Inspiration for the modern business Volume 1 : Issue 5 : May / June 2008
Prevention not Cure
Dealing with fraudsters What IT can do Design for Getting heard and appreciated the future Leveraging the law Seeing with CAD
Compliance equals Value
FEATURE FOCUS: ISO/IEC 20000 & ITIL pages 24-31
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LEADER
BLOWN DOWN OR BLOWN ALONG, THE CHOICE IS YOURS LEADER John Hancock
This is a great time for IT Service Managers to show the rest of the business just what IT can do; what added value it can offer and how its power might best be harnessed
W
E ARE entering upon challenging times. The recently benign seas of the world economy are beginning to roil and heave in what looks disturbingly like the harbinger of stormy weather. Time, you might think, to batten down the hatches and keep a low profile for the foreseeable future – perhaps that storm will blow over you. And perhaps it might but do you really wish to be the helpless survivor of whatever weather lays ahead or would you rather harness the storm’s force for some purpose? You see, storms are no more than energy without direction, not harnessed to any useful purpose just blowing and blowing down whatever gets in their way, unless, what gets in their way is prepared for them and presents not resistance but a means for all of that energy to do something useful. This is a great time for IT Service Managers to show the rest of the business just what IT can do; what added value it can offer and how its power might best be harnessed: to take the lead because they are equipped to do so. If there is going to be change, let us, not something as capricious as the economic weather, decide what that change will be. You know, of course, that there are still people who regard IT with suspicion; they know that it’s powerful but they really don’t know why and so they console themselves with the belief that the main purpose of technology is to do what has always been done but faster; and to look impressive. Now, at a time when everybody in the business is keen to make their part of the operation more ‘lean and mean’ they’ll be open, as never before, to the notion that there might be better ways to achieve the same ends or, heavens forbid, achieve even greater ends for the same or less resources. They are as likely as they’ll ever be to consider not simply speeding up the old process but a whole new modus operandi to put them ahead of the competition. And if the IT Service Manager doesn’t stand up and say this, someone else will and IT will remain no more than the mechanism to achieve the ends of others more efficiently instead of harnessing the creative business force in its own right to drive a better way of doing things. If heavy weather is coming, be brave, be adventurous, put up the storm sail and have faith in yourself and your technology to harness the wind of budgetary strain as a means of speeding the progress of good IT based systems in the business.
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John Hancock
If you have any thoughts, feedback, or suggestions on how we can improve VitAL Magazine, please feel free to email me john.hancock@31media.co.uk
May / June 2008 : VitAL
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3:25:35
CONTENTS
Contents Inspiration for the modern business
08 VitAL NEWS Things that matter, some of the latest developments in relevant products and systems, and introducing The Buzz
23 BUILD THE FOUNDATIONS FOR COMPLIANCE STEVE TONGISH
THE VitAL COVER STORY
12 THE FIGHT AGAINST FRAUD RAZ YALOV
Editor John Hancock john.hancock@31media.co.uk Assistant Editor Camilla Dunwell camilla.dunwell@31media..co.uk Advertising Sales Grant Farrell grant.farrell@31media.co.uk Production & Design Dean Cook dean.cook@31media.co.uk Editorial & Advertising Enquiries 31 Media, Crawley Business Centre, Stephenson Way, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 1TN Tel: +44 (0) 870 863 6930 Fax: +44 (0) 870 085 8837 email: info@31media.co.uk web: www.vital-mag.net Printed by Pensord, Tram Road, Pontllanfraith, Blackwood. NP12 2YA
The best way to deal with fraud is not to have to deal with it; that is, make your systems too difficult at all levels for the fraudster to bother
In an increasingly regulated world, there are real business benefits for those who can leverage value from the information that compliance systems generate and hold
24 ISO 20000 LYNDA COOPER
VitAL SIGNS – life in a world with IT
17 HEISENBURG, EINSTEIN & MOORE — AN ETERNAL SOURCE OF MISERY
STEVE WHITE Just because we can make equipment more densely complex, that should still be achieved with regard to operation, observation and problem solving
18 GETTING THE ITSM MESSAGE UNDERSTOOD CAMILLA DUNWELL
© 2008 31 Media Limited. All rights reserved. VitAL Magazine is edited, designed, and published by 31 Media Limited. No part of VitAL Magazine may be reproduced, transmitted, stored electronically, distributed, or copied, in whole or part without the prior written consent of the publisher. A reprint service is available. Opinions expressed in this journal do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or VitAL Magazine or its publisher, 31 Media Limited. ISSN 1755-6465 PLEASE RECYCLE Published by:
ITIL and ISO20000 both aim at ensuring that an organisation provides best practice in service management to improve the IT service delivery
28 ISO 20000 VOX POP Service management is not an open book for everybody but it needs to be understood if it is to get the opportunity to realise its full potential
CAROLINE WYATT Standards are what you aim to achieve, ITIL is a route to that achievement not an alternative to ISO/IEC 20000
3
SUBSCRIBING TO VITAL MAGAZINE VitAL Magazine, Proud to be the UKCMG’s Official Publication ITIL® is a Registered Trade Mark, and a Registered Community Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce, and is Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
VitAL Magazine is published six times per year for directors, department heads, and managers who are looking to improve the impact that IT implementation has on their customers and business. Subscription Rates: UK £30.00 per year, Rest of the World £60.00 per year Please direct all subscription enquiries to: subscriptions@31media.co.uk
May / June 2008 : VitAL
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Unbiased advice and bespoke IT Service Management solutions
ITIL v2-v3 Foundation and Managers Bridge ITIL v2 and v3 Foundation Certificate Public schedule and on-site options available. Visit our website www.wardownconsulting.co.uk for details.
