise IT. »

The Path to Compliance as a Business Strategy
by Richard L. Ptak
Initially, compliance was an externally imposed distraction, representing just one more burden on an over-stretched enterprise and IT staff. But now, compliance activities not only provide data about current practices but also highlight areas where increasing the level of control could yield greater efficiencies in operation. »

First Contact Resolution: The Performance Driver!
by Peter J. McGarahan
Today’s demanding service environment requires service leaders to deliver cost-effective, quality services that meet the dynamic needs of the business. Here's what must be done in a service organization to drive First Contact Resolution and reap the positive financial, customer satisfaction and productivity benefits »

Mitigating Risk for End-of-Life Technology
by Bill Keyworth
It’s hard to envision a normal, rational IT executive replacing their existing “end-of-life” technology without an examination of alternatives. Yet, too often we rely on the biased input of our legacy vendors in choosing replacement options. Here's a process to help turn the end-of-life problem into an opportunity to better serve the needs of your business constituents and IT staff. »

Business Service Leadership: The Time is Now! [Part 1] by Peter J. McGarahan
Business Service leadership is about doing the right thing for the right reasons and making fact-based decisions. It’s about challenging conventional wisdom and having the moral backbone to stand up for doing the right thing for your customers and the people that serve them. »

ITIL Lite: Vital ITIL by Malcolm Fry
We get a sneak peek at Malcolm Fry's book - ITIL Lite, and discover why he advocates a selective approach to implementing ITIL v3. »

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BUSINESS SERVICE MANAGEMENT

The “Business” Service Leadership Agenda
by Peter J. McGarahan
Why do some companies consistently exceed their business customers’ expectations and others fail to meet their customer’s basic demands and needs?

A Business Service Model for Cloud Computing
by Martin Jones
We're noticing that companies are looking at a business service delivery model to understand and manage the Enterprise cloud. With all those years of investment in ITIL, it's a good idea to use your common understanding, and extend it to the cloud service provider community. As a corollary, this is a minimum requirement to create a model for business service management of cloud based services as well. More >>

Making the RITE Decisions – Necessary IT Change for Survival in the New Economy
by Vance Brown
Organizations must no longer "collect data for data's sake"- nor even for information’s sake. In order to make right, or "RITE" decisions, management must understand that data must be Relevant, Integrated, Timely and Efficient. Learn more >>

A CRM Approach to Business Service Management? by Peter J. McGarahan

IT needs to act like the service provider it is (a business within a business), with its sole focus on achieving business-based results as defined by its customers – or “business-oriented service management.” Learn more >>

Business Service Management Case Study: EnergyCorp, a Mid-Sized Utility by Bill Keyworth

The objective of this case study is to demonstrate how assumptions and recommendations of the BSM Maturity Model were used to improve the value perception and deliverables of EnergyCorp's IT organization. Learn more >>

Is your Workload Automation Broker a gold mine of BSM data? by Gwyn Clay
Because Workload Automation Brokers drive over 70% of all business processes today, they can identify and monitor the interdependencies of data and processes between the systems, applications, and business processes that comprise a business service – giving you an unprecedented view into your enterprise.

BSM: Developing a Business Impact Statement
by Bob Multhaup & Ken Turbitt
IT leaders must learn the necessity, value and process behind the development of a “Business Impact Statement” and the importance of crafting this statement in terms and metrics that are meaningful to the business community. The authors highlight its critical role in initiating business-oriented service management. »

Is Self-Service Critical to BSM Success?
by Pete McGarahan
The question is simple: why aren’t more organizations using self-service to successfully engage the business community? And do end users actually “like” helping themselves? »

Reaching For The Future with BSM: On The Path Towards Business “Oriented” Service Management by Troy DuMoulin
Troy identifies the broad usage of the term "Business Service Management" among other corporate disciplines beyond IT. »

Business Service Manangement: Operating IT from a Business Perspective by Peter Armstrong
How can IT determine business impact unless the business tells them which systems are vital, the relative priorities of these systems, and the cost of their being offline? »

Business Service Manangement Enhancements within ITIL v3 by Ken Turbitt and Sharon Taylor
With the release of IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) version 3 (ITIL V3), it’s clear that your goal as an IT professional has changed. You’re no longer tasked with aligning IT with the business. Now your goal is to integrate IT with the business. »

Getting Started With Business Service Management: An IT Operations Centric Approach
by Doug McClure
IBM's Doug McClure explains how he views Business Service Management and how to get started from an operational perspective. »

Business Service Management: Driving Data Center Performance by Richard L. Ptak
Enterprise demands on and expectations from IT and data center services continues to grow despite flat budgets and static levels of IT staffing. These demands are being addressed by vendors with a new generation of intelligent, automated system performance management tools. It’s known as Business Service Management. »

How to Spell "BSM" by Tom Bishop
Business Service Management, or BSM: there simply isn’t a more important aspect of an IT strategy than one built around the concepts of BSM. »

Recessionary Strategies: ITIL & Business Service Management by Ken Turbitt
In today's recessionary climate, we need to be effective, to manage our capability, to remove excess costs out of the business, reduce expenditure on IT and the business, and provide clearer visibility into the business performance and outlook. Learn how ITIL and Business Service Management can help »

Business Service Management: The move to a new way of working by Peter Armstrong
You really need to take an inventory of what you have in IT – not from the technical point of view, but from the viewpoint of what the business needs. Ask the business which systems are the most important, and how much they are worth. When they want something new, ask them what it is worth and how much they are prepared to pay for it. Ask them what service levels they truly require. Then ask the most important question in IT/business relationships – why? »

The Case for Agile Business Service Management
by Israel Gat
When development, deployment and operations evolve in parallel from a business services perspective, we get Agile Business Service Management. »

Increasing IT Agility by Integrating SOA with BSM
by Annie Shum and Avtar Dhillon
Business Service Management (BSM), rooted in ITIL, helps organizations manage IT from a business perspective. By identifying and mapping business-critical processes to the underlying IT infrastructure and services, BSM connects key business services to the IT services that manage them, such as routers, servers, and applications. While BSM does the mapping, Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) serves as the framework that connects the infrastructure. Hence, the BSM methodology and SOA are synergistic and the integration of BSM into SOA is pivotal to IT agility. »

Business Service Management, Six Sigma and your IT Compliance Program by Chrisan Herrod
IT compliance should be treated as a critical corporate program and to that end Six Sigma can be used to assist organizations in implementing a robust and effective information technology compliance program and culture. »

Security Management Survey: ISO, ITIL and COBIT Triple Play Fosters Optimal Security Management Execution
by Mary Johnston Turner, Jon Oltsik, and John McKnight
A security management survey provides compelling evidence that success strategies require the use of multiple best practice controls and processes in addition to state-of-the-art tools. Organizations that implement a mix of ITIL, ISO and COBIT best practices have achieved noticeably higher levels of workflow and organizational integration, thereby improving their ability to address internal and external business requirements across IT and the business. »