Is ITSM just IT management at this point

Wednesday 12 August 2009


Yesterday on twitter I asked the question: "is ITIL and ITSM just good IT management" and I got the response :@RobertEStroud: RT @supportthought: Is ITIL and ITSM just good IT management" No much more involved - look to COBIT for a start #itsm

Which I agree with, but I think the fact that I am a novice in the short form of twitter didn't really help me get my point across, which wasn't intended to be about the span of ITIL.

What I meant to ask was: Isn't managing IT as a service the de facto way of running IT now, does anyone really run it as a bunch of computers? Hasn't that ship sailed?

I actually don't know the answer to this, hence the question I suppose, I reside in the US and even though we are reported to be late adopters I still don't meet anyone who isn't running IT as a service.(or at least trying/intending)

I would be interested to know if anyone has any comments about this, I have a feeling that all this focus on getting everyone to look at IT as a service may be wasted, they buy the idea and really just want a practical way to do it.

5 comments:

Paul @Adanti - Customer Service and Business Change said...

I think the majority of large coorporations have adopted and adapted ITIL to a lesser or greater success, but a large proportion are focused on IT Services, as opposed to integrated Business Services. Ithink V3 attempts to push this point, but still struggles in some areas to make the point that this is ultimately about people and relationships (not just process and tools)

Certainly in the UK a lot of small to medium enterprises still view IT as 'computers' within certain markets

SupportThought said...

Thanks Paul, I like the reference to integrated business services rather than IT services, and you may be right. I agree that V3 though it purports to be getting there does still hang out in the weeds of "process".

The IT Skeptic said...

Business or IT there is more to IT operations than services. they may be the topic du jour but ITSM can't be stretched to cover governance, development, acquisition, architecture, projects or HR, to name just a few other IT functions.

I also think the ITSM link is tenuous in applications, operations, continuity, security, facilities and assets.

if we dilute the definition of ITSM enough, as ITIL is doing, then yes everything becomes ITSM but I don't see that as useful. I'd prefer ITIL just admit it is about more than ITSM - I wouldn't think less of it.

The IT Skeptic said...

On second thoughts, perhaps yes ITSM is just a perspective on IT operations and anything to do with IT can be viewed through an ITSM lens...???

SupportThought said...

Good points, ITSM is not a cure-all for IT.

I agree that extending ITIL into areas it is not that proficient and not doing them well is jeopardizing its standing, as the old saying goes "Jack of all trades - master of none".

In this light it's probably a good idea that ITIL doesn’t even mention project management.

Though my experience is with larger, global corporations, I still think that IT as a "service" is a pretty standard view, whether IT understands what it is serving is a different question.

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