Tel: 01582 488242 Fax: 01582 488343 E-mail: training@wardownconsulting.co.uk Website: www.wardownconsulting.co.uk Wardown Consulting Limited. Prudence Place, Proctor Way, Luton, Bedfordshire. LU2 9PE
VitAL Issue 5.indd41 4 Wardown FPMay Ad June 1207 2008 VitAL.indd
IT Service Management Training & Consultancy
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1:13:22
CONTENTS
Contents 32 FROM CHALLENGE TO OPPORTUNITY ALAN PETT
42 WHY INTEGRATE, WHEN YOU CAN AGGREGATE
VitAL PROFILE - NETSUPPORT
IT has the capability to create profitability and support long term goals but often not without a fundamental rethink of how the system works and what it aims to achieve
Managing networks from the beginning, NetSupport has always grown organically, building in house the skill base and capabilities that its clients demand
46 A WHOLE NEW WORLD
56 INTEGRATION IS THE SECRET OF SUCCESS
LISA HAMMOND
50 STAYING POWER CAMILLA DUNWELL
Meeting the requirements of standards may look like a task but the achievement can add significant value to the business’s proposition and encourage good quality clients
VitAL PROFILE - EMC
36 THE BEST PATH TO GROWTH
JOHN HANCOCK If information is the lifeblood of the business, EMC has made the circulation and use of that lifeblood its own specialist area of expertise with a growing list of capabilities
KEVIN ISON
ANDREW TILLMAN
VitAL LESSONS – Informed by Experience
41 LOSING IT
SHARON TAYLOR
5
It’s not so much what IT does as what it enables other parts of the business to do that qualifies the discipline for a place at the top table
The best way to run something is to understand it and CAD (computer aided design) makes that possible without the need to spend time gaining experience
Getting the product or service to the client is all part of the brand and so anything that makes that process more efficient will also add business value
May / June 2008 : VitAL
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EMRG's 8th Annual BPO Conference Sheraton Hotel Park Lane London June 26th 2008
GLOBAL SOURCING "0/ s (2/ s +0/
Colin Goodall Chairman
+EITH &AIRBRASS Finance Director
Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta Head of strategy & change
HR Transformation
Pioneer of the BPO industry
John Leggate Former Chief Information Officer
VIP
ER N N I D 25
4(
ION T A
!NDREW (ARWOOD Director of Transformation (Europe)
0AUL (OPKINS Head of Customer Experience
CH
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AN GE
INNOV
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!NDY (IGBED Head of Resourcing
TRANSFORMATION Peter Burns Head of Transformation
Professor Avinash Persaud Chairman Intelligence Capital
Mark Payne Director
• A LIMITED NUMBER OF COMPLIMENTARY INVITATIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR END USER ORGANISATIONS PLEASE E-MAIL US FOR MORE DETAILS •
Sponsored & Supported by:
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Emerging Markets Research Group Ltd For more information please contact:
t. 020 7397 8338 | e. info@emrgind.com | www.emrgind.com VitAL Issue May June 2008 5.indd6 6
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CONTENTS
Contents VitAL PLANET – keep it clean
59 WHAT GOES AROUND CAMILLA DUNWELL
Applying Green principles can not only be responsible behaviour but can also provide a marketing and brand edge for the business that wishes to be seen as up to date
VitAL ENDING – the last word for information
64 EUROPE INVESTS IN THE FUTURE GLYN YARNALL
In the 21st century, to stand still is to drift backwards and the EU, aware of this reality, is funding Europe’s and European technologies’ place at the IT top table
Contributors RAZ YALOV Vice President of Emerging Technologies Company: The 41st Parameter Business: Internet fraud management services and technology Tel: 020 7712 1671 Email: info@the41.com Web: www.the41.com Name: Title:
Name: Title: Company: Tel: Email: Web:
STEVE WHITE KT Resolve Application Kepner-Tregoe Inc. 01753 856716 swhite@kepner-trego.com www.kepner-trego.com
Name: Title: Company: Tel: Email: Web:
CAMILLA DUNWELL Assistant Editor ViTAL Magazine 01736 793363 camilla.dunwell@31media.co.uk www.31media.co.uk
Name: Title: Company: Business: Tel: Web:
STEVE TONGISH, EMEA Marketing Director Plasmon Storage Solutions 01763 262963 www.plasmon.com
Name: Title: Company: Tel: Email: Web:
LYNDA COOPER Managing Consultant Service 2100 Ltd 07841 800432 lynda.cooper@bcs.org www.bcs.org
Name: Title: Company: Business: Tel: Email: Web:
CAROLINE WYATT Services & Marketing Manager Pink Elephant ITSM Consulting & Education 01189 036 822 c.wyatt@pinkelephant.com www.pinkelephant.com
Name: Title: Company: Business: Tel: Email: Web:
ALAN PETT Vice President of Service Operations Intact IS (Integrated Services) Ltd IT services and support 01753 474400 info@intact-is.com www.intact-is.com
Name: Title: Company: Business: Tel: Email: Web:
SHARON TAYLOR President Aspect Group Inc Consultancy 001 613 697 5949 taylors@aspect360.net www.aspect360.net
Tel: Email: Web:
LISA HAMMOND CEO and Co Founder Centrix Independent business and technology consultancy 01491 873 323 Laura.hawksfield@goode.co.uk www.centrix.co.uk
Name: Title: Company: Business: Tel: Email: Web:
KEVIN ISON Marketing Director – Northern Europe Autodesk Design software 01252 727313 katew@whiteoaks.co.uk www.autodesk.com
Name: Title: Company: Business:
Name: ANDREW TILLMAN Title: CEO Company: Three X – a division of the Masternaut Three X Group Business: Mobile solutions Tel: 01756 703800 Email: info@threex.co.uk Web: www.threex.co.uk Name: Title: Tel: Email:
GLYN YARNALL Management Consultant 07734 591267 glyn.yarnall@ntlworld.com
Your VitAL Magazine News • Views • Strategy Management Case studies and Opinion pieces To advertise in VitAL contact Grant Farrell on +44 (0) 870 863 6930
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Inspiration for the modern business
vital-mag.net May / June 2008 : VitAL
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NEWS
Millions to stay away from work for a day Smarter working, using the tools to make work more effective
I
N WHAT could be the largest mass absence from work for a generation, an estimated five million people will not be coming in to work on Thursday, May 15. None of them will be making excuses. And none of their employers will be accusing them of skiving. For the third year, a day in May has been chosen as National Work from Home Day. Led by the likes of BT and Transport for London, and with the approval of organisations such as the TUC, CBI and British Chambers of Commerce, employers and staff around the UK are being encouraged to work from home that day, so that everyone can experience the benefits. National Work from Home Day is organised by Work Wise UK, a national not for profit initiative to promote smarter working practices — such as flexible, remote and mobile working, and working from home. It aims to give half the working population, some 14 million, the opportunity to work smarter by 2011. “This is not a day off to those participating,” said Phil Flaxton, Chief Executive of Work Wise UK. “It’s the chance for hard working, open
minded people to demonstrate that without the stress induced by the workplace environment, with the often long commute many have to endure, people can be even more productive by occasionally working from home. We say, you lose nothing by trying it out, and you may be surprised by the positive impact of the experiment.” The day marks the start of Work Wise Week, running until Wednesday, May 21, consisting of a number of themed days and events beyond the first: Friday May 16 will focus upon the significant positive impact smarter working can have on the environment both in terms of the reduced need to travel and also a longer term reduction in resources and infrastructure to support a smarter working workforce. Weekend May 17/18 will be Wise Work
Weekend, a consumer focused initiative to provide guidance and help to those people who would like to work smarter. Monday May 19 will look at the transport impacts of smarter working. A fall in the need to travel, and the staggered time of travel, resulting from smarter working will significantly help in solving the problems of traffic congestion and overcrowding of public transport. Tuesday May 20 will focus upon employee benefits and social impacts of smarter working in terms of improving work life balance, leisure and family benefits, and the knock on effects on health and relationships. Various organisations with interests in these aspects will be involved in the day, both nationally and in the regions. The emphasis will be upon promoting a better work life balance — working smarter, living better. Wednesday May 21 will be the last day of Work Wise Week and will feature the Work Wise Summit at the QEII Conference Centre in London. The summit will cover many of the elements of smarter working through a series of keynote speeches and panel discussions, including organisations such as TUC, the AA, BT and Transport for London. The emphasis will be upon making the UK more competitive in the face of growing economies in Asia, enabling a second industrial revolution to make the UK one of the most progressive economies in the world. Further information about Work Wise UK can be found on the website www.workwiseuk.org.
