Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) Objectives

Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) has, as its primary objectives, ten key deliverables for information technology. For the next several installments, we'll look at each of these.

Objectives 1-3
First of all, ITSM seeks to provide the framework, the guidance and the controls for industry to manage IT as a business. Too often, IT management forgets that IT is there to help the business realize their business objectives. That is, to deliver the revenue that serves as the foundation for the essence, the very reason the business exists.

Secondly, ITSM helps information technology measure and control IT costs. Please note, that we did NOT say that IT is there to help "reduce" costs. It's not that reducing costs is not a reasonable expectation for implementing ITSM best practices. However, reducing costswill come as a product of simply measuring costs which will give the IT manager the ability to gain control over costs. Just understanding how the money is spent, where it is going and what decisions lead to determining how the money will be spent will give the IT department new insight into controlling costs.

Measuring costs means that the IT manager may, for the first time ever, understand how money is spent. To the responsble and committed IT manager, this will lead to the discipline to begin planning, budgeting for IT expenditures that align with business needs. Because, also perhaps for the first time, the IT manager may understand how financial decisions that affect how IT expenditures are made. With this as background, the IT manager may then execute the investment business has made in IT.

Move the People But Not the Process?

What good can possibly come of an initiative to relocate over 200 people from over 100 different offices around the country into one central office with no intention to refine the processes they use? The intent is to reduce costs. The initiative is some misguided manager's idea of a consolidation. The relocation costs are astronomical. The assumption is there will be cost savings realized from the effort. How? How does any manager intend to save money simply by relocating 200 different people if the processes they used before the move are the same processes they will be using AFTER the move? Worse, what level of senior management approved such a move without a clear ROI?