Tag Archives: Ian Clayton

December 15, 2013 · 5:17 pm

Who will take the Service Management “Moral High Ground” in 2014?

moralhighground

Here are my nominations for this year’s Service Management Champs:

Charles the Champion of Change Communities 

 

From RevNet to the SM inaugural Congress

Sound quality improves in this short clip

“We are uncovering ways of meeting business needs through Service Management. Our achievements, experiences and insights compel us to adopt these values:

Slide1

While there is value to the items on the right, we value the items on the left more:”.

Dancy the Disruptor

chris_dancy

“TFT13, Tomorrow’s Future Today, is the world’s first 24-hour, global, follow-the-sun virtual conference. It has a size and level of innovation that has never been seen before”.

Mark Kawasaki – The Practitioner’s Road

Long video clip so worth coming back to.

“What I finally see clearly is this: I belong on the practitioner’s road. And my purpose here is different than most. I don’t want to help design a better automobile. I want public transportation”. http://www.windupbird.org/

Stuart the Strategic Service Management Steward

itSMFUK – Outstanding contribution to ITSM

Stuart Rance

I am not sure that Axelos would have moved forward or maintained momentum without his contribution to the Taking Service Forward Initiative.

TSFI

The vision of Taking Service Forward is to provide the service community with an Adaptive Service Model.  Link to Google+ community LINK

archsm

Barclay Broadcasts everywhere.

Barclay has popped up at forums and events across the globe and as a result his personal brand has grown significantly this year across the industry.

He readily shares his insights e.g. ITSMTV etc. however I have selected this clip to shine the Rae from ITSM Goodness to SIaM

Frank and Fred Forge Ahead to the Beginning of Now

Service Now is the world’s second largest SaaS product (Salesforce is #1)

ServiceNow is built on a proprietary platform that aims to automate and standardise business processes, becoming the enterprise-wide platform across IT and business operations.

SN Capabilities

In addition to capabilities for service management, additional capabilities have been built for HR Service Automation, customer relationship management and facilities management.

Tools alone will not deliver the solution to Business Issues. Whilst I recognise how easy it is to create apps I am not sure whether clients would purchase ServiceNow HR Service Automation over Workday, Peoplesoft HCM or SAP HR solutions.

Stroud the Smoothie

Robert has the ability to travel seamlessly across the islands of COBIT5, ITIL and Vendor (CA) communities.

Here is his provocative 5 min presentation at Leadit 13

If 90% of everything is crap then 90% of the way that you are doing Service Management is crap so you must find the 10% of process that really works.

How are you going to unlock value for the future?

Rob Remains Relentless

Rob England is Relentless in his specific / point challenges to others in the SM ecosystem, in particular Axelos.  In 2013 he has come out of the shadows and written a well received book and presented at various forums.

stdcase

“Rob England’s latest book Plus! The Standard+Case Approach, does in one short reading what many books attempt to accomplish in several years. S+C redefines the relationship for technology professionals by creating a route to customer experience, an improved skillset for ICT and redefines everything we thought we understood about “routine”. Chris Dancy, Founder, ServiceSphere Amazon LINK

BrightTALK – Grow Your Audience in 2014

BrightTALK is the “Best of the Best” platform in the eyes of practitioners and has organised many Summits where individuals readily share their insights.

chump

It is important to understand that we can learn as much from the CHUMPS as we can from the Champs:

Axelos a Forward-Thinking Name for a Forward-Thinking Company

Not sure which design agency was chosen but good luck if you ever need to re-brand ITIL. Moreover, the change in logo from the Best Practice Management Swirl to the Axelos GBP (Global Best Practice) is the only visible change I have seen.

Perhaps there will be more forward thinking with the launch of the Axelos website.

Peter Hepworth the Axelos CEO portrays the image of either Tim Nice but Dim or a Gifted Amateur. He has been leading the global Axelos “Dog & Pony (Road) Show” and his lack of Industry, Product or content Knowledge is evident. This is in stark contrast to industry leaders such as Frank Slootman the ServiceNow CEO.

Here is one of his better performances which reflects a steady improvement in his canned speech notes. I suspect that he is more comfortable banging on about Gamification.