Mayrise helps deliver major upgrade for London street lights I N F O R M A T I O N Survey mapping for the accurate identification of unit locations and MANAGEMENT software with Hackney Councils centralised property gazetteer to facilitate
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from Mayrise Systems is underpinning one of the largest council led street lighting replacement programmes in London. The latest version of MAYRISE Street Lighting is being used by Hackney Council to improve the recording of asset information, deliver a proactive maintenance programme and assist with performance monitoring in light of new government legislation. Already one of the fastest improving councils in the country according to the Audit Commission, the system will help Hackney introduce new working practices and strategies; such as a paperless office, mobile working and remote monitoring. MAYRISE Street Lighting is an advanced management system designed to simplify and improve the management of street lighting services, providing a single repository of all information relating to the service including detailed unit history, contractor information and customer communications. The system is integrated with Ordnance
communication with residents. “Mayrise Systems already provides an integrated solution for the recording of detailed asset information and the management of our pro active maintenance programme and ambitious replacement scheme,” said Steve Carroll, Team Leader, Street Lighting in the Neighbourhoods and Regeneration division of Hackney Council. “This upgrade will enable us to continue to provide safer streets, through the provision of high quality street lighting, and will support our plans for a totally integrated Asset Management Plan, other strategic long term objectives together with day to day improvements in working practices.” “Street Lighting is one of the council’s highly visible, front line services,” continued Mr Carroll. “Having the information we need available at click of a button helps us manage our day to day operations and improves the speed with which we can react to faults providing tangible benefits to residents.” Hackney Council, a London Borough situated close to the City and the West End, is a long term user of the advanced information management tools from Mayrise, with additional upgraded systems in place within the Highways and Street Works divisions of the council.
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NEWS
LEADING THE FIELD
IT executives are playing a more proactive role in driving operational excellence, says Economist Intelligence Unit study THE MOST important element of operational excellence is end to end visibility into operations,
and IT executives are playing an increasingly proactive role in enabling this visibility, say executives responding to a global Economist Intelligence Unit survey completed in January 2008 and sponsored by SAP. The survey tapped 946 senior executives in mid sized companies around the world, of whom 182 came from the IT function. IT executives are uniquely suited to promote visibility because the IT function knows what data are available and how they can best be captured and presented to decision makers, according to the study. This support of operational excellence is part of a broader trend in which IT executives are striving to better align themselves with the business. Nearly three quarters of IT executives said they are trying to align systems to business needs to support their company’s growth strategy. More than 80% reported that this had resulted in higher customer satisfaction and about 70% said that it had increased margins. For many IT leaders, the ultimate goal is to establish a ‘single source of truth’; or as one executive put it, to make sure that ‘everybody works off the same set of numbers’. The study also found that IT executives are more likely than others to identify integration with external systems and partners as part of their definition of end to end visibility. About 19% of IT executives responding to the survey identified this as the most important component of operational excellence, compared with between 10-14% of those in other functions. The IT executives who responded to the survey were separated into leaders, laggards and a middle group. The leaders did more to promote operational excellence in 25 out of 29 categories of activity. Based on self reported data, the leaders were also ahead in most performance measures, such as revenue and margin growth, customer satisfaction and retention, and new product launches. The survey found that compared with their counterparts in other functions, IT executives are: • Much more likely to identify the provision of integrated single view data for management decision making as a key growth driver; • Twice as likely to say that transforming raw data into useful information is the most important way of improving efficiency; • More likely to say that they had invested in business intelligence or analytics systems. Sustained growth through operational excellence: Spotlight on IT is available free of charge at www.eiu.com/sponsor/sap/opex/
If there’s something you want to say, then say it where it will be seen DO YOU ever get a Bee in your bonnet?
Or even a whole swarm of them buzzing around, keeping your mind off what you should be concentrating on because the buzz is distracting you, occupying parts of your thought process that could be better employed getting something done. Well the good news it that you’re not alone, we all get bees in our bonnets at times: the bad news is that most of us never let them out and although, after a while, they may stop buzzing or stinging, that will be because they’re rotting. It’s just not healthy to keep these thoughts to yourself. And who knows, others might be pleased to see that the buzz, similar to the one in their head, is not a sign of madness but the sensible thoughts of an intelligent person. Or your buzz might even crystallize someone else’s thoughts; it could be a force for good, the start of something big; the buzz that changes the world. So we’re going to make it easy for you. Just telephone us on 01736 793363 and let the bee out of your bonnet into our hive where we can harvest the honey of good ideas from your erstwhile torment. You’ll feel better for getting it out there; we’ll feel better for knowing what you’re thinking. And the only buzz you’ll feel is the buzz you’ll get to see your name in print and when your colleagues say, “Ooh, I wish I’d done that!” — the buzz of achievement. If the phone’s busy or the pubs are open, just leave a voicemail with your number or a brief description of the bee from your bonnet. If you’re feeling active, email john.hancock@31media.co.uk but, whatever you do, give us the bee and we’ll take the sting, leaving you with the buzz.
