ITSM Learnings from Fusion 2010

I recently attended a great opportunity to connect, learn and grow at the itSMF USA Fusion 10 Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. It was a wonderful chance to see old friends and acquaintances, to meet and make new friends and learn from some of the most articulate and impressive speakers on ITSM and ITIL available in the industry. I came away with some key points that I thought I would share with you so you can also gain the benefit and value of the data, information, knowledge and wisdom presented at the Conference.

Here are my key take0aways:

Service Management is alive and well. A new wave of users and supporters has emerged and were present at the show. I saw and met so many new people. I was impressed that ITSM and ITIL has not simply remained in the hands of a core group of users but has found continued life among new industries and implementers.
ITSM and ITIL seem to be growing especially among colleges and university IT departments and in the medical and scientific fields as well. For the first time I saw a large number of people from our institutions of higher learning discovering the value and benefit of using ITSM approaches in providing support to faculty, students and staff. This is especially touching given my own background and work as the ITSM Professor!
Social Media is becoming a growing force within ITSM and ITIL usage. Using tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Linked-In and numerous others can help to underpin the efforts of ITSM and ITIL rather than just being seen as potential security threats or detractors from proving value through services. Functions like the Service Desk and IT Operations Management can use these social media tools to help provide even better support while increasing responsiveness to customers and users and increasing and tracking customer satisfaction.
Cloud computing is still an unknown quantity among ITSM and ITIL users. Not that the tools have not gained a measure of maturity—they have. Rather, the traditional support personnel and IT departments just do not seem to know what to make of something that is not under their full control. ITSM and ITIL do not go against the concepts of the “cloud”. Rather users of ITSM and ITIL need to accept that the methods of governance, management, control and maintenance can just as easily be applied to “virtual” situations as to more tangible, physical realities. It takes the ability to see things from the bigger perspective, rather than just a detailed operational perspective. Cloud computing and its connection to ITSM is definitely an area to watch for the future.
ITSM frameworks continue to grow, mature and improve by using their own Continual Improvement ideas. Organizations are often adapting guidance from multiple frameworks.
People are the most important part of a great ITSM and ITIL effort. Without people Service Management is simply a set of processes and guidance. It is the people side of ITSM that must not be forgotten. Leadership, governance, management, control and support are all defined in terms of the people who use these ideas and those customers and users that we serve.
The best way to learn more about ITSM and ITIL is to meet others (whether in classes taken together, at conferences, local interest group meetings, or on webinars and calls) and spend time talking, asking, discussing and sharing about what works and does not work, how ITSM works and most important WHY it works!

I hope to be able to connect, learn and grow with many of you in the future at similar shows and events. Do not hesitate to meet others and share your experiences and insight about ITSM and ITIL. By working together on our shared journeys we can all benefit and gain value!

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