Implementation of ITIL can be costly but the benefits are many, especially with regards to improving the IT Organization’s relationship and overall standing with the Business.
Dr. Eugene Ball (full Bio within the Download) has written an excellent White Paper entitled, “What is ITIL and Why Should You Care”. Published by Global Knowledge this compact 8 page Paper tells us more about the key characters and components of ITIL.
The part that really caught my eye is a small section of bullets under the heading, “What is the expected ROI?”
Here is a partial list of the benefits from the PDF report, along with my own personal comments and thoughts, as usual.
1. ITIL has become the de facto best practice for running IT. The wide spread adoption of ITIL within an industry will provide guides to what works and what doesn’t.
Slightly disagree with the “running IT” part – perhaps a better description would be “operating Infrastructure and delivering IT Services”.
The wide spread adoption has certainly highlighted the merits of best practices; however the actual sharing of best practices between organizations still remains relatively exclusive. Access is possible through the itSMF and other Industry forums, but very few organizations purposely share best practices, even those in non-competing Industries.
2. ITIL brings with it a common dictionary, an item that has been lacking in the present IT world.
The widespread adoption has indeed created a common vocabulary and ‘structure’ for basing conversations (and disagreements on). Also, a pleasant side effect, over time, is that people take best practices with them as they transfer into different organisations.
3. Improved financial management of IT and a better matching of the services of IT to the needs of the overall organization.
This is a real ‘sweet spot’ that Eugene
4. Improved relationship between IT and the organization for which it provide services.
Yes, agreed, though not just with the usual suspects like Service Level Management – but also the higher level of interaction required for processes such as Incident (IT User to Service Desk / Support Analyst). The need for quality inputs to feed processes actually drives the higher level of interaction at all levels. This is a good thing. IT people are no longer, “those guys over in ‘that’ building”
5. Improved utilization of the IT infrastructure.
Depends on the meaning of utilization here (and the next point). Efficient, effective and ‘just in time’ utilization of IT resources is made more possible when operating to ITIL based processes, because it’s the actual end goal of each ITIL discipline – to provide the business with what it needs to drive quality and continuously improving IT services, underpinning by appropriate Infrastructure.
6. Improved utilization of IT personnel.
See above for “utilization”.
7. Improved reputation of IT within the organization that IT services.
Important to remember that the business doesn’t care about ITIL. The business cares about receiving quality IT services, at a cost it can sustain within its budget structure. Many forward thinking businesses actually integrate IT into the heart of their strategic planning, using IT as an enabler for new products and services to sell to end Customers. ITIL implementation does indeed support the opportunities for IT to prove themselves, and sell their value and in this – they get the opportunity to improve how others see them too.
Key Message: ITIL puts in place the need to ask questions and obtain regular information from the business in order to feed processes. This information capture, in whatever guise, actually drives opportunities to improve the perception of the quality of the IT Organization. A pleasant side effect of ITIL implementation that permeates throughout the Business over time.
Access the White Paper (Multiple Sources to Select From)
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