SALES STAFF ARE PRIMARY BANDWIDTH HOGS But Remote Workers Present Biggest Security Threat
A NEW survey conducted by independent top of the list, with 43% of network managers Network (WAN).
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research house e-Media and published on 10 April 2008, which surveyed over 250 IT managers in UK organisations, reveals that sales staffs are considered the worst offenders in consuming network bandwidth for non work related activities. The survey also found that remote and branch workers are judged the highest security risks, are prone to introducing malware onto the corporate network, and are most likely to suffer from poor application performance. The survey was commissioned by Blue Coat Systems, a leader in WAN Application Delivery and Secure Web Gateway. The survey asked which group out of sales, marketing, senior management and remote workers were most likely to consume network bandwidth on non work related activities. The consensus of opinion of both network managers and security managers placed sales staff at the
and 34% of security managers listing them as the key offenders, followed in second place by marketing managers. Remote workers and senior management were considered least likely to waste bandwidth on non work related activities. Conversely, whilst remote workers were voted least likely to use bandwidth for non business uses, they were seen as the main protagonists in introducing malware onto the corporate network; with 50% of network managers and 48% of security managers naming them as most likely to introduce malware. Remote workers are also most likely to suffer from poor application performance, according to the survey results, with 57% of security respondents and 44% of network managers claiming that group comprised the most regular complainers about poor Internet and application delivery over the Wide Area
According to Nigel Hawthorn, VP EMEA Marketing at Blue Coat, “These findings show that IT managers need to rethink how they service their remote and branch office workers. The survey shows that the remote office security and performance issue is not due to the users themselves downloading inappropriate content on non work related activities. On the contrary, it reveals a need for organisations to more carefully consider the needs of remote and branch workers in deploying applications remotely or over the Internet.” He adds, “This issue is all the more pressing as we are witnessing increases in the numbers of remote and branch workers as organisations decentralise or think green and allow employees to work remotely. Remote and branch office productivity can suffer severely unless both of these issues are tackled.”
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COVER STORY
The ďŹ ght against fraud Raz Yalov shows how to maintain corporate responsibility and system integrity with a multilayered antifraud strategy
O 12
RGANISATIONS FREQUENTLY require a large amount of personal data on their customers for a range of billing, identiďŹ cation and marketing purposes. The emergence of the Internet for ecommerce and online banking has escalated the amount of companies with data stores now accessible from multiple entry points. These organisations must ensure that, once they have all of this information within their databases, they have strong processes in place to maintain the integrity of the systems and the information. This can add up to a complex set of solutions but a multilayered
approach to data security is by far the most effective strategy to maintain the integrity of your systems and your corporate responsibility. If a company cannot maintain the integrity of the data that it has demanded from its customers, regardless of what channel it collects it from, then it is failing to meet a requisite level of corporate responsibility. Without the trust that a company is worthy of housing personal data, their brand reputation will become tarnished. The problem for businesses operating today is that there is no single fix all solution to the problem of fraud.
Without the trust that a company is worthy of housing personal data, their brand reputation will become tarnished
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COVER STORY
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May / June 2008 : VitAL
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e p t y e
COVER STORY Just look at the recent examples we have had in the UK. A human error saw the Department of Social Security attempt to send a CD of sensitive personal data through the post, only for it to be lost and start a massive security panic. The Head of Barclays Bank recently had his personal information cloned, with a resulting fraud that ran into thousands of pounds. Christmas Day 2007 saw fraud increase 167 per cent from Christmas Eve and 8,500 fraudsters bought iPods, expensive perfume and gold watches using credit card details obtained through skimming and phishing. Best practices are essential for any business in order to run effectively — both for their own bottom lines and for their customers. The challenge organisations face is defining these best practices in relation to the potentially complex and fast moving issues, such as identity theft and fraudulent activity. The approach that fraud departments must take has to be multilayered if they are to safely store the data that they have a responsibility to protect, using powerful covert mechanisms such as Client Device Identification (CDI) together with a mix of deterrents and obstacles to discourage the busy fraudster.
The importance of detection Track as many indicators of fraud as you can. No matter how good the prevention mechanisms, you can only judge their effectiveness, and ensure the integrity of data, if you can determine if there is an instance of fraud, and where it is taking place. It is,
they must not go to the extreme of making processes unusable for genuine customers because of blocks created by the network therefore, important that businesses are able to detect fraud. Businesses have to create a defined middle ground for user validation — they must make their systems secure so that data is safe. However, they must not go to the extreme of making processes unusable for genuine customers because of blocks created by the network. There are many potential giveaways of fraudulent activity that can highlight illegal transactions. In the online channel, most businesses today concentrate on basic indicators, such as IP addresses, but this metric can be easily bypassed using methods such as IP spoofing and TOR networks — an online anonymity tactic. They are not, therefore, strong enough as a validation mechanism against fraudsters and can introduce a high level of false alarms for good users who share the same IP address because they all come through the same Internet provider.
Device ID can provide a business with the missing piece Device Identification is an extremely valuable tool to help identify suspicious cases. Match up multiple pieces of information — such as billing addresses versus delivery addresses, time zones, IP addresses and Device IDs — and you can establish a highly effective process for assessing an online transaction’s validity. All of the parameters outlined above can combine to create a full picture of the user at the other end of the line, whether a PC, Smartphone, or networked gaming console, such as a PSP or Xbox. The more comprehensive the picture you can create, the harder it will be for a fraudster to forge. Device ID provides the missing piece to this picture, which makes it an important element for all businesses to include in their Internet antifraud strategy. Such CDI helps online companies pinpoint suspect orders without disrupting the flow of business or the online experience for legitimate customers. These solutions require no user enrolment or registration, no cookies, downloads, installations or any change in consumer behaviour, whilst providing 100 per cent coverage of the online channel. Client Device Identification has become an immensely powerful antifraud tool, adding new layers of strength to a company’s security without changing the user’s behaviour, without leaving tags on the device and without showing your cards. Detection is critically important, but without adequate protection in place, there may be too
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many fraudsters in the system for the detection solutions to be able to keep fraud levels to a minimum. A sentry at the gate will catch some fraud, but not all. Therefore a multilayer approach to protection is important so that whatever the approach of the fraudster, there is a barrier in the way.