ITIL – Product Development Roadmap Priorities – LINK

“We are seeking to capture the most imperative propositions that will help identify the real value of our portfolio of products. We will be asking our ecosystem to support this process with case studies and real life examples as to the quantifiable benefits. We will share a series of propositions, in the form of short briefs for CEOs, at the end of the year and ask for your support with their continual development”.

“Research shows that gaming and simulation can improve the learning process. We will therefore explore this opportunity and work with specific strategic partners to ensure that our products are at the forefront of the digital age in terms of development and delivery”.

Axelos receive royalties from Examination Institutes for each ITIL exam taken. This recurring training revenue stream is the “Gift that keeps on Giving” and will guarantee Axelos employees a share of profits at end of 2014. Metrics drive behaviours so Axelos will shine the lens on Gamification and e-Learning to drive increased revenues.

An early example of generating additional training revenue  is the “Official AXELOS ITIL Foundation Exam App” which was available on iTunes for download at £9.99 / $16

Chris Barrett the Axelos Transitions Director

Chris is much more credible however given that we are two weeks from launch date it is very disappointing that the Roadmap is still very high-level and mapped out by quarter. I suspect that if Chris were still a “Big-Time” consultant he would have been walked off the engagement because the high level view and workstream descriptions are not detailed enough to provide transparency of initiative priorities, deployment plans etc for the Programme Sponsor. One of the key deliverables is the Axelos Community Portal which will be available at the end of Q3 2014.

The Axelos Service Management Architecture workstream is 10 years behind most big-time and independent consultants who have helped their Local / Global clients with the design and implementation of proven IT Operating Models and End-to-End Service Models.

In 2014 there will be increased focus on how Cloud Services Brokerages will Challenge Traditional IT Service Providers for Cloud Services Delivery.

muted

Another trend this year is where Industry stalwarts have been less opinionated. Stephen Mann transferred, after many years, from Forrester to ServiceNow. He has been consistently involved in the key community forums but for me is recording and observing rather than when he was at Forrester providing a thought provoking Point of View.

More worryingly Ken Gonzalez and Ian Clayton have changed their tone and been less vocal since they joined the G2G3 Americas team. G2G3 is part of the C(r)apita Group.

fencing

The Service Management ecosystem will continue to fence with more frequent and aggressive “Thrust and Parry response” moves, fighting with either foil or sabre. The natural tension between Profit (Axelos), Non-Profit (ISACA), Vendors and Customers will increase in 2014 with the lines blurring between who sits Inside the tent or Outside the tent.

WDGLL specs

Why do we need to be more relevant to our Consumer/Enterprise Customers?

The proportion of the global workforce dedicated to agriculture, products and services has changed dramatically and at a faster pace over the last 20 years:

table 1

In 2014 the principles of Service Management will be applied beyond Enterprise IT to predictably deliver outcomes for Consumer and Enterprise Customers. Lessons will be applied from Business Process Outsourcing and Operational Excellence. There will be a huge focus on moving from the Service Experience to Customer Experience with clear definition and measurement or outcome based Key Performance Indicators.

In 2014 we will officially be planning for the post ITIL environment. ITIL = Irrelevant Today Industry Leading Not

Axelos has consistently mentioned investment in products and the value proposition for CEOs.  Whilst new idea generation is part of the equation in 2014 execution is just as important. I envisage that Axelos will pander to the needs of the Pupil over Practitioners and will reap what they sow.

Moreover, Axelos has not defined the criteria by which any artefact will be categorised as “Global” Best Practice.

In 2014 Standards of Service Excellence will be set and validated by the global self-organizing community.

So in 2014 we will see the pooling of collective wisdom and increasing power of individual practitioners to share their insight with whoever is interested across any channel of interaction.

In 2014 it is important that we encourage any new or different thinking. TFT13 was a huge success. The submissions for TFT14 in February will require careful review in order to maintain the standards of excellence and meet the viewers expectations.

So who will take the

Service Management “Moral High Ground” in 2014?

The 2014 champions will be the individual practitioners who have delivered outcomes that address real business challenges. They will readily share proven solutions to business issues via platforms such as Google Helpouts. Those seeking help may opt to pay a sum they think the practical advice is worth.

