Biting the IT Burger!
Ever walked into a fast food chain and not found a menu to order from. Usually their menu is right up front on the wall (right in your face). What about a restaurant without a menu card. Imagine how hard it will be to communicate exactly what you want to eat as a customer.
So on taking orders and delivery, the food industry has got it pretty much right, but so have several others. Think Retail – where prices of products are clearly marked, product features described etc.
Now think IT. There are very few organizations where one gets a sense of what IT truly delivers to its customers at what cost, at what performance level, conditions and so on.
This is a real problem and that’s where an IT Service Catalog can show the most value. Make IT visible! Communicate! Deal with the perceptions! All great statements that echo through the Service Catalog.
From ITIL V2 where we had the concept of a static Service Catalog to the present V3 days where Service Catalogs are dynamic and real, the industry is connecting the dots and moving forward.
But then think again. The price that a fast food chain provides on its menu is the result of a careful understanding of the complexity of operations and the real costs that go into the delivery. Yes the complexity is hidden from you as a customer, but how does IT address that complexity and the costs associated with its operations. Where does one start?.
Utility consumers can subscribe to services – eg for residential power or power for businesses so can one do that for IT Services?
What about “make your own Service menu” like “make your own pasta”! Is there flexibility within IT Services to accomplish this?
Overall, as we have seen through our engagements, dealing with the IT Service Catalog Strategy is critical. What works for one organization may not really work for the other. But don’t forget the execution. That’s what will enable companies to run IT as a business. And make IT Services visible!
So is your organization ready for an IT Burger?
Comments
I think the fundamental mistake is to term the activities done by a typical IT Department as 'service'. IT's key activities include introducing new systems and supporting live ones, and they are called 'services' and here is where all the complications begin! Every group within IT thinks its customers include every other group and not the business! Do the chef, waiter, billing person think each of them is a customer to the other?
But this probably means re-writing ITIL!
Posted by: Janaki Chakravarthy | September 2, 2008 09:15 PM