This allows you to set up different layers of protection for different areas of the network, which makes it very difficult for fraudsters to get hold of the information that can enable them to commit fraud. Physical barriers, however, are only as good as the conceptual protection of data that is in place.
Be dynamic — Keep changing the rules
Conceptual data protection — the human element
Professional fraudsters are not out to crack the hardest systems, they are operating a business. That means the more information they can steal on an hourly basis, the better. If your system is very complex to crack, then they will eventually look for an easier one. If you keep changing the rules of the system, then it is more difficult for fraudsters to work with — a route that may work one day, will not work the next and the code that works for cracking one aspect of the system does not work for any others. These variances help to put fraudsters off trying to get into your system — which makes them give up and go elsewhere. Adding more new layers to the system at regular intervals works in a similar way to changing the rules of the existing network, and makes life far more difficult for anyone trying to infiltrate the system. If they overcome several barriers one day, then they come back the next to be faced with new ones, which have different characteristics and cannot be bypassed in the same ways as the previous layers — a clear signal that data integrity is being restored.
Firewalls, password protection and encryption mechanisms are effective ways of making data inaccessible to unauthorised individuals — either outside or within the company. However, if one of these unauthorised individuals happens to, for example, obtain the passwords to the system, then they can easily gain access to the information they need. To prevent this from happening, some conceptual protection of data integrity needs to occur. The primary means of doing this is to increase staff training levels. If employees are unaware of some of the common tactics used by fraudsters, highly practised in the art of phishing, then they do not have any defence against them. Fraudsters imitating employees is a very basic way of doing this — small pieces of information can be obtained from contact directories or emails, and then be used to obtain new passwords. This information must first be protected a little more effectively, by limiting what can be obtained from outside the
The layers of physical data protection
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It is clearly important to have many layers of protective measures in place to stop a fraudster easily hacking into your system. Firewall protection is one of the most obvious ways to keep unauthorised users out of the system, and also a good way to ring off silos of data. This will help maintain the integrity of that data. Firewalls are a sentry at the gate mechanism, and important for keeping out a large percentage of fraudsters, but cannot be the only security measure in place. Beyond the firewall, there should be additional password and encryption barriers. If someone is within the firewall of the system, they should not be able to automatically access any other areas of the system. Genuine customers do not need to access much of the system at all, and most employees will not need to have high levels of access — such as download and copy data rights — to any personal data in the system.
company. Then employees in administration, for example, need to learn the skills to recognise whether a phone call from a distressed employee is genuine or not. Many untrained employees will, virtually without question, reset a password to help resolve a fictitious problem for someone posing as a colleague. Employees who have overview of system access are one of the most important barriers that a company has — which is why they must know how to protect the integrity of the system. There are other issues, which are down to both employers and employees understanding the risks of certain activities. Employees who use their home networks to use download software such as Kazaa could be putting their company’s data integrity at risk. If they connect a company laptop to their home network, hackers have an avenue into the company’s network that can be easily exploited. In all, be vigilant. Don’t provide personal information, such as where you are or your phone number on ‘Out of office’ auto replies, don’t click on links in your email — instead type them out in a browser window yourself or use the ones you already have in your bookmark, and once in a while Google for your personal
Professional fraudsters are not out to crack the hardest systems, they are operating a business
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VITAL SIGNS — LIFE IN THE WORLD WITH IT
Heisenberg, Einstein & Moore — an eternal source of misery
Employees who have overview of system access are one of the most important barriers that a company has information to learn what people can easily know about you! The problem with many of these more conceptual approaches is that employees find it hard to think like a fraudster. It is key however that they are made aware of the level of certain threats, and understand the mechanisms commonly used by fraudsters and phishers. With a little training, these employees can improve their effectiveness in creating an additional layer to maintain the integrity of customer and corporate data. Fraudsters like the easy route Thinking like the fraudster is a big advantage! Antifraud strategies need to be comprehensive and this means putting in place different and changing layers of protection and detection. Fraudsters commonly take the easiest route to the information they need — and if that route would be through someone else’s system, then your company, and more importantly the data you hold for your customers is safe.
Steve White considers when technical capability might hinder operational capability — especially when things go wrong Three well known observations are coming together to herald the death of Root Cause Analysis. Heisenburg’s Observer Effect suggests that the act of observation can alter the results; just stare, unblinking, at the tip of a colleagues nose for a few minutes to see the effect it has on people. That the significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them is attributable to Einstein, and Moore’s Law suggests that the number of transistors that can be inexpensively placed on an integrated circuit is increasing exponentially, doubling approximately every two years.
For diagnostic visibility, these are not the same
C
OMPANIES ARE producing hardware that is so densely packaged, and are moving such huge numbers of terabytes of data about that it has already become impossible to find the root cause of some outages. Some time ago I helped facilitate a network problem; the most likely cause turned out to be some new, faster network interconnect, and we identified that one single bit in approximately several terabytes of data was being ‘lost’ — we could get no further — too many bits, too critical an issue. In another situation, increased transistor density allowed three cards in a frame to be replaced by one black box. Only afterwards was it realised that there is now insufficient observability for root
cause analysis: even replacing the card may not solve the problem. If we are making equipment so complex as to be impossible to troubleshoot we need to know quickly that we will fail, so that months are not wasted on troubleshooting something ultimately unsolveable. Since we are assembling high density, high throughput configurations that take teams to troubleshoot, we need better tools to allow those teams to function efficiently. If we cannot arrest Moore’s Law, and we cannot navigate around Heisenburg, at least we can give Einstein a fair crack and introduce new thinking into the tooling we provide our troubleshooters.
