ITIL Blog - Featuring ITIL Training and Online ITIL Resources

Free ITIL V3 Service Operation Guide

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ITIL V3 Service Operation Design Guidelines.

 

Just released - this new ITIL V3 PDF
Report - containing real world
examples for Service Operation.

- 55 Pages packed with Examples
- 46 Examples for Service Operation
- Covers ALL New ITIL V3 Processes
- Includes Event and Access Management

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Free ITIL V3 Service Operation Design Guidelines PDF

ITIL Refresh: More Clues About What Version Three Actually Means?

The CEO of the itSMF recently published an interesting article in the UK publication, Computer Weekly. Aidan Lawes' article is entitled, "A new ITIL for the integration age", with the basic premise of the article to highlight the point that ITIL best practice can assist in integrating IT Service Management with the Business and ‘alignment’ is actually the wrong goal.

Lawes states, “We should be striving for integration, not alignment. I do not believe that there is such a thing as an “IT service” any more; rather there are business services, which are wholly or partly enabled by technology. This means that those responsible for managing technology components need to understand exactly what end-to-end business processes are underpinned by them, and the scale and importance of those processes to the overall business operations and goals. Only then can the appropriate management approach be decided, which is where service management comes in.”

Lawes also mentions a very valid point and one that I know has frustrated IT Sevice Managers about ITIL for some time, he says, “In order for an approach to be recognised as best practice, it needs to be kept fresh and relevant.” This is particularly relevant when it comes the fast moving IT industry.

Some specfic references were also provided about the forthcoming ITIL refresh which positions some of the changes that we are about to see:-

Lawes states, “The core volumes will be reduced from seven to five.

- The new core volumes will be organised in more of a lifecycle approach, with working titles as follows: service strategies, service design, service introduction [note: now renamed service transition], service operation and continuing service improvement.

- Information about individual processes, previously contained within a specific volume, will now be found across several volumes, reflecting the relevant aspects at the particular stage of the lifecycle.

- In addition to these core volumes, there will be supporting books, brochures, documents and other information. Much of this will be aimed at specific target audiences such as business managers or CIOs, and provide the appropriate messages about value propositions.

- It is expected that aside from core material, further complementary material will be generated. Much of the complementary information will be quite dynamic in nature, requiring regular updating. To ensure that the latest information is available to the community, much of this material will be web-based and freely available.”

So, what about concerns that your current investment in ITIL will be wiped out or significantly eroded by the introduction of the refresh?

Lawes reiterates what Sharon Taylor and the refresh team have always maintained, “For enterprises that have invested, or are investing, in ITIL-based improvement programmes, the refresh should have minimal impact. Most of the core process definitions will not change at all.”

Resources:-

Aidan Lawes is chief executive at IT membership organisation the itSMF.

Learn more about the ITIL Refresh HERE.

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News

Sample Pages On ITIL V3 News...

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News

Sample Pages On ITIL V3 News...

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IT Service Mastery - Preview Call

Here's the download link to the IT Service Mastery Preview Call.

Over 45 minutes, myself and Randy covered: -


- An Introduction to the Programme
- Programme Benefits
- Overview of the 4 Core Modules
- Overview of the 4 Bonus Modules
- The Welcome Package
- How To Secure Your Place
- Important Announcement
- Recap


You can listen to the call replay here: -

Download it_service_mastery_preview_call.wma

Right now, there are only 47 places left.

Visit www.ITServiceMastery.com to secure your place.

ITIL Service Manager's Exam Resources

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For all Inner Circle members - please click the download link below for full access to ITIL Manager's/Master's Exam level sample exam questions and marking guidelines.

Please note - this is a 5Mb file and contains scanned images - so please be patient when downloading.

Thanks,

Robin.

Download Sample-Exam-Questions-Marking-Guide.pdf

IT Service Mastery Programme - Full Details

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Please click the DOWNLOAD link below to access full details of the IT Service Mastery Programme, including: Core Module Content, BONUS Module Content, the Programme Schedule and of course the programme price.

If you are seriously interested in the Programme and want to secure your position, please E-Mail me immediately and include the word "Mastery" in the E-Mail subject line.

Full details can be found within the Slide Show.

Thank You,

Robin.

Download IT-Service-Mastery-Programme.pps

Free ITIL Based Process Maps - Plan Your Implementation Journey

I've been impressed with how CA have recently increased their presence in the ITIL and IT Service Management space.

