the impact of cloud technologies on itsm
TRANSCRIPT
The Impact of Cloud
Technologies on IT
Service Management subtitle
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 3
2. Key Findings .......................................................................................................... 5
3. Survey Methedology & Who Participated in Our Survey .................................... 6
4. Survey Responses ................................................................................................. 7
5. Summary and Conclusions ................................................................................. 11
6. About the Authors ............................................................................................... 12
1. Introduction
Every market forecast clearly shows that user adoption of Cloud Computing alternatives is
accelerating and fueling the rapid growth of the Cloud Computing industry.
THINKstrategies and FrontRange have teamed up to conduct a survey to better understand how
this trend is impacting the IT Service Management (ITSM) needs of organizations. Three hundred
forty-one (341) people worldwide participated in our survey that was conducted in December 2012
through January 2013. This report provides an overview of our findings and the implications of this
new data.
The Cloud discussion has provoked a lot of debate from industry pundits and tech publications,
regarding the relative merits of Cloud based solutions; however what their arguments have failed to
incorporate into the discussion is how organizations are leveraging Cloud based technologies and
adding new Cloud solutions to their existing set of premise based or installed systems. They are in
essence creating ‘hybrid’ environments to support their business requirements and trying to
determine the best way to manage the mix of legacy systems and Cloud services to meet their
corporate objectives. The adoption of ‘hybrid’ appears to be seen by many organizations as a
feasible and cost-effective method to bridging the gap between Cloud and premise based solutions
without having to compromise on business objectives.
As a result of converging newer Cloud technologies with older legacy systems, there are a number
of reasons why organizations are finding it difficult to manage these hybrid environments. To start
most mid- and large-scale organizations have never gained full control over their traditional, on-
premise IT operations and business applications. The truth is that for many IT groups, legacy ITSM
solutions have been far too complicated and costly to successfully deploy.
The way Cloud services are deployed and Cloud service providers support their offerings
compounds the IT department’s challenges. The ‘consumerization of IT’ is enabling corporate
business units and end-users to acquire Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service and
even Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) alternatives without IT authorization or assistance. This can
put additional strain on existing operations and create added support requirements, adding another
layer of complexity on top of the existing data center chaos.
As a result, our research has found a growing number of IT organizations are seeking a new
generation of IT Service management tools to help them monitor and manage their IT services from
within a hybrid environment of on-premise systems and Cloud services.
Ideally, they would like IT Service Management tools which give them real-time data and alerts, and
provides powerful analytics to anticipate potential problems before they disrupt their operations.
Fortunately, there is a new generation of Cloud-based ITSM solutions, like those provided by
FrontRange, which help address these issues. These new solutions are easier to deploy and less
costly to operate. They can be configured to fit into a variety of IT environments and quickly
generate valuable information to enable IT organizations to better manage their operations.
2. Key Findings
Over half of the respondents categorized their organizations as being at the first level of
ITSM maturity, and only a little more than a third of the respondents (35.5%) are at the
second level of maturity.
A significant proportion of the respondents are committed to make investments in their
ITSM systems and skills in 2013 to raise their maturity levels.
Nearly three quarters of the survey respondents (72.7%) are currently relying on on-
premise ITSM solutions to address their needs.
Only 13.5% of the survey respondents reported they are very satisfied with the way their
current ITSM solution is delivered, and almost an equal proportion are dissatisfied with their
current ITSM delivery method.
One-third of the respondents reported the primary reason they change their ITSM solutions
is to better align IT with the business. Over a quarter of the respondents also would like to
change solutions to improve the ease of use and customization of their current ITSM
solutions.
Reliability, Security and alignment of IT with the business are the top three attributes of
interest to the survey respondents when they consider each ITSM delivery model.
The IT manager is primarily responsible for the selection of the ITSM solution, and the
quality of the ITSM supplier’s support and their ability to reduce the user’s total cost of
ownership (TCO) are the most important criteria for selection.
3. Survey Methodology & Who
Participated in Our Survey
We conducted our survey via email using SurveyMonkeyTM
during December 2012 and January
2013. We were pleased to have 341 people participate from organizations of all sizes across a
variety of industries worldwide.
Here are the demographics of the survey participants.
Survey Respondent Titles
Top Industries Represented
Geographic Representation
Size of Organization (by employees)
4. Survey Responses
Current Level of ITSM Maturity
One of the primary challenges facing organizations of all sizes is how to improve their ITSM
maturity level in the wake of today’s rapidly evolving Cloud marketplace.
