The usefulness of ITIL is well proven. Developed by the UK Civil Service during the 1980s as a best-practice framework for running IT, it is increasingly being adopted as a means of managing IT service delivery. Market researchers estimate that over 70% of the today’s Global 2000 companies are focusing on ITIL adoption for process improvement. But, warns Noel Bruton, a UK independent consultant and service desk expert, the vendor-driven nature of ITIL confuses people into thinking about ITIL as a software deployment.
IT shops should be wary about thinking they can implement ITIL. They can’t. ITIL is meant to be adopted and adapted. It is descriptive, not prescriptive. It is more to do with processes, than it is software implementation.
According to Bruton, the ITIL ‘best practice’ claim is also misleading. Anecdotal evidence suggests that service performance is usually mediocre Bruton said. In a survey carried out by Bruton of 400 sites, about half of the 125 organizations which were found to have adopted ITIL made no measured improvement in terms of their service performance or the rate at which they were able to close helpdesk calls.
Some helpdesks can way outperform a site that has adopted the best practices of ITIL, said Bruton. Best practice does not mean superior performance. It is beginning to sound that ITIL is the only way to go. It isn’t. It is only one way to go.
Vendors such as CA, HP, Mercury Interactive, Peregrine, and Remedy count among 30 software vendors that claim ITIL compliance certification for their service management suites. In fact, the certification of service management software for ITIL has become a business in itself, with companies such as Ontario, Canada-based Pink Elephant running verification schemes for vendors wanting their service management software tested as ITIL compatible.
Pink Elephant is careful to point out, however, that its PinkVerify scheme does not measure ITIL compliance, but simply assesses a tool’s compatibility with the ITIL framework.
Speaking at a conference organized by systems management vendor ASG Software Solutions Inc, another expert in the field Aidan Lawes, CEO of the not-for-profit itSMF organization, also voiced concerns. You can’t implement ITIL. It is not a product. IT departments should not get hung up on the detail, but adopt and adapt, he said. ITIL and BS15000 provide a solid framework for developing an appropriate solution, but it is process-driven approaches and professional staff that really deliver value.
Lawes also warned that IT shops looking to adopt ITIL should not underestimate the commitment, the cost or the timescale needed. Out of data collated for his survey, Bruton was able to estimate that as a rule of thumb the cost of ITIL adoption in terms of the average cost of training, consulting and tools, reaches an average of 5,338 pounds ($9,540) when spread across the number of people employed in the IT departments of the 125 ITIL adopters surveyed.