In 2014 creativity will come from spontaneity, from random connections, from cross-pollination and easy sharing of ideas. A new cadre of “Opinion Formers” will take the global stage. There are no lines to be learned and the members of the cast will extend beyond the “same old same old” set of champions. As we Shift Right new voices from India, Singapore, Philippines etc. will join the dialogue. To this end keep an eye on the folk at HCL.

My related posts:

Is TFT13, not the ITIL joint venture, the way forward for IT Service Management Practices?  LINK

ServiceNow NowForum with presentations from CEO Frank Slootman and CTO Fred Luddy. LINK

Gartner Says Get Gamification working for you LINK

Gartner research note sets out how the Cloud Services Brokerage market will grow LINK

Are you invited to join the Google Helpouts marketplace?  LINK

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April 22, 2012 · 2:50 pm

Which side of the pond does Service / Help Desk best?

This week there are two Service / Help Desk conferences taking place in London and Orlando.

In the past the main aim of individuals attending these conferences was to “swan around” and visit as many vendor stands as possible in order to pick up items for their goodie bag.  Typically, Vendors showcase new product functionality, however I am not sure how many customer enquiries are converted into firm orders / sales.

In practice not many organisations will be able to make a compelling business case to “rip and replace” their existing solutions.  It is important to understand that a solution that is not web, mobile or social enabled will not be fit for the future. It is not possible to transform a “Lada into a Lexus” overnight.

Most large or mature organisations that have moved to a multi-sourcing model will be more focussed on establishing automated interfaces between the various service provider solutions in the value chain.  For example, a Global Service Desk may have implemented one Service Management solution and end-to-end interfaces need to be established to their Level 2 / Level 3 external service provider tools.

So attendees have shifted their focus from browsing the exhibition hall and listening to Vendors wax on about all things social / mobile to booking in for the keynote and seminar sessions.

I have looked at the schedules for both conferences and picked out one topic from each side of the pond.

The Service Desk & IT Support Show features the ITSM industry’s leading specialist vendors, integrators, consultancies and service providers.

Lean IT Moving Beyond Cost Savings

Roy Illsley @royillsley is principal analyst, infrastructure management for Ovum 

Here is a taster of his presentation.

“Lean IT is becoming a vogue term for how organizations can look to ensure the operational aspects of other functions in business can be made more efficient; hence the term operational efficiency (OE) is now more widely understood. However, moving a function like IT to be a ‘lean’ operation requires organizational change as well as a shift in thinking by the IT department. Critical to this is defining the role of IT within the enterprise and getting both business leaders and IT to agree on the key aspects of responsibility and accountability”

At 3:00 mins – IT must respond at the speed of the Business

At 5:30 – ITIL is not a given right to success

Roy will present the OVUM Model (Chart) at this session

Here is a LINK to his article – Lean IT much greater than a cost saving exercise

“The biggest lesson for any IT department is that lean IT is not about the tools that are used; it is about the processes and procedures deployed.”

The Lean IT: Moving Beyond Cost Savings research paper is available for $1895.  Scope:

  • Segmenting the responsibilities is key to understanding the Lean IT model
  • Recognize the role of IT differs within and between organizations
  • Business Relationship Managers (BRMs) do not operate in isolation
  • Changing the IT service delivery approach to a demand-led model

MOVING TO A LEARNING-BASED APPROACH IS CENTRAL TO UNLOCKING BENEFIT FROM LEAN IT

People, process, and purpose are the key attributes

Session 610:  Create, Innovate, and Get Out of the Cave

“IT has evolved so quickly that the average consumer now has access to more online services and collaboration tools at home than they do at the office.

Social media and collaborative technologies are setting expectations around delivery of IT services that most IT departments fail to meet.

Business managers have already started to bypass their IT departments to obtain services faster and IT appears to be losing control.  IT organizations that are too slow to evolve face a real threat from outsourcing.

This session looks at the technologies you cannot afford to ignore in 2012.

What can we learn from these new trends?

How can we leverage these technologies to create a better IT experience in the workplace?

If IT is to maintain its reputation and deliver value, we need to change, and change fast.”

Speaker Patrick Bolger @patb0512, Chief Evangelist, Hornbill Service Management.

 Here is a LINK to his presentation at SDITS 2011 entitled – Chaos to Value

Slide 7 – The Evolution of IT Focus

Slide 18 – How is IT serving top business priorities?

