The most important driver is that IT infrastructure services will align with customer and business needs and expectations. Establishing a standard set of service offerings, with associated service levels and costs, tells the IT users and customers what they can expect. It also means IT can clearly understand its own capabilities, leverage resources and in turn manage the demand for new services in a more efficient way.
Define and publish available services;
Standardized the service fulfillment processes.
Establish achievable service levels;
Determine the associated costs;
Manage performance;
Make a difference.
Customer Alignment & Demand ManagementThe focus of the IT infrastructure service catalogue is the customer service expectation. This clear definition of ‘service’ provides the basis for a balanced negotiation with regards to the trade-offs of cost and the breadth and quality of services.
The result of these efforts is an ongoing communication between the business units and IT that enables IT to deliver instant value, ensuring quicker time to market, measurable SLA compliance and ultimately improved customer satisfaction. Customer demand will drive the actions and choices that produce alignment.
Measure itThe ability to accurately measure the value performance of the service delivery enables IT to adapt to changing business conditions, Information technology consulting services and apply resources in the most optimal way.
How can an IT infrastructure service catalogue be developed?
Capture and publish the existing capabilities
Review what IT delivers today and formalize these offerings as a foundation for future services;
Involve and interview existing users;
Clarify the attributes of service requirements;
Introduces the concepts behind an IT infrastructure service catalogue.
Investigation & Analysis: Document and inventories the existing infrastructure capability;.
Service Class Development: Review the current IT configurations being delivered; clarify the business requirements; develop the formal IT Service Classes. Include cost and capacity management aspects, Small business consulting services Define KPI’s that will allow measurement of performance.
Publish the Catalogue: Present the developed IT Service Classes as the IT Infrastructure Service Catalogue to the stakeholders and attain buy in.
Feedback & Review: Following the adoption of the initial IT Service Classes, review how the IT infrastructure service catalogue is performing and define processes for maintaining the catalogue by incorporating new customer requirements.
ConclusionAn IT infrastructure service catalogue can drive the service strategy (have SLA’s), the cost model (keep them low) and charge model (get your investments back), as well as standardize IT services (ease of use) to support business processes (be agile). A focused project team can assess and analyze today’s IT infrastructure service delivery capabilities, information management consulting and business requirements. Subsequently they can embark into capturing new and upcoming requirements as well as establishing the methodology for continuing to develop and maintain the Service Catalogue.
The good news is, that proven methods and practices to achieve transformation of IT service delivery into a true business asset exist.
