Compuware warns companies to put end users first when implementing ITIL

"As IT departments struggle to juggle their increasing responsibilities, they are changing the way they work so that they can improve the service they provide to the business. Many IT departments have found themselves bogged down in tactical problem solving or fire fighting. Therefore they are now trying to transform their operations by taking a more strategic approach to service delivery, enabling them to spot problems and potential issues either proactively or earlier in their lifecycle. This has led to more and more enterprises looking to adopt the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), a best practice approach to IT service management," comments Michael Allen, global performance director, Compuware. "However, ITIL is vast and this is why companies should be careful and ensure they take a step by step approach to ITIL, where they are initially implementing the processes that will quickly demonstrate benefits."

Forrester expects that by 2008, 80% of IT departments in billion-dollar companies will have adopted ITIL best practices. This means that the debate about how ITIL should be implemented is due to run for some time. ITIL encompasses many different processes, but the importance and value of these to each enterprise will vary depending on their unique needs. In March 2005, a Forrester survey found that companies felt most strongly about the ITIL processes that have a direct influence on the end user experience. This is perhaps not surprising, but it does provide companies looking to implement ITIL with a good starting point.

"Companies should look to implement the ITIL processes that alleviate end users' main pain points first. By putting end users first, and taking a process by process approach, IT directors can ensure that the business really reaps the rewards of implementing ITIL and that the IT service being delivered to end users is optimised," continued Allen. "With service level management being at the heart of ITIL, most businesses will be able to see early rewards by focusing on how they measure service levels. Businesses need to ensure they have technology in place that will allow them to measure the end user experience, rather than just measuring the performance on the individual parts of the IT ecosystem in isolation. It is only by doing this will they be able to move towards and implement ITIL service level management best practices. In addition, by measuring the end user experience IT managers will also be provided with trigger metrics that will help them transform their support services from being reactive to proactive."