Need For a Great ITAM Program

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In the Deloitte Global ITAM Survey 2021, there are several points of interest, including:

– A vast majority (84%) of respondents believe that they lack a truly effective ITAM initiative in place in their organizations. 

– More than half the respondents believe that cost efficiencies can be achieved by reducing overheads from IT asset inventory management, software deployment, issue tracking, patch management, etc. Fifty percent of respondents also believe that timely and reliable utilization of technology by personnel is a realistic expectation from a focus and investment in ITAM. 

– Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) aspire to transform the primary role of ITAM in their organizations to a broader decision-making role with regard to controlling and automating procurement, usage, and deployment of IT assets

Outcomes

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Consumers of IT services want one thing: outcomes.

For far too long, we’ve measured process and steps when we should have measured the outcomes.

This is where Service Management and Experience Management join to improve the services.

If you walk into a deli or sandwich shop, you order, then wait for your food.

Take the analogy to IT services.

As the consumer, you are concerned only with the sandwich and the Experience.

As the provider, the deli obtains the ingredients and builds the sandwich, delivers to you, then ensures the rest of the restaurant is clean.

Imagine if we only measured the deli metrics. They’d be incomplete.

But, a combination of both Experience and Service Management leads to an optimal outcome.

Changes in IT Service Delivery

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There’s a major disconnect afoot. Every aspect of IT service delivery is becoming increasingly complex while organizations are reducing in-house staff in favor of managed services partners who want to deliver the minimum as per the contract.

For example, without in-house expertise, how are you solving:

1. The increased demands of business stakeholders?
2. The sprawl of technology as every organization becomes a technology organization?
3. The increased complexity of software licensing?
4. The need for improved Experiences?
5. The desire for faster speed-to-delivery while understanding risk?

and so much more.

Service Management Leadership was founded to help organizations prepare for and excel in these types of situations.

Improving SLAs

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As we talk more and more about Experience Management, please keep in mind that it is a complement to Service Management and the current SLAs and metrics.

It will not replace them. Rather, it offers context from the consumer’s perspective.

Critical Success Factors

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The topic of Critical Success Factors is not discussed enough. We need to understand the criteria for success before embarking on the initiative.

Below is another excerpt from my book, ITIL4: The New Frontier.

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In every part of our lives, we have Critical Success Factors (CSFs). A CSF is a leadership term for an element that is necessary for an organization or project to achieve its mission. As the name might suggest, CSFs are things that must happen for the initiative to be successful. When considering whether an ITIL4 initiative is successful, there are a few CSFs relevant to every organization and a few more that are organization-specific. If we think of ITIL4 from a business standpoint, what got us this far (in terms of processes and metrics) will not get us to where we want to be. ITIL4 enables new and different capabilities. We then must find a way to measure the new capabilities and outcomes.

Here are a few broad CSFs to consider. There are many more we could include, but these are the ones that are consistent across most organizations.

·        Is there organizational and leadership support?
·        Does leadership understand the value gained by adopting ITIL4?
·        Are goals in place for the initiative?
·        Are the goals measurable?
·        What other measures are in place?

·        Are viable metrics and measures in place to measure improvement?
·        Are adequate resources (personnel, monetary, and technology) available throughout the life of the ITIL4 initiative?
·        Is there a good balance of people, process, and tools?
·        Is the culture receptive to the change?
·        Is there enough in-house expertise to be successful long-term?
·        Are you able to identify and assess the current state as a starting point and measure growth against it?
·        Is there a “front door” to IT services (e.g., Service Desk, ITSM tool, etc.)?
·        With the focus on iterative improvement, is there a culture for improvement?
·        Is scope defined (e.g., practices, CMBD configuration items, and future scope placed on a roadmap)?
·        Are all stakeholders identified and engaged?
·        Is there a mechanism for stakeholders to provide feedback? Is it accepted and considered?
·        Is Customer Experience and Satisfaction measured or will it be in the near future?
·        Will training be developed for all stakeholders?
·        Does the Service Management organization have the appropriate level of Governance?

·        Do all service providers – internal and external – use the same processes and practices?
·        Is the organization able to pivot and alter course as business objectives change?