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It’s not what is said but what is heard that matters
There may be better ways, Camilla Dunwell suggests, to get the ITSM message understood and accepted
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Even the technology with which we become so quickly familiar these days is layered, with really only the latest layer creating the characteristics that, for a brief while, amaze
HETHER YOU think that it’s fair or not, computer people have a reputation among their peers in management. Perhaps it’s only in the more lurid corners of the tabloid press that people still refer to ‘Nerds’ but across the board there remains a sense that people in IT, even if they don’t dabble in the dark arts, are still engaged in unworldly and mystical activities. This may be because of the way IT has evolved in business or it may say more about other managers and their powers of perception (or not, as the case may be) or it may reflect the way in which IT has developed a culture and language of its own. There has never been a ‘big bang’ when everything on the technology front changed at once but rather IT and associated technologies grew, in many people’s eyes, from the basic card systems on which information was once held. Even the
technology with which we become so quickly familiar these days is layered, with really only the latest layer creating the characteristics that, for a brief while, amaze. And the capabilities of our modern technologies are more often the results of pragmatic convergence than of any revolutionary breakthrough. Yes, technology can do astonishing things but, to the uninitiated, that may seem more like a threat than an achievement and there is, undeniably an IT culture. The problem of this evolutionary growth is that people are more likely to judge IT in terms of their own understanding of it (or lack of understanding) than with any sense of wonder or enthusiasm about its potential. And, because their own understanding of IT may be limited, so will their judgement be in narrow terms, usually, ‘what can it do to me?’ or, in negative terms, ‘what is the risk that it
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VITAL MANAGEMENT
will replace or diminish my role?’ They see it as part of the function of a business, like transport and housekeeping, not part of the value adding process such as marketing or service/product design; reactive not proactive, let alone creative. The problem with this is that the more you resist or try to counter this attitude using the terminology of technology, the more you seem to confirm people’s worst suspicions. It might be better not to resist the underlying attitudes but rather to turn them into positives, i.e. create an opportunity from a problem. If people are more likely to judge IT in terms of their own understanding and to value it according to what it can do to them then that must be the right way to frame the IT message, in terms that they can understand and with reference to what it can do for them. But for some people steeped in the language of technology that may prove a demanding task. So, in the terms of the title, how can you make the ITSM message understood? One thing to understand about communication is that the quality and clarity of reception is all that matters and, to go one step back from that, communicators need to understand the environment into which the communication is being received. It’s what I’m hearing that matters, not what you’re saying or how you’re saying it. The transmission of the message needs to be appropriate: for instance, even the best high definition near 3D television is of limited use to someone who is visually impaired whereas if, instead of concentrating on the visual quality of the message and the clarity with which the transmission system can carry the picture, you concentrate on the aural clarity of the message, the words that are used and the clarity with which the transmission system can carry the words, the message is more likely to be clearly received and understood. Now, let’s be honest; IT people coin the best jargon: we know it and, among ourselves, we can converse in fluent jargon with a range of acronyms and compound words that would
IT people coin the best jargon: we know it and, among ourselves, we can converse in fluent jargon with a range of acronyms and compound words
fill a small dictionary. However most people don’t understand our jargon and the old truth is that, if people don’t understand it, they distrust it. Buzzwords are in a similar category, positive and motivating to people who understand them but excluding and disaffecting to those who don’t. Complex charts can, to the unfamiliar eye, seem designed to confuse and, as they are usually liberally sprinkled with jargon buzzwords… I think you know where I’m going with this. When you talk about IT in a mixed group, use language that everybody in that group will understand. Imagine how you feel when a conversation in which you are notionally participating actually takes place in a foreign language with which you are not that familiar; that is how some of your fellow managers will feel if you talk technology jargon around them. I might go so far as to say that it is impolite. Last but not least, perhaps we can take a leaf from the salesman’s book: good salesmen are, after all, masters at communication. A long established tenet of good selling is expressed in the phrase, ‘sell the sizzle and the smell, not the sausage’. What this means is that buyers are not interested in how the sausage is made or what it is made of; they are interested in how it will satisfy their appetite and they will judge that from the sizzle and the quality of the aroma — an indicator of taste. Let’s look at a few practical examples.
Managers in other disciplines will not be interested that your technology can handle large numbers; what they will be interested to know is that it can handle larger amounts of data on which decisions can be based and from which markets and processes can be understood. Also because it can handle large numbers, technology can supply the decision making and operational processes with more information on which better decisions and better processes can be founded. What it won’t do is make decisions for itself based on any qualitative assessment of the situation. In a nutshell, it will improve the chances of success, and that is something that people will like to hear. If you say that technology can be applied to any task in the process, that may actually generate unease among some colleagues who wish to retain their jobs. But if you say it can multitask in a way that makes real customer focused service possible by bringing to bear the relevant information from several different processes affecting a client, then you are offering your colleague the opportunity to improve what they do, the results they achieve and, by extension, their success rating. Again,
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they may be more receptive to that message. The fact that technology can facilitate communication across a wide spectrum of media may be true but to anybody unfamiliar with the deeper workings of technology it may also sound like blinding with science. More acceptable would be the notion that one technology, ICT, can create bridges using different means of communication to move information to where it is needed and can be used. And, not to make too much of a meal of it, rather than saying that IT can interface with a multiplicity of other systems, say that it can work with whatever systems it needs to in order to get the job done. That will be lifting a worry off of everybody’s mind. Lastly, if you’re going to contribute an article to a publication such as VitAL, remember that people will pay more attention to someone who is clearly an expert and thought leader across their discipline than to someone who simply knows about their own products or services. Good generic and expert comment commands respect, advertorial does not. Communication of the ITSM message is never quite going to be ‘Janet and John’ and
you should be able to assume a certain level of general management competence among your colleagues, but do not assume any high level of IT knowledge — whatever people may say to you, you won’t offend them by keeping the message clear. And, of course, you do need to understand the environment into which any communication is being received; so find out how other functions and disciplines work, their priorities, their needs; and show how IT can add value to their current process as well as expand their range of capabilities. An IT discipline that can add value to what other people are doing and that can even facilitate new and more useful ways of reaching objectives will not only get listened to. It will become part of the creative process in the business; part of the intellectual dynamic that drives the business, that looks over the horizon and that shapes the future. You’ll need to apply your own character to your communications and, of course, within your organisation you will know best how people think and what they are likely to understand. But if you think about it then it should be easier to get to the ITSM message understood.
find out how other functions and disciplines work, their priorities, their needs; and show how IT can add value to their current process as well as expand their range of capabilities.
