IT Service Management

IT Service Management - Tools

In today’s world where demand for up to date services has grown and the lead times for delivery has continued to be shortened I am often asked, what is the best tool? The answer is, of course, “it depends!” Every organization has different needs, budgets and resources, however the requirements for automated building, testing and delivering new functionality has never been greater.

Every organization must be able to look at the list of requirements for tools from both the operational and development sides of the IT organization as the functions become more and more integrated.

The starting point is a list of generic requirements. An integrated suite is preferable and should include options such as:

Service Portfolio
Service Catalog
Service Design Tools
Discovery/Deployment/Licensing Technology
Workflow or process engines
CMDB’S
Configuration Management Systems (CMS)
Self Help for Users
Remote Control
Diagnostic Utilities
Reporting Tools/Dashboards
Service Knowledge Management System (SKMS)

Depending on your requirements, goals, budget and maturity level, you may need one, several or all of the above technologies. A good suite will offer the flexibility to purchase only those modules that are currently needed by your organization with the option to add more over time.

The next step is to assess your current tools and their use. The assessment may reveal that you are not using existing tools to their fullest capability. Consider the following when evaluating existing tools and possible new purchases:

Support for monitoring service levels, data structure, data handling and integration
Integration of multi-vendor infrastructure components
Conformity to international open standards
Flexibility in implementation usage and data sharing
Usability
Distributed clients with a centralized shared database
Conversion requirements
Data backup, control and security
Support and scalability

The following are useful evaluation techniques:

Gather your Requirements. (Use the MoSCoW strategy for evaluating your requirements. Must haves (M), Should haves (S), Could haves (C), and our Won’t haves but would like to have (W)?)
From the MoSCoW list, create a Statement of Requirements (SOR).
Identify possible products
Determine a selection criteria
Evaluate products
Put together a short list of products
Score the final products
Rank the products
Select the product that meets your needs and budget

Please remember that any tool is NOT a silver bullet. Effective internal processes are critical to gaining efficiencies through tools. Tool success will likely depend on your planning, deployment, management and improvement of process.

While there are many good technologies in the marketplace today, it is important to select the one that meets your specific and unique requirements.

For more information please see ITIL Foundation, ITIL Service Design, ITIL Service Strategy

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