• 2.1: Talent Management
• 2.2: Learning & Development
• 2.3: Interim Services
• 2.4: Business Consultancy

The use of ITIL processes can assist an organisation through a recession by providing service knowledge.

ITIL Provides the Knowledge

ITIL, when executed correctly, provides a knowledgebase of IT services and assets, that can ensure an organisation focuses on core services, reduce focus on the less important, provides control of assets and ensures service requirements match service agreements.

Below we have mapped out a number of areas that organisations can focus on in order to assist in beating these recessionary times.

Data Rich, Knowledge Poor

CMDB, warranty databases, service catalogues, incident logs, capacity plans etc. all provide data that allows Service Managers to determine how best to manage resources and costs. But how many organisations actually utilise this information? How many translate the data to information and how many translate the information into knowledge that allows solid decision making to take place? Our experience suggests few.

The Real Service Requirements

Any Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) will tell you that when they ask their customers how important each of their services is, they often receive the answer that all services are equally important. Customers and CRMs need to develop accurate knowledge about their services.

By understanding service details, such as: peak hours of usage, reporting periods, dependent services, third party contractual arrangements and others, customers can ensure that service provision is tightly tailored to their needs, retaining the required levels of service for the right cost.

Managing Assets

Organisations will currently be considering reducing capital outlays and extending the life of IT assets. IT knowledge ensures providers and customers are able to make solid decisions on which assets to renew and which can continue to perform to the required service levels.

Performance, capacity, incident and problem data on existing services, mapped against the businesses requirements ensures an accurate picture of asset renewal and improved capital expenditure.

Invest in Tools

Service Tools are key to capturing service data for providers and customers to interpret into their service decision making. Tools when correctly implemented improve data accuracy and speed collection. Despite the investment outlay, the benefits of introducing service tools will vastly outweigh the financial costs in a very short space of time.

Don’t forget service tools need specialist staff to manipulate data and develop high quality information.

People and Processes

Processes are only as good as the people who use them. Ensure you employ the right people in the right roles.

We personally look for individuals that can adopt and adapt processes to their current environment and consider both technical and commercial outcomes.

Employ staff that are inquisitive about all areas of IT service provision and hold regular reviews on how to improve services. Gather knowledge from the service team to make improvements and cost reductions.

Managers play a vital role, not only in the hiring of staff, but also in creating an environment, where staff can express opinion and where specialist staff can be challenged on their approach to service process control and reporting.

Continuous Improvement

All service providers purport to make continual service improvements. Our experience suggests that few actually do, or at best their improvement programme is ad hoc and does not use the available service data to build a programme of work.

Again service knowledge guides customers and providers towards good decision making, focusing on the service improvements that really matter and using the available budget and resources wisely.

Service Levels and Service Reporting

Service reporting has a poor reputation, but it is often the customer that is to blame. The service provider developed a reporting pack when the agreement came into force and has never changed since.

The customer complains that reports are not adequate, but never has the time or inclination to say what they want. The reporting pack continues to be used at each monthly review and the customer and provider ignore the report to discuss service issues that should be in the report, but are never reported on…… Familiar story ?

Firstly, make sure the service reporting is relevant. If its not, both parties should ensure it meets their requirements. Adjust reporting as service needs change to reflect the important service aspects. Secondly, use the report data to make some decisions.

We have a customer who provides a monthly report which shows all services operating significantly above the agreed levels. Two things should instantly spring to mind

• My service thresholds are too low and too easily achievable
• I must be paying too much, because I don’t need the very high level of service being reported

Renegotiate your Agreement

Can the quality of services being offered within an organisation, ever be too high?

The answer is a straightforward ‘yes.’ Service agreements drawn up in the ‘boom’ period are likely to have reflected a ‘bullish’ forecast and a view that a high level of service was required.

Customers should not be afraid to approach their provider and renegotiate their agreement to reduce service levels from the ‘gold’ standard currently paid for, to something more in line with current requirements and budgets. Use the knowledge available to provide evidence where services can be adjusted to meet financial goals.

Conclusion

This paper outlines that developing ITIL processes, develops service data that in turn can be used to make decisions regarding reducing service costs whilst maintaining service levels.

Often these decisions are as simple as decommissioning unwanted services and contractual arrangements, but having high quality service data should be at the root of all IT service decisions. It is the responsibility of both parties to:

• Ensure familiarity with your service agreement
• Know the services and their agreed service levels
• Ensure service processes are sound
• Ensure service data is accurate and validated
• Ensure service reporting provides the information required to all parties
• Make sound improvement and investment decisions based on the service information and the service knowledge within your organisations

Iain Gosling has worked as a consultant and interim manager and has over 25 years' experience. He has been active in a range of industry sectors including finance and banking, health services, information technology and manufacturing