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VITAL MANAGEMENT
Build the foundations for compliance Steve Tongish believes that compliance with regulations can create business value company in a very strong position for the future. Regulatory requirements are certain to get more complex over time, but with the foundations in place, you will be in a far better position to respond to demands for increasing sophistication. In addition, you will also be able to realise market advantage over less prepared competitors by having a better handle on your data assets.
Considerations for technology choices
G
LOBALLY THERE are hundreds of regulations governing the preservation and legal admissibility of digital data. Many European countries are not far behind the United States in defining and enforcing data regulations and there is growing potential for EU wide legislation. Understanding exactly which regulations apply to your own company can be very complex. This may seem like an insurmountable challenge but it is possible to deploy a foundation for compliance, without complete knowledge of regulatory obligations, which will support your compliance needs into the future and provide substantial business benefits.
The fundamentals of data regulations and compliance Start by accepting the fact that regulations are here to stay. This means that the sooner your organisation addresses the fundamentals of the compliance challenge, the better off you will be. There are a few core requirements common to almost all data compliance regulations. Data needs to be secure, original, accessible over many years and you must be able to hand data over to the regulator in short order if requested. If you align your business practices and put in place technologies to support these fundamental requirements, you put your
One of the key building blocks in a compliance foundation is the storage solution used to archive essential digital records. Choosing an appropriate storage strategy can strengthen your ability to meet data authenticity requirements, provide greater overall system flexibility and reduce support and maintenance costs over the life of the archive. These are all issues that can enhance your ability to achieve regulatory compliance. There are many technologies available for long term storage of data, each with their own individual merits. However, in respect to building a foundation for compliance, you only need to compare their specifications against the required attributes. You should select a storage technology that delivers record authenticity, has long data life to reduce the frequency of data migration, and reduces the risk of data loss, corruption or tampering. Selecting a technology solution that meets these fundamental requirements will establish the best foundation for compliance and help you capitalise on the potential that lies within your data.
How implementing a solid foundation will help you comply A good example of the value of a foundation that addresses the fundamentals of compliance can be seen in how the SEC measures regulatory compliance for their customers. The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a US agency that has put in place a regulation that controls the retention and management of records related to the sale
of US securities and applies to any financial institution worldwide selling US stocks and bonds. The regulation specifies the retention periods for the types of information that must be preserved for future reference and the SEC has the authority to audit companies for compliance. The SEC does not attempt to certify specific technologies, but assesses the effectiveness of the total environment (process, procedure and technology). Given the rapid evolution of technology, this is a very common sense approach to measuring compliance; one that supports the philosophy of establishing a compliance foundation that can be built upon to meet specific requirements.
The business benefits of a compliance foundation There is a widely held view that compliance is something of a burden, However, deploying a regulatory framework will provide substantial long term business benefit if the proper foundation has been laid. Compliance has as much to do with process and procedure as it does with specific software and hardware. For nearly every company, there is enormous value residing in their data and it should be viewed as an asset to be capitalised on. The ability that the processes and technology of a compliance foundation brings is for the business to more easily access and realise that value into the future. Compliance Foundation Structure Regulatory & Risk Management Policies Corporate Processes & Procedures Software Applications Storage Hardware
Conclusion Even after the fundamentals are understood, developing a compliance framework is no small task. It will involve changing the way you do business and the technology that you deploy. Organisations that recognise the potential benefits and establish a foundation for compliance are in a far better position to support their compliance needs into the future and capitalise on the significant business opportunities that compliance presents.
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Feature sponsored by:
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ITIL and ISO20000 — the same but different Lynda Cooper explains that ITIL and ISO20000 are different in approach and technique
I
TIL WAS first published in the late 1980s, revised in mid 1990s and the revised again to produce today’s ITIL Version 3 published in 2007. ISO 20000 started as a British Standard, BS15000, published in 2000. Following an early adopters’ trial, various recommendations
for improvement were made and the standard was updated in 2002. This was then fast tracked to become an international standard, ISO20000 which was published in 2005. The first certification scheme for organisations to be certified was launched in November 2003 by the ITSMF.
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VITAL MANAGEMENT
The first certification scheme for organisations to be certified was launched in November 2003 by the ITSMF Definitions
Feature sponsored by:
In ‘The Official Introduction to the ITIL Service Lifecycle’ book, ITIL is referred to variously as: • The most recognised framework in the world for IT Service Management; • A common sense approach to service management; • A common framework of practices that unite all areas of IT service provision toward a single aim — delivering value to the business; • Best practice guidance applicable to all types of organisation who provide services to a business. In ISO/IEC 20000:2005, the standard is variously referred to as: • Part 1 — a specification for service management; • Part 1 — promotes the adoption of an integrated process approach to effectively
deliver management services to meet the business and customer requirements; • Part 2 of ISO/IEC 20000 takes the form of guidance and recommendations and should be used in conjunction with part 1; • Enables service providers to understand how to enhance the quality of service delivered to their customers, both internal and external; • Applies to both large and small service providers. Many people refer to ‘the ITIL standard’. Equally, many organisations ask their suppliers for evidence of compliance to ITIL. ITIL is not a standard — it is not possible to check that an organisation is complying with all parts of ITIL. It is best practice guidance which is adapted to suit the environment. ISO20000 Part 1 is the specification or standard to be complied with. Organisations
In reality, any organisation which achieves certification to ISO20000 will be using a lot of ITIL best practices – but they may not know this.
can be assessed for compliance to the standard. ISO20000 Part 2 is guidance to support part 1. More detailed guidance on how to implement the requirements of the standard can be gained from ITIL or other frameworks in use such as MOF (Microsoft Operations Framework) or eTOM (enhanced Telecom Operations Map). Additionally there are various books to support the implementation of ISO20000 published by BSI, ITSMF and Van Haren.
