IT Service Management

I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”
Albert Schweitzer.

As more organisations become enabled by Information Technologies (IT) the field of IT Service Management (ITSM) becomes more pertinent. It’s important that ITSM is done well, particularly for e-businesses where the ITSM touch-points ARE the customer’s experience. Without some form of ITSM in place it is easy to lose touch with those customers.

When you add mobile connectivity into the mix, it is now common rather than an exception for services to be “on” around the clock, so your ITSM needs to provide matching coverage.

Whilst I try to stay away from discussions about specific technologies on this blog due to their oftentimes transient nature, it seems that ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is rapidly emerging as the leading framework.

As with many other IT technologies that initially serviced enterprise, ITSM is becoming increasingly used in the cross-over space of telecommunications service providers. Many CSPs have already realised that their key customers are using ITSM frameworks such as ITIL and that it represents an important way of extending their ability to service those customers better.

The only drawback is that the CSPs’ OSS have to be able to interface with their customers’ ITSM tools. In many cases, the CSPs’ core OSS tools were designed in an era before ITIL was on the radar.

The standards bodies for OSS and ITSM (TM Forum and itSMF respectively) have developed standards to build bridges between the two worlds. TR143, “Building Bridges: ITIL and eTOM”, is one of the examples of the work being undertaken to develop standardised cross-overs between OSS and ITSM frameworks.

The importance of this cross-over is obviously not lost on many in these respective industries. It represents an opportunity for service providers to gain an advantage through improved support of customers that rely on e-business and/or mobility, a market that is growing rapidly.

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