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Follow UsIT Service Management (ITSM) may not be very high on the agenda of the Indian
market to day, but it's not too far either. The BS 15000 standard, which sets
out the minimum requirements against which an organization can be assessed for
effective IT Service Management processes, based on the foundation of the
IT Infrastructure Library (the ITSM Bible which provides a framework of best
practice guidance for ITSM-a globally used & accepted approach to ITSM),
is soon to become the benchmark for evaluating the standard of IT services.
Overall scenario
According to Ashish Sehdev, Business Manager for IT Service Excellence
Practice at QAI India, IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and BS 15000 is expected
to be the next big wave after CMMI for Software and COPC for BPO/customer
contact centers/call centers.
Most of the top rung IT companies in India like Infosys, TCS, Satyam, Patni,
NIIT, HCL Comnet, etc., have already initiated the process of implementation to
get certified; Wipro Technologies Global Command Centre is already BS 15000
certified. While the IT services companies, BPOs and contact centers are going
to be the first in the line of adopters, there is also likely to be some
interest coming from the corporates for their own internal IT services, in the
next wave of adoption.
What is ITSM?
ITSM is a systematic and integrated process approach to managing the IT services
and effectively delivering managed IT services and IT infrastructure management
services, to both these internal and external customers. It encompasses people,
processes and IT systems. According to Vinod Kumar Jain, managing director, BSI
India, "Though there were various standards existing even before the
formation of BS 15000, they were not proper and formalized. The concept of ITSM
has started gaining ground after the first part of BS 15000 got published."
| The Mantras... |
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| BS 15000 specifies the five key groups of service management processes. These include: |
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| - Service Delivery Processes including service level management, availability management and capacity management. - Relationship Processes those involving interfaces between the service provider and both the customers and suppliers. - Resolution Processes those focused on incidents being resolved or prevented. - Control Processes those involved with managing changes, assets and configurations. - Release Process looking at the roll-out of new or changed software/hardware. |
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The standard, which was formed with contributions from ITIL and IT Service
Management Forum (itSMF is an independent organization dedicated to ITSM), is
the world's first formal standard on ITSM and is globally accepted and used.
The standard promotes the adoption of an integrated process approach to
effectively deliver managed services and provides guideline objectives and
controls to enable an organization to deliver managed services.
| Get BS 15000-ready |
| - BS 15000 certification is rapidly becoming a basic business requirement, in the same way as ISO 90000. Already, within the UK public sector, consideration is being given to the suitability of BS 15000 as a requirement for those seeking to supply IS or ITSM services into government organisations. Some government departments are even seeking certification for their existing internal IT service providers, said John Groom, certified BS 15000 consultant and a key contributor to the development of the standard as OGC's member of executive sub-committee of IT service Management Forum (itSMF). He was speaking at an IT Service Excellence Conference organised by QAI and the British Computer Society in Bangalore. - “Both suppliers and providers of IT services should be interested in the standard, as part of their continuous service improvement program. ITSM is not just about managing the technology, it is about managing the complete lifecycle-from the initial idea through to the de-commissioning of obsolete solutions,” CEO of itSMF, Aidan Lawes said. The Forum is the only internationally recognised, independent, not for profit organization dedicated to ITSM, with over 2500 members in 50 countries. The Indian chapter will be launched soon, he informed. - The benefits could range from increased employee confidence to cost savings. An itSMF survey found that 70% of its respondents achieved “tangible and measurable” benefits. Another independent survey highlighted 79% reduction in down time and substantial savings. |
The ITSM standard is published in two parts-BS
15000-1:2002 Specification for service management and BS
15000-2:2003 Code of practice for service management, published in 2002 and
2003, respectively. However, part 2 is not auditable like part 1.
IT and BPO lead the way
The bulk of the market that is interested in ITSM, in India, includes the
managed IT service providers, IT infrastructure management service providers,
BPOs and the software companies who are expanding their business to offer
managed services and IT infrastructure management, IT infrastructure support,
help desk support, technical support, among others. Sehdev explains that BS
15000 will give these companies a competitive edge. In the next one or two
years, this will become one of the criteria for evaluation by the customers.
"Global organizations and customers outsourcing IT services, technical
support, IT support, etc, to India, will prefer organizations who have
implemented the ITIL best practices, and it will be even better if they are BS
15000 certified," he adds. While the adoption rate of ITIL best practices
is high among the software services and the managed IT services companies, the
BPOs are also beginning to gain ground.
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Present
Trends
In India, the trend towards ITIL certifications for individuals within the
organization, is already prevalent to quite to an extent. IT companies,
specifically, are increasingly getting their employees trained on the ITIL best
practices. On the individual side there are three levels of certification-foundation
level, practitioner level and manager/Masters level. Presently, in India, a
majority of the certified professionals fall under the lowest, i.e., the
foundation level category, with very few professionals at the upper two levels.
However, the upgradation from the foundation level to the other two levels is
now gaining ground, indicating a maturing market.
The BS 15000 is an organization-wide certification and, presently, there are
hundreds of organizations considering it.
New Developments
One of the most significant developments on the horizon is the plan to
convert BS 15000 into an ISO standard, in the next one year. Work is already
underway. Presently, it is a British standard, even though it is accepted and
followed globally. BS 15000 comes under the umbrella of ISO, it will become even
more popular and its usage will gain more thrust. Another development of
specific interest to the Indian market is the coming up of the Indian chapter of
itSMF. The setting up of the Indian chapter will allow for a more aggressive
promotion of the concept. With the presence of a regional chapter, closer home,
things will move faster, state experts.
Factors driving ITSM adoption
The top most thing on a CIOs mind is optimization of IT investments and
improving effectiveness of IT resources. The ITSM concept is targeted at these
objectives. Gartner estimates a 48% reduction in an organization's total cost
while moving from no adoption of ITIL to full adoption of ITIL best practices.
Apart from this, improved service levels and a sense of assurance to both the
internal and external customers, is another driver for adoption. Also, an
impending failure can de detected early, with more awareness. The fact that the
BS 15000-1:2002 standard is auditable also helps. According to Sehdev, the
adoption of the BS 15000 standard, companies can instill greater confidence in
their customers with respect to aspects like IT service management, IT security,
disaster recovery and business continuity planning, which have become very
critical post 9/11.