© SERVICE PORTFOLIO SOLUTIONS LTD, 2008

IT – cost overhead or enabling the

business

Context

17/11/2008© Service Portfolio Solutions Ltd

The introduction of ITIL was a turning point in the way IT is delivered to companies across the world. V2 was all about running IT “properly” through the introduction of key processes that must be in place if you want to deliver good services. ITIL v3 has shifted the focus to a business centric world where IT and business processes are aligned. There is now a clear demarcation in IT between the “front-office” and “back-office”. The back office is focussed on delivering the technical IT services such as networks, data centre and PC’s. The front office is all about how the business interacts with IT from requesting services to charging. The hub of the back office is the CMDB whilst the hub of the front office is the service catalogue.IT has spent too much time on the “back office” which results in the view that IT is a black box and a cost overhead. With the introduction of the “front office” this changes and transforms IT to a business enabler and valued partner.The following pages present a comparison of IT today vs. the direction for the future. The journey to the future all hinges on aligning IT service delivery to business processes through the adoption of a service catalogue and configuration management processes.

Service Experience

Today Future

Inventory of components (server, PC, network)

Service levels agreed with suppliers

Service levels aligned across suppliers

Service levels agreed with business

Criticality of services to business processes (business continuity / disaster recovery)

Criticality of components to business processes

Service levels defined per service

Service levels defined in terms of user experience

Measure and report end-end user experience

Single point of access for users to add or change service requirements

Services aligned to EACH businesses needs

User entitlement determined by business

Automation of back office processes

17/11/2008© Service Portfolio Solutions Ltd

Cost Management

Today Future

Total IT Cost (Opex, Revex, Capex)

Cost by Element (software, hardware, resources)

Cost by Component (server, PC, network node)

Cost by Location

Cost by Supplier

Cost by Service (technical or business)

Cost by Service & Location

Cost by Client

Benchmarked service cost

Service Value (company) / Profitability (supplier)

Service Usage by client

Cost variability (how long before costs change)

Cost linked to usage (Price * Quantity)

Budget is outcome of business demand

Investment decisions optimised and aligned to business needs

Improved tax and partner recovery

17/11/2008© Service Portfolio Solutions Ltd