Framework The framework of service management guidance is represented below. ISO20000 does not specify the use of ITIL. In fact, ITIL is not mentioned in the standard except as a reference in the bibliography. This is deliberate as some organisations may achieve the standard without using ITIL. They may use another framework such as MOF or eTOM, or their own set of processes. In reality, any organisation which achieves certification to ISO20000 will be using a lot of ITIL best practices — but they may not know this. ITIL is published as five core volumes with supplementary material all adding up to thousands of pages of useful guidance. ISO20000 is published as two parts — part 1 is 17 pages and part 2 is 35 pages. Even if the service provider does not go for formal certification, the 13 pages of mandatory requirements in part 1 provide a focus for what to do to implement best practice service
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d wne y o n erg - re o r l d eate en w r r Ou ss. to c o n . igned esults. sine i ial u s b l ient ts of p u re des ster r r o e e r c p r sa ltan e ex te P to fa g fo ativ consu ity to re a olution rprise ivin v r c o d n 3 s g in the 2G nte Our plex ion are usin ange. h com d , G unicat your e , e n s l i r p h g m ling nm rou rtne al c Peo ’t be i s i and com propel d pa cultur cut th h n t a can , o h s e n t s s t t v i o n i n i n n io W osit atio clie atio mot ulat our reate p dedic mul i h sim forward s t ail i r d u s em ely w es to c nce an . in o s e and i d o t l i e u e g t k c hniq xperi rtun cipa ndin c wor ppo arti o We ing te ustry e dersta p g e n n av rin lear the ind y and u ho h rtne w a t p e e i l v p ha te clar and peo inking. ions ion t l h l a t i crea l e m rward imu o r on ur s o t Ove g. Be f u n abo wro ore M m n 3.CO ear G 2 To l G
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The links between ITIL and ISO20000 are ones of spirit and intent, not of control. Both serve very different purposes management. This can then be supplemented with the use of ITIL or other frameworks for the detail of how to implement and then improve each process. Feature sponsored by:
Alignment ISO20000 is not underpinned or based upon ITIL — it is aligned to ITIL. There is a statement which was agreed between the ISO workgroup responsible for ISO20000, OGC and ITSMF International: • ITIL and ISO 20000 are aligned; • ITIL is not based on ISO/IEC 20000; • ISO/IEC 20000 is not based on ITIL;
• The ISO workgroup, OGC and ITSMF International recognise the benefits of the alignment between the two and are committed to this continuing. The links between ITIL and ISO20000 are ones of spirit and intent, not of control. Both serve very different purposes and are therefore different in intent, structure, format, style and detail.
Scope ITIL v3 specifies 26 processes across five lifecycles and four functions as shown below. Organisations select and adapt the best
practice to suit their environment and may implement some or all of the processes and functions. ISO20000 requires an IT Service provider, either internal or external, to satisfy requirements for all processes as shown in the process model below. The processes cover the ITIL processes and bring in additional areas to provide a complete view of IT Service Management. There can be no processes excluded for certification. There are no lifecycles although this is implied within the processes. There are no functions specified. Organisations implementing ISO20000 to
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The benefits of gaining certification to ISO20000 are the same as for ITIL with additional benefits of having an internationally recognised certificate, meeting contractual needs if required and gaining a competitive edge.
Feature sponsored by:
achieve certification need to implement all of the requirements of the standard plus those additional best practices to suit their environment. The process alignment is described in the following table. Note that ISO20000 specifies the minimum set of mandatory requirements to achieve the certificate and best practice service management. This means that ISO20000 requirements will not cover all activities of ITIL processes and the alignment is only to some activities. Continual improvement which is a requirement of the standard will add additional activities as relevant to the organisation over time.
Benefits There are various benefits of implementing ITIL– quality, consistency, efficiency, reduced risk, continuous improvement etc. The benefits of gaining certification to ISO20000 are the same as for ITIL with additional benefits of having an internationally recognised certificate, meeting contractual needs if required and gaining a competitive edge. More importantly, the certificate ensures that an organisation gains all the benefits of utilising best practice in service management. Many companies claim to implement ITIL best practice but these are often selective implementations which are not independently
checked. With ISO20000 as with any other standard, the use of best practice will be assessed annually ensuring that all the benefits promised are truly gained.
Individual qualifications Both ITIL and ISO20000 have associated qualifications for individuals to ensure professionalism. Most service management professionals know about the ITIL courses at foundation level with practitioner and manager level for ITIL v2 and lifecycle and capability plus more advanced courses to come for ITIL v3. For ISO20000, in addition to corporate
A FRAMEWORK TO SUPPORT STANDARDS
When it comes to ISO/IEC 20000 Caroline Wyatt believes that ITIL shows you how ISO/IEC 20000 is the International IT Service Management standard that demonstrates an organisation’s commitment to delivering services which
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align IT with the business, and demonstrate a commitment to industry recognised, best practices. Consistent, documented, repeatable processes allow for managed and controlled growth, service excellence, and reduction in duplication of effort and cost. There is no quick and sure fire route to attaining the standards required other than adopting a common sense approach to managing IT services; one that recognises the need for customer satisfaction, management information, and common language and working practices to ensure greater efficiencies. Optimising Service is the goal; reducing risk, cost and improving quality are still the key drivers. The most common route to achieving the requirements of ISO/IEC 20000, is via the adoption of the ITIL best practice framework of guidance. Many organisations are realising the benefits of achieving formal accreditation, primarily from a commercial perspective, where increasingly it is cited as a minimum requirement in tenders and requests for proposals. Although the standard does not explicitly refer to ITIL, the alignment between the two is comprehensive and understood. The ISO/IEC 20000 standard covers 16 Management processes, with ITIL v3 covering 11 of these in detail. Organisations may wonder why they would contemplate using one to achieve the other, but it is important to note that the ISO standard indicates which processes an organisation should and shall have in place, but gives no guidance on how this is to be achieved. This is where ITIL guidance is useful on a practical level, and implementing the best practice framework can act as the foundations for achieving accreditation with ISO/IEC 20000. It is a common misconception that organisations can become ITIL accredited, or that a software tool can be ITIL compliant. It is not possible to comply with something which is not a formal standard. The premise of ITIL was always that it has to be adopted and adapted to suit the specific needs of an organisation. Therefore the word compatible is a more accurate use of terminology. Of course once an organisation has reached a suitably mature level of process maturity, then it should consider preparing for an ISO/IEC 20000 audit to assess its level of compliance to the formal standard.
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Feature sponsored by