Management of IT services based on ITIL best practices

Deployment and automation of IT services management processes based on ITIL best practices

The business of a modern enterprise increasingly depends on the effectiveness of its IT department. IT’s ability to adequately and efficiently respond to business needs and create competitive advantages for business has been reflected in a number of technological initiatives. One of such approaches is the use of the service-process approach to managing IT operations.

The process approach to managing an enterprise is a requirement of quality management standards (ISO 9000) and financial laws (Sarbanes-Oxley Act). International experience and best practices of managing an IT department are generalized in the ITIL library and legislatively prescribed in the IT services management systems standard ISO 20000. Development, deployment, and automation of IT service management processes makes it possible to obtain a quality assessment of the IT department's work and minimize IT-related risks.

Such deployment ensures:

consistency with IT goals of business (the IT department understands all the key business goals and participates in their achievement; there is a balance between business requirements for IT services and the IT capabilities);

higher effectiveness of business users (higher quality of service for users, shorter user downtimes due to IT infrastructure failures);

predictability and transparency of IT department management (unification of IT department management processes, distribution of roles and responsibility zones among IT specialists);

measurability of IT department effectiveness (qualitative and quantitative assessment indicators for the effectiveness of management processes, in-process reporting);

lower operating costs (outlined procedures, control of IT infrastructure components, justification and optimization of IT costs).

The result is accomplished using:

international best practices (ITIL/ITSM);
standard-based methods (CobiT, ISO 20000);
recognized procedures (Microsoft Operations Framework, IBM Tivoli Unified Process);
recommendations and methods of leading vendors of solutions for Service Desk (Hewlett-Packard, Axios);
own solutions and experience.

The deployment project involves different categories of enterprise employees, including workers of business units. Deployment has benefits and advantages for each category of employees. For example, a business user can be certain that his issue is in fact being addressed and can view the status of his request at any time; meanwhile, users will not bother the database administrator with irrelevant issues, such as printing malfunctions.

Management processes are designed with the participation of all the parties concerned. In the course of the project we adapt best practices outlined in ITIL to the reality of the domestic market and business needs. As a rule, the majority of enterprises start implementing ITIL/ITSM with the Service Desk and the incident management process. Such practice makes it possible to see real advantages of a process-oriented approach in a short time and is consistent with the quick victories tactic and recommendations to refrain from deploying everything at once. Yet this is not the only approach. Other models can be used depending on business goals. For example, when formalizing the interaction between the IT department and business units or preparing a transition of IT services to outsourcing, the first stage may be the implementation of the service level management process. If the enterprise seeks to form a manageable and predictable IT infrastructure, the first recommended steps are implementing management of the IT and telecom infrastructure and the process of configuration management. In any case, the choice of an ITSM implementation strategy must serve the main goal of ensuring IT services are consistent with business needs.

The methods of ITSM implementation envision a phased process that involves formulating project frameworks, designing, assembling, testing, and deploying the solution. Adherence to these methods allows controlling the progress and quality, minimizing risks, and ensuring the desired project result. Successful deployment of the IT service management solution is the result of using trademark methods and well-coordinated cooperation of De Novo and client teams.

IT service automation solutions envision the possibility of integration with various infrastructure tools and services used at the enterprise, such as: a messaging system, a centralized catalogue service, a control and monitoring system.

Continued development and support of IT processes enable the enterprise to effect a qualitative transition to a higher level of the maturity model and live up to the industry level, international practices, and, most important, business needs.