Business Service Management Hub

It’s rumored that the Ford Model T’s track dimension (the distance between the wheels of the same axle) could be traced from the Conestoga wagon to the Roman chariot by the ruts they created. Roman roads forced European coachbuilders to adapt their wagons to the Roman chariot track, a measurement they carried over when building wagons in America in the 19th and early 20th centuries.  (read more…)

The Hub Commentary ___

I like this post by my friend JP, it brings a whole new meaning to “being stuck in a rut”.  I ask, what is the point of new technology if we cannot use it as designed?  Think about when you are are purchasing a product or service and are greeted with “the system doesn’t work that way”.  Generally, I do not care how the system works – I just want to buy something, exchange something and not be bothered with what it takes someone to perform the task.

So I always find it curious as IT professionals why we impose these obstacles and roadblocks to progress in supporting our business.  Another news piece by one of JP’s colleagues also makes the point of why start-ups are successful, they meet the customer requirements.

Markets dynamics and business requirements change – how as IT do we use new technology to craft innovative solutions as JP says and operationally figure out how to monitor, manage and measure it.  The service providers know how to do this and will feast in 2011 on the IT organizations that do not become agile to market dynamics and business requirements.

Michele

Cash-starved. Fast-paced. Understaffed. Late nights. T-shirts. Jeans.

These descriptors are just as relevant to emerging tech startups as they are to the typical enterprise IT infrastructure and operations (I&O) department. And to improve customer focus and develop new skills, I&O professionals should apply a “startup” mentality. (read more…)

The Hub Commentary ___

I find this a great analogy for IT organizations having sat on both sides of the fence.  I was once an IT application development & support systems analyst.  I remember working on my first client server application (I know that dates me) and meeting with a technical engineer from a start-up software company who had come to help me with some pointers on using the tool for my project.

One of the first things we discussed was why I wasn’t directing the application I was developing directly against the database server.  My response, “because if I use the database in the application, then all the users will have to have access/licenses and that comes with a fee.”  So let’s think about this, they are paying you to develop an application, drop a spreadsheet of numbers into a database you paid for, then extract it again to display in this tool that you paid for.  Yeah.  Dilbert cartoon in the making!  Incredible silence fell as we both knew we were spending more money to avoid a license to the database than if we bought those licenses and used the technology and application I was developing.  Dilbert!

That was 20+ years ago (yikes) and as IT organizations we are often a penny wise and a dollar short.  2011 will no doubt be a tipping point for the service providers with business frustration at an all time high and access to new services prevalent.  How an IT person answers this question is a telling statement to me, “What business are you in?”.  If the answer is “I am in desktop support”, I know it is an inward facing IT organization.  If the answer is “New drug development and I support keeping the scientists in R&D working racing against the clock to get formulas to the FDA to be first to market”.  I know this is a business driven organization and there is no business ‘and’ IT.

Think like a start-up – technology is a solution to innovation, not a problem to support and operate

Michele

Not long ago, Forrester analyst James Staten wrote a report with the compelling title: You’re Not Ready for Internal Cloud.  (read more…)

Cloud computing will drive Business Service Management practices.  The first point of pushing things to the cloud that are standard is discussed in one of my previous blogs.  Don’t keep in-house that which should be outsourced and don’t outsource that which is so unique to your business.

However, remember the management of the private and public cloud as services, service levels and performance monitoring.

Many mergers don’t live up to expectations, because they stumble on the integration of technology and operations. But a well-planned strategy for IT integration can help mergers succeed.  (read more…)

I find this article interesting as it hits the core of IT aligning to business, integration and a sound integration platform and strategy.  The link to the Credit Suisse article also discussing integration enabling distribution and regional agility with company level views.

The indisputable economic benefits of cloud computing for certain applications drive businesses to consider building clouds of their own, but they need to make sure they are prepared before jumping into the cloud.  (read more…)

Shadow IT has worried CIOs for decades. The practice is often defended as a source of innovation and a faster-than-normal way for users to get their jobs done but this off the radar technology use by employees presents serious dangers to the corporation ranging from increased security threats to compliance issues.  (read more…)

If you manage the delivery of any service from uber-modern SaaS and RIA‘s to human-based service desk and moves/adds/changes to good ol’ e-services such as e-mail, there are just five questions you should ask if you want to deliver the highest quality of experience (QoE) ….. (read more…)

Despite decades of increasingly intensive use of information across industries, IT has remained a black box for many executives. Too often, the link between spending and performance has been unclear, if not problematic. As a result, leaders felt that their only course of action was to hire a competent CIO, throw increasing amounts of money at IT, and hope for the best.  (read more …)

Tom Sanzone, CIO of Credit Suisse, says he was attracted to his position by senior management’s commitment to technology—a commitment demonstrated by his seat on the executive board of Credit Suisse. In that role, Sanzone helps shape the bank’s overall strategy, which is based on the opportunities that his technology organization has created.  (read more …)