Perhaps you’ve been reading about IT service management (ITSM) and figure
it can help your IT organization become more effective.
Now what? How do you spread the word and get a bona-fide ITSM effort off
the ground?
The first step, experts say, is to identify why your company needs ITSM.
The first scenario is when a company repeatedly experiences problems in a
certain area, whether it’s exposure to viruses or just a high level of end
user dissatisfaction.
The second scenario is a company that is rapidly growing and needs to
expand the services it offers, while perhaps consolidating at the same time,
such as after acquisitions. Or perhaps the company needs to find ways of complying with
Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX).
Either way, taking a localized approach is becoming a fast way to get up
to speed on how to solve the complex and time-consuming issues.
The itSMF USA Conference & Expo 2004 is in Long Beach, Calif., this week
to discuss localizing solutions and related issues. It aims to help large to medium-sized enterprises find standardized processes and best practices that can be
applied across the entire range of IT service support and service delivery
functions.
Ken Wendle, president of itSMF USA, said the conference has experienced
steady growth since its inception seven years ago, but membership has
doubled within the past year.
“The obvious explanation for this is that more and more companies are
embracing IT Infrastructure Library and ITSM best practices and are
looking for guidance, support and a community to help them with their
efforts,” Wendle said.
This year’s focus is on the establishment of Local Interest
Groups (LIGs). These include assisting end users, root cause resolution, managing
hardware and software infrastructure, managing changes planned and
unplanned, effectively managing IT costs and improving IT service quality. There are almost three times as many LIGs today as there
were just a year ago, with more in various stages of development.
The Jupitermedia show is bringing together some 60
exhibiting companies and five conference tracks, including “Solving Business
Problems Using IT Service Management;” “Starting an ITSM Program and Keeping
It Rolling;” “Turning ITSM Theories, Strategies & Tools into Reality;”
“Building ITSM Awareness & Skills;” and “The Value of ITSM to Federal, State
and Local Government Agencies.” Jupitermedia also operates internetnews.com.
This year’s keynote speakers include Walt Disney Internet Group
IT Service Manager Michael DeAngelo; J. Clark Kelso, who serves as the CIO
for the State of California; and Microsoft CIO Ron Markezich.
The show runs all week at the Long Beach Convention Center.