Slide 21 – Your ITSM Journey Plan

Slide 31 – Although Processes and Technology are important remember that People…

So which side of the pond is best? 

Over the years, both conferences have placed more focus on improving the quality and awareness of new Service Management Practices. 

This has been achieved through the sharing of thought leadership by recognised speakers at breakfast briefings, sessions across different subject streams and “expert” panels.

For me the HDI conference shades it because it has 8 streams and more recognised “experts” speaking.

e.g. Charles Araujo, Ian Clayton, Chris Dancy, Malcolm Fry, Lou Hunnebeck, Robert Stroud

It is deeply disappointing that both conferences are being held in the same week, so it will not be possible to hear from the “best of the best” in one conference setting.  Patrick Bolger is attending SDITS and then he is jumping on a plane to present at HDI which is not ideal preparation.

Methinks Continual Service Improvement is required M’Lud to avoid a conference scheduling clash in 2013.

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March 18, 2012 · 2:07 pm

Perspectives on Service Management Practices

Service Management Perspectives

Webinar on Friday 16-MAR-12

Ian Clayton (Principal – Service Management 101) and Kenneth Gonzalez “KENGON” (Managing Partner – Engaged Consulting)

Ian and Ken shared their perspectives in an informal manner.

Subject Matter

  • Fall from C-Level grace of ITSM, BSM and ITIL
  • How to successfully develop a service catalog
  • Next Generation Talk – what is around the corner?  Drop the IT from the front of ITSM
  • Framework Wars – futility of COBIT vs ITIL argument proposing that one is better than the other

Fall from C-Level grace of  ITSM, BSM and ITIL

Causes and Consequences

So what happened to the promise of ITIL and ITSM, why have they fallen from grace?

Dropping the IT from ITSM is not going to make a difference.

Need to explain ITSM and set senior stakeholder expectations.  Service Management applied to IT

What are the immediate and future consequences?

Budgets are constrained so explore concept of Quick Wins – which are only true if the customer declares it a quick win

Putting things in 30, 60 and 90 day containers is important.  Chop transformation project up into small bits

Build customer centric outcomes

There are so many sources of guidance that can be mined

Collaborate with communities of practice to solicit others viewpoints – LinkedIn, #Back2ITSM, #USMBOK etc.

How to successfully develop a service catalog

What is the definition of a service that a customer will recognise?

Example Product Catalogue.  Relates to a customer scenario and what they are doing on a daily basis

A service is a type of product

Bundling and Unbundling services

Build a service request catalog

Service offerings are different based on which customer segment is utilising it

Next Generation Talk

Is it time to press reset on the service management button?

Is it you or your management who have pressed the button?

How is what you have implemented working for you right now?

Define and agree what do you need

Practitioners believe that we need to do things differently.  Update or refresh our thinking

It is important to explore thinking and methods used by successful service provider organisations as a blueprint for next generation service management

Conversation is more vibrant around Next Generation.

We are not saying that anything is wrong however we must keep on the move – keep pace

Make sure are tools are sharp and training is even sharper

Do we need to press the reset button?  No we need a mechanism for maintaining momentum

Framework Wars

Futility of COBIT vs ITIL proposing that one is better than another

It is the height of lunacy to only choose one.

How do we compare and contrast guidance in order to apply it more effectively

Frameworks must be compared against the same criteria

Position USMBOK – 90% of which is outside of IT.  USMBOK – this is the language that I use

Customer centric thinking Outside-In conversation

What I consistently hear from clients is that ITIL is a dirty word because the significant project cost did not deliver the stated benefits or culture change.  The PINK folks talk about Attitudes, Behaviours and Culture.  Listen to what Troy has to say:  

Practitioner Radio Episode 21

Culture & ITSM Transformation Projects

Troy DuMoulin LINK

I agree that removing the IT from ITSM is not a panacea for all ills.  Service Management is not the exclusive domain of the IT organisation rather Customer Service Management, Field Service Management and Supply Chain Service Management have been around just as long.

How about we focus on defining and agreeing upon the set of Service Management Practices which become the overarching theme (roof) that sits above the different process frameworks (pillars).  (ITIL 2011 Edition, COBIT5, ISO/IEC 38500, ISO/IEC 20000, USMBOK, TIPU etc.)   