In particularly they have come up with new ingenious 'fold out' process maps that depict both Service Support and Service Delivery Processes.

But it gets better - the fold out process maps are also cleverly laid out like an Underground or Metro Station map. This not only helps us understand the steps for each process in their logical sequence - but how other process are inter-related and when by carefully positioning where these paths cross.

Take a look at these scanned in images to give you a clue what I mean.

 

You can click on each image to enlarge - but please note that they are only scanned at relatively low-res to give you an idea - the printed version is on high gloss card and is much better!

You can obtain your own free fold our Process Maps from CA by visiting this link.

Once there - look to the lower left hand side of the page for more details.

Effective IT Disaster Recovery Solutions That You Can Implement Yourself

Considering IT disaster recovery case studies and IT disaster recovery examples can really help you to determine what IT disaster recovery strategy you should opt for in our business.

We have summarized, in this article, some of the more common IT disaster recovery services and options that companies select these days.

For example, many companies choose a data backup and recovery path that is centralized, economical and easy to roll out on a daily basis.

With the adoption of a few simple techniques, businesses can avoid the long-term revenue loss, downtime and inconveniences that can result from IT disaster recovery failure. Let’s take a look at these IT disaster recovery management options below:-

· Having all PC information stored in a share file area on a central server.

· Backing up this information on a regular basis: use a schedule that the business can support - either daily, nightly or weekly.

· Backing up and storing the data on permanent, removable data storage media, such as CDs, DVDs or tape cartridges.

· Storing the backed up data files in a cool, dry place, in a safe location away from the business such as a safety deposit box at the bank.

· Ensuring that staff use daily virus protection software and conduct regular upgrade updates to this software.

· Ensuring that staff scan emails and other attachments when they download things from the web, as a matter of course.

· Providing employees with the IT disaster recovery training to recognize how attachments are presented in e-mails and how to delete unwanted e-mail messages without opening them.

· Educating yourself regularly on Internet viruses by visiting anti-virus software websites and using virus and IT disaster recovery software.


If you have the funds, invite professional IT disaster recovery vendors to come and inspect your existing systems and talk to them about what your needs are.

They will in turn, present to you an IT disaster recovery business case and then if you accept their IT disaster recovery report they will implement a new centralized backup and recovery solution on top of your existing servers.

Getting a quote from IT disaster recovery vendors won’t cost you anything. In fact it might well be the best thing you ever do.

If you want to improve your data integrity and save time, money and wear and tear on your infrastructure, then call IT disaster recovery vendors today and ask for some free disaster recovery info on how they can secure your systems.

Why Every Business Needs An IT Disaster Recovery Plan

If you run a business then you will know that you just cannot risk the integrity of your data to loss, malfunction of mischievous manipulation. Over the years companies have implemented a myriad of different IT disaster recovery strategies in order to back up and recover their data in the advent of attack, system failure or human error.

These IT disaster recovery services have taken the form of both hardware and IT disaster recovery software based solutions and have all been designed to perform regular backups to let you recover from system failures, virus attacks, or natural disasters or in the event of intruder attacks – to restore your data to its last authentic position.

Many companies still rely on IT disaster recovery services that are tape based and this can be a little risky, if you leave it in the hands of an employee that is busy, frequently ill, or does not perform adequately.

By relying solely on tape backup for IT disaster recovery management, then you really do need to review your IT disaster recovery strategy. These days – with the new complexities of the business, IT infrastructure and the increase in volumes of data being created you really do have to ask yourself if your existing IT disaster recovery services are enough to restore your data rapidly enough so that you can continue to trade and operate.

Research has shown that 50% of companies that lose critical data for more than 10 days never recover to the profit position they were carrying at the time of the loss, 43% of companies experiencing a data loss never reopen, and 29% of the remaining companies close within two years of the loss occurring.

If you can’t afford to take IT disaster recovery failure risks with your corporate data, then you might want to consider other IT disaster recovery services apart from your existing and perhaps outdated or unreliable strategy.

Tape has been traditional and stead fast solution for physical disaster recovery for years and for that we need to be eternally grateful. But the reality is that tape just does not make the grade anymore and many companies are fast realizing that tape cannot fit in with their long term IT disaster recovery plan.

Although the cost of magnetic tape per megabyte means that will be used for many years to come, improved IT disaster recovery software and technology is eroding the dominance of tape across the world, for day-to-day backup and recovery tasks.