Posted by Stephanie Nicoll
Mon, Sep 10, 2018
A special offer for customers and blog readers! Free ITIL Foundation Training is available this month. This class is for beginners and provides baseline knowledge for IT service management.
You should consider this 4 hour, online course if you:
Topics: ITIL, ITIL Process, ITIL training
Posted by Don Casson
Mon, Jan 08, 2018
Over the past few years IT organizations have become more focused on effectively defining and reporting against business services. However there is some confusion around what constitutes a business service and what constitutes a technical service. What are the differences and where do we, as IT professionals, draw the line between? More importantly, how do we explain the difference to the business?
Topics: Business Service Management, BSM, ITIL, Business Services Management
Posted by Don Casson
Wed, Jul 26, 2017
Align from top to bottom, with customers first: the fifth key to getting it right
Successful Service Asset and Configuration Management (SACM) begins with the customer. As with everything else involved in running a successful enterprise in a data-driven world, having the customer in mind is an important first step. And if you want customers to return, you must achieve efficiency and improve the effectiveness of your technology supporting them.
Topics: IT Asset Management, Configuration Management Database, Configuration Management, ITIL, ITIL Process, ITIL Consulting, ITIL Strategy, CMDB, CMDB Challenges, CMDB Consulting, SACM, Service Asset, Service Asset and Configuration Management
Posted by Don Casson
Mon, Jul 24, 2017
In my last post, I discussed two keys to help you get moving in the right direction for simplifying service asset and configuration management (SACM) – Key 1: Know why it hasn’t worked, and Key 2: Know why you are doing this. Now let’s move beyond the “why” and into the “what” to provide useful tips for the planning and implementation stages.
If you get the process of planning your service asset and configuration management (SACM) program right from the very start, you increase your chances of achieving a successful implementation. There will be roadblocks ahead, but also plenty of good opportunities for lessons learned along your journey. You will have policy, process and technology to design and build, so you should really think things through. And the process may be twice as hard and take twice as long as you may initially think, to get it right.
Therefore, be sure to start with something important, but manageable – this is the third key to simplified asset and configuration management. Limit the data by beginning with a manageable universe of data points that you can understand and manipulate, with manual intervention when necessary. For asset management, this might be one to three top software licenses, or a class of high value servers. And a focus on one to two high value, tier-1 type services (only ones that really matter) is the best way to structure your configuration management planning efforts.
Next, it’s on to the fourth key: pilot, learn and then apply.
Topics: IT Asset Management, Configuration Management Database, Configuration Management, ITIL, ITIL Process, ITIL Consulting, ITIL Strategy, CMDB, CMDB Challenges, CMDB Consulting, SACM, Service Asset, Service Asset and Configuration Management
A key purpose for keeping track of all asset and configuration information is to ensure and maintain delivery of services, which keeps your customers happy. This is the “why” behind your efforts to build an effective configuration and asset management program.
ITIL describes Service Asset and Configuration Management (SACM) like this: “the process responsible for ensuring that the assets required to deliver services are properly controlled, and that accurate and reliable information about those assets is available when and where it is needed. This information includes details of how the assets have been configured and the relationships between assets.”
I place emphasis on “deliver services” above because this is the crux of the challenge in effectively and accurately managing your IT assets and configurations.
Topics: IT Asset Management, Configuration Management Database, Configuration Management, ITIL, ITIL Process, ITIL Consulting, ITIL Strategy, CMDB, CMDB Challenges, CMDB Consulting, Service Asset, Service Asset and Configuration Management
Posted by Don Casson
Mon, Jul 17, 2017
... and three questions to help you avoid getting lost in all the data!
What happens when you build an Asset and Configuration Management program based on ITIL-defined processes? You position yourself to achieve such benefits as cost reduction, improved management of risks and optimized operational efficiencies.
Here’s what happens next: you must figure out on your own how to succeed with these best practices.
In other words, ITIL is good in helping you lay the foundation for an effective configuration and asset management operation, but the part where you must successfully execute it is entirely up to you. Here is where asking the right questions can make a world of difference in the success of your asset and configuration management program.
Topics: IT Asset Management, Configuration Management Database, Configuration Management, ITIL, ITIL Process, ITIL Consulting, ITIL Strategy, CMDB, CMDB Challenges, CMDB Consulting
It's been a busy summer here at Evergreen... cross country trips presenting both of our complimentary workshops: Service Catalog; and CMDB, Configuration and Asset Management... and of course our webinar series with live webinars twice a month.
Topics: Service Catalog, ITIL, ServiceNow, Service Request Catalog, IT Consulting, IT Service Catalog, ITSM, IT, Request Portal, ITSM Strategy, Service Operation Processes, Service Catalog Webinar, Service Strategy Processes, Service Design Processes
Posted by Don Casson
Thu, Apr 14, 2016
Give the customer what they want to get what we need. That is Balanced Design.
Does it work?
Topics: Service Catalog, ITIL, ServiceNow, Service Request Catalog, IT Consulting, IT Service Catalog, ITSM, IT, Request Portal, ITSM Strategy, Service Operation Processes, Service Catalog Webinar, Service Strategy Processes, Service Design Processes
Posted by Don Casson
Tue, Apr 12, 2016
This is part 4 in a series of 5 posts. Click here to read part 1. To access part 2, click here. For part 3, click here.
Creating effective IT Services always involves three constituencies - the customer, the provider and the manager.
Most organizations are interested in building a beautiful, self-service software store as part of their IT Service Catalogs. It is also a great example of balanced design – giving the customers what they want to get what we need.
Let’s look at the step “Install.”
Topics: Service Catalog, ITIL, ServiceNow, Service Request Catalog, IT Consulting, IT Service Catalog, ITSM, IT, Request Portal, ITSM Strategy, Service Operation Processes, Service Catalog Webinar, Service Strategy Processes, Service Design Processes
Posted by Don Casson
Thu, Apr 07, 2016
This is part 3 in a series of 5 posts. Click here to read part 1. To access part 2, click here.
Creating effective IT Services always involves three constituencies - the customer, the provider and the manager.
Most organizations are interested in building a beautiful, self-service software store as part of their IT Service Catalogs. It is also a great example of balanced design – giving the customers what they want to get what we need.
Let’s look at the step “Buy.”
Topics: Service Catalog, ITIL, ServiceNow, Service Request Catalog, IT Consulting, IT Service Catalog, ITSM, IT, Request Portal, ITSM Strategy, Service Operation Processes, Service Catalog Webinar, Service Strategy Processes, Service Design Processes
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