Over half of the respondents categorized their organizations as being at the first level of ITSM
maturity in which they are currently using a variety of IT help desk tools such as incident, problem,
inventory and knowledge management and reporting.
Only a little more than a third of the respondents (35.5%) are at the second level of maturity and
taking advantage of change management, self-service, service request and SLA management.
And, less than 10% of the survey respondents are at the highest level of maturity and using service
virtualization, release governance, social it management, analytics &reporting, and mobility
management tools.
The following figure shows the current maturity levels of the survey respondents as well as
projected level of ITSM maturity by the end of 2013
Projected Level of ITSM Maturity by End of 2013
As the figure below shows, a significant percentage of the respondents to our survey are committed
to make investments in their ITSM systems and skills to raise their maturity levels during the
coming year.
Current ITSM Solution Deployment Method
Not surprisingly, nearly three quarters of the survey respondents (72.7%) are currently relying on
on-premise ITSM solutions to address their needs.
The primary reasons for the respondents’ choice of their current ITSM solutions are alignment of IT
with the business and budgetary considerations.
Current ITSM Solutions Fail to Fully Satisfy IT Organizations Needs
Only 13.5% of the survey respondents reported they are very satisfied with the way their current
ITSM solution is delivered, and almost an equal percentage are dissatisfied with their current ITSM
delivery method.
Although 42.5% of the respondents say they are satisfied with their current solution delivery
method, almost as many would appear to be receptive to another alternative.
Aging ITSM Solutions Ready for Replacement
Over half of the currently installed ITSM solutions are 5+ years old.
The Reasons Organizations Change
ITSM Solutions
According to our survey respondents, the
primary reason they change their ITSM
solutions is to better align IT and the business.
Over a quarter of the respondents also change
to improve the ease of use and customization
of their ITSM solutions.
ITSM Selection Criteria
The quality of the ITSM supplier’s support
and their ability to reduce the user’s total
cost of ownership (TCO) are the most
important criteria for selection.
Top 3 Attributes of Interest in Each ITSM Delivery Model
Reliability, Security and alignment of IT to the business are the top 3 attributes of interest to the
surveyor respondents when they consider each ITSM delivery model.
Key Decision-Makers Involved in
Selecting a New ITSM Platform
The IT manager is primarily
responsible for selecting a new ITSM
platform.
5. Summary and Conclusions
Our survey results clearly show that many organizations are trying to improve their ITSM
capabilities and maturity levels, and traditional, on-premise ITSM solutions are not fully meeting
users’ needs.
Today’s rapidly escalating demands associated with the widening adoption of Cloud services are
driving a significant number of organizations to investigate ITSM delivery alternatives. As IT
managers, CIOs and service delivery managers explore these alternatives, they are primarily
concerned about the reliability and security of their ITSM solutions, and how their ITSM solutions
enable them to better align with the business units within their organizations. The quality of the
ITSM supplier’s support and their ability to reduce the user’s total cost of ownership (TCO) are also
critical considerations in their selection process.
Based on these findings, it is becoming increasingly apparent that organizations need a new breed
of ITSM solutions that can address their hybrid Cloud operating environment with a mix of
traditional, on-premise systems and widening array of Cloud services.
Satisfying this hybrid cloud management need entails a combination of new management features
and new methods of delivering this functionality so IT professionals can utilize them more easily
and effectively.
6. About the Authors
About FrontRange
FrontRange is the global leader in Hybrid IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions for enterprises
of all sizes. FrontRange is the only ITSM provider in the world that delivers Service Management
software with fully integrated Voice Automation and Client Management capabilities on-premise and
in the cloud. HEAT manages millions of service interactions a day for more than 15,000 leading
organizations around the world. HEAT enables customers to deliver world-class service while
maximizing operational efficiencies with reduced cost and complexity. FrontRange is headquartered
in Milpitas, Calif. and can be found at www.frontrange.com.
About THINKstrategies, Inc.
THINKstrategies is the only independent strategic consulting firm which focuses entirely on helping
enterprise decision-makers, solution providers and investors capitalize on the unprecedented
business opportunities created by the shift of the technology industry from a product-centric to a
services-driven orientation, including Cloud Computing, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and
Managed Services. THINKstrategies also founded and administers the Cloud Computing
Showplace (www.cloudshowplace.com), the largest, vendor-independent, online directory and best
practices resource center in the industry. For more information, visit www.thinkstrategies.com, or
contact [email protected].