Will Tough Economy Drive or Derail ITIL Initiatives?

by Ann All, IT Business Edge

As a CIO, you likely understand the value of making your IT processes more consistent and repeatable, a primary objective of the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework. But will you be able to convince your CFO? While process standardization is a worthy goal, it’s not easy to quantify, and quantifiable benefits are what finance folks want to see in the current economy.

Companies are looking for service management initiatives relating to IT asset management or other programs that offer quicker and easier payoffs, says IDC analyst Fred Broussard, author of an HP-sponsored white paper on IT service management needs and adoption trends. The 600 global IT organizations he surveyed for his paper cited reducing costs as one of their highest-priority initiatives for 2008, along with aligning to the business and improving service performance.

“ITIL helps you manage services better and work across organizations more smoothly, so you make fewer errors. It’s hard to think about that in a way that saves the company money,” Broussard says. “Money not spent in tracking down errors is much softer than reducing the number of servers or software licenses you are buying.”

“Unless there’s a strong direct link to core elements of an organization’s business strategy, and/or IT can demonstrate and commit to a positive ROI within 12 months, projects are being shelved,” says Bob Mathers, a principal consultant for Compass Management Consulting. “Both are pretty difficult to show for most ITIL implementations.”

“You need a CIO or VP of operations to come in and give a mandate.”

Matthew Schvimmer, HP Software & Solutions

Mathers believes companies will still embark on ITIL initiatives, though he’s not sure many will advance beyond incident management, problem management and change management, the first three areas most companies choose to tackle with their IT service management efforts.

“The investment is fairly low and the benefits fairly clear for those starting out,” Mathers points out, noting that many companies already possess required tools such as a ticket system and see obvious value in lowering the number of service incidents and responding to them more quickly. But Mathers believes some ITIL users may balk at more advanced concepts, such as creating a configuration management database, a repository that illustrates the attributes of and relationships between elements of IT infrastructure.

Though ITIL initiatives require a considerable investment of time and energy, organizations don’t have to throw money at them, says Tracy Schroeder, vice president of information technology for the University of San Francisco, which has been using ITIL for nearly five years.

Rather than purchasing software and engaging an ITIL consultant, Schroeder recommends first attending training sessions and using what you learn to analyze and document your organization’s processes. “I’ve found that consultants can give you general advice and steer you in the right direction, but you have to figure out how ITIL makes sense in your organization and which ITIL principles you can apply.”

The university didn’t invest in a new tool until nearly three years into its ITIL initiative. It now uses several tools from Service-now, a provider of on-demand service management solutions, including tools for incident, problem and change management, plus a basic level of configuration management. The university integrated the latter tool with LANDesk to populate it with its desktop and laptop assets, and with its SunGard Banner ERP system for creating users, says Schroeder.

Taking the time to develop and understand processes beforehand helped, she adds. “That way, when you get to the tool, you know what you want it to do and it’s serving you rather than you shaping yourself around it.”