Service Management Practices aim to strengthen the focus on ‘Business and IT integration’ and also recognise the need for management of IT throughout the complete service lifecycle. 

You would not play a round of golf with only one club in your bag, so I agree with Ken that “it is the height of lunacy to choose one” over another framework.

 Internal / External Service providers should strive to achieve Service Excellence by choosing from a smorgasbord of good (not best) practice guidance rather than eat from the one dish.  Sitting at the table with the Business to talk about the desired outcomes they value is a given.  

“The Outside-In Service Management™ (OI-SM) program helps service organizations apply “Outside-In” thinking to service management initiatives, ensuring customer centricity, customer thinking, and the creation of value for customers.”

I have not religiously applied “Outside-In” to my client projects choosing to stay with proven Six Sigma Voice of the Customer [VOC] principles.  Basically the Voice of the Customer is a term that is used to describe the process of finding out what your customers want and need. This is accomplished by using surveys, stakeholder focus groups, workshops and actual interviews with your customers. 

In addition, Lean Six Sigma for Service also sets out the way to focus on customers.  LINK

A common mistake that I see with problem projects is that there is no concept of a joint Business and IT implementation team.  Moreover the delivery of stated benefits is not reviewed regularly with the customer and formal sign-off obtained before the project advances to the next stage.

Cracking video from the Process Excellence Network

It is about what your organisation does for Customers

[youtube http://youtu.be/8ckn9KjkgK0]

Process excellence improves the way you create and deliver value to customers,

In a Service Economy what you make is not the differentiator, it’s WHAT YOU DO and HOW YOU DO IT

02:22 You must understand and deliver what your customer needs better than your competitors

“No one knows everything, but everyone can learn something”

Sean Gregory Derrick

Have fun out in the market.  My next post will be after Easter

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February 12, 2012 · 1:23 pm

COBIT 5 is now approaching the finish line

 

Robert E Stroud

 

00:40 – Drive Business value and Business success

01:17 – Technology is at the centre of everything we do

02:05 – COBIT 5 helps organisations drive Business value

  

 

COBIT 5 Executive Summary 

Dr. Derek J. Oliver  (co-chair COBIT 5 Task Force at ISACA)

Summary powered by Brightalk 

COBIT 5 provides a comprehensive framework that assists enterprises to achieve their goals and deliver value through effective governance and management of enterprise IT.

 

The new processes definitions of COBIT 5 are based on the principles in ISO 38500 and the ISO 15504 Process Capability Assessment Model.

Rob England states that COBIT 5 is muddying governance and management.

I recommend that you read the responses made  by Peter Hill to this blog post

Far from muddying the water the COBIT 5 framework makes a clear distinction between governance and management.  COBIT 5 is based on five high level principles and Principle 5 is about the separation of  Governance from Management. 

Governance ensures that enterprise objectives are achieved by evaluating stakeholder needs, conditions and options; setting direction through prioritisation and decision making; and monitoring performance, compliance and progress against agreed direction and objectives [EDM]

Management plans, builds, runs and monitors activities in alignment with the direction set by the governance body to achieve the enterprise objectives [PBRM]

 

Overview of COBIT 5 Public Exposure Commentary

The COBIT 5 Development Team has digested all of the feedback from the public exposure and has been working diligently to incorporate the significant observations.

The completion of the Framework and Process Reference Guide are on schedule and both will be published in March or April 2012, along with COBIT 5:

The Implementation Guide, which is intended to assist stakeholders in implementing COBIT 5 for governance and management of enterprise information and technology assets.

 

The COBIT 5 Implementation Guide is being finalised for release in March.

There are seven phases in the implementation lifecycle which describe how to establish an approach to deliver a sustainable set of governance and management processes for the enterprise.

Phase 1 starts with recognising and agreeing to the need for an implementation or improvement initiative

Phase 2 is focused on defining the scope of the implementation or improvement initiative using COBIT’s mapping of enterprise goals to IT‐related goals to the associated IT processes.

During phase 3, an improvement target is set, followed by a more detailed analysis leveraging COBIT’s guidance to identify gaps and potential solutions.

Phase 4 plans practical solutions by defining projects supported by justifiable business cases.

 The proposed solutions are implemented into day‐to‐day practices in phase 5.

Phase 6 focuses on the sustainable operation of the new or improved enablers and the monitoring of the achievement of expected benefits.

 During phase 7, the overall success of the initiative is reviewed.

 

A practical COBIT 5 and IT governance seminar is scheduled for London (23rd Feb) this seminar provide delegates with an understanding of COBIT 5, how to implement IT governance and management processes, measure capability and manage performance.

 

In my experience the implementation of a governance framework enables strategic decision making and ensures IS investments are optimized, aligned with business strategy, and deliver required value within acceptable risk boundaries.

The governance framework sets out the hierarchy of forums that should be in place to allow IS leadership to monitor, measure and drive IS alignment to business priorities.

Decision making in the governance hierarchy takes place at the right level – i.e. empower people

The new COBIT 5 governance processes [Evaluate, Direct,  Monitor] provide guidance on how to define and deliver Business value for identified stakeholders.

The role of IT is to serve the Business and the guidance provided in COBIT5 will help internal / external Service Providers take an Outside In approach. 

This can be achieved by aligning Governance objectives and mapping Enterprise related goals with IT related goals.

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December 18, 2011 · 1:47 pm

What Will 2012 Look Like?

The current fiscal austerity and threat of a double dip recession means that there is a burning platform for change across IT enterprises to manage costs whilst enabling future Business growth.

  

Peter Sondergaard states that the second recession is about to hit which will impact Enterprise IT spending budgets in 2012.   

There is a fair degree of consistency in what the research firms / commentators see as the key trends for 2012.  I particularly liked what Frank Gens from IDC had to say and I have also picked out the Outside-In messaging from Deloitte and how it resonates with what Ian Clayton has been banging on about for ages.  My own observations appear at the foot of the post. 

IDC Predictions 2012: Competing for 2020

“Frank Gens presents the IDC outlook for the overall technology marketplace.  In 2012, the ICT industry’s shift to its third major platform of growth — built on mobile, cloud, social, and Big Data technologies — will accelerate, forcing the industry’s leaders to make bold investments and fateful decisions.

  • Worldwide IT spending will grow 6.9%, surprisingly solid growth in a fragile, recovering economy.  Mobile devices and apps and emerging markets will be the biggest growth drivers, while European debt issues will dominate downside risks.
  • Emerging markets IT spending will grow 13.8%, driving a whopping 53% of IT growth.  In the second half of 2012, China will supplant Japan as number 2 in the IT market.
  • “Mobility wins” will be the top theme of the year as mobile devices outship PCs by more than 2 to 1 and generate more revenue than PCs for the first time.  85 billion mobile apps will be downloaded, and mobile data network spending will exceed fixed data network spending for the first time.
  • The strategic focus in the cloud will shift from infrastructure to application platforms and the race to build the largest portfolios and ecosystems around those platforms.
  • Spending on public and private cloud services, and the building of those services (the “cloud arms dealer” opportunity), will reach $60 billion. Amazon will join the $1 billion IT vendor club.
  • In a mobile, cloud-oriented world, the network is more critical an infrastructure than ever.  For 2012, we predict rising demand, disruptive infrastructure shifts (to mobile), intensifying challenges (competition, funding), and expanding opportunities (cloud). In short: a world that will require a lot of adaptability to thrive (or even survive) in.
  • Big Data will join mobile and cloud as the next “must have” competency as the volume of digital content grows to 2.7ZB (1ZB = 1 billion terabytes) in 2012, up 48% from 2011, rocketing toward 8ZB by 2015. There will be lots of Big Data – driven mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity.
  • Major IT vendors will make “statement” acquisitions in social networking as social technologies become a core part of IT’s next growth platform. Social platform leader Facebook will attempt to leverage its consumer dominance into a much broader role serving businesses in B2C commerce.
  • As the number of intelligent communicating devices on the network will outnumber “traditional computing” devices by almost 2 to 1, the way people think about interacting with each other, and with devices on the network, will change. Look for the use of social networking to follow not just people but smart things.
  • Much of the money will be made on top of the “third platform” by building highvalue, vertically focused solutions. The buildout of these solutions — in healthcare, energy, government, financial services, and retail — will accelerate in 2012 — leaving IT providers without vertical competency on the sidelines.

Gens concludes by saying that by the end of 2012, we’ll have a good idea which vendors will — and won’t — be among the industry’s leaders in 2020.”

The full report is available to download

Extract from Deloitte Predicts the Top 10 Technology Trends for 2012

Outside-in Architecture:  Flexibility in operating and business models is proving more important. As a result, need to share is colliding with need to know and shifting solution architectures away from a siloed, enterprise-out design pattern and into an outside-in approach to delivering business through rapidly evolving ecosystems.

The fundamental shift in focus required by Service Provider organisations away from the current enterprise-out to a new outside-in approach has long been advocated by Ian Clayton.  Ian developed the “Outside-In Service Management™ (OI-SM)” term, concepts, and associated methods and services.

Outside In Thinking For Service Provider Organisations

 “The Outside-In Service Management™ (OI-SM) program helps service organizations apply “Outside-In” thinking to service management initiatives, ensuring customer centricity, customer thinking, and the creation of value for customers.  OI-SM takes precedent over traditional “inside-out”, process, best practice, technology, capability level and service centric efforts.

Traditional improvement efforts, including most IT Service Management projects, work “inside-out”, focusing on what’s happening inside the service provider or infrastructure management organization, how it works, and using internal performance measures.

Outside-In thinking ensures the organization ‘learns to see’ from a customer perspective, and service management and improvement efforts are driven by understanding what a service does for the customer in terms of enabling and supporting their desired results or ‘Successful Customer Outcomes (SCOs)’.”

 

Gartner – Predicts 2012: Four Forces Combine to Transform the IT Landscape

This Predicts 2012 special report highlights how the control of technology and technology-driven decisions is shifting out of the hands of IT organizations. New forces that are not easily controlled by IT are pushing themselves to the forefront of IT spending.

Specifically, the forces of cloud computing, social media and social networking, mobility and information management are all evolving at a rapid pace. Business unit stakeholders often recognize the value of new technology before IT departments can harness it.

 

For me, the top three trends for Enterprise IT in 2012 can be summarised as “MoSCo” which refers to Mobility, Social business and Cloud. 

Some of my other observations would be:

 

2012 is not about doing more for less it is about choosing which things you will do and those you have to stop doing altogether.  The Business will be directed to cut back on discretionary spending that will impact their key investment decisions.  At the same time the Business will need the flexibility to respond quickly to changing imperatives.  

 

In 2012 if the expected service does not meet the perceived service the expectation gap will grow and the Business will go elsewhere.  With enterprise mobility will come the need to re-evaluate target service levels which will need to be tiered depending on the device the Business user adopts to access corporate information.

 

In 2012 there will be increased pressure to craft new and re-negotiate existing contracts requiring best in class Sourcing and Vendor Management capabilities and practitioners within the Service Provider organisation.  These SVM professionals must be able to interact with the Business / Procurement whilst actively managing Supplier / Vendor relationships in a multi-sourced environment. 

 

In 2012 the impending “Eurogeddon” crisis will fuel a significant increase in the adoption of cloud based services.  As service offerings mature the Business will focus on “Not If, But When” to adopt the cloud especially if it improves project delivery timescales.  

 

In 2012 the Business will examine how, when and what (Infrastructure + Applications + Services) to migrate to the cloud to save cost and resources.

 

Last Word – I am looking forward to the premiere of “House of Lies” a new American comedy TV show in Jan which is based on the book, House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time.  Survival of the Slickest indeed.

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October 2, 2011 · 5:42 pm

Ian Clayton reviews the ITIL 2011 Service Strategy core volume

At 06:40 Any manager within the Service Provider organisation is deemed to be a Service Manager. In my view a Service Owner role must be assigned who has end-to-end accountability for the service.  Otherwise how will escalation work and what are the lines of communication between the Service Provider and Business Users.

At 10:00 Ian highlights the Business Perspective.

At 11:10 Stakeholders want business outcomes they desire.

At 13:09 Ian recommends that the Service Strategy book should be mandatory reading for all Senior Executives responsible for managing s ervices.

“All service providers need to define their client servicing strategy” 

Ade McCormack penned a great FT article entitled  “Users want service, not technology”

A strategic perspective to Service Management is necessary once you have achieved operational effectiveness because you need to create value for your customers by providing them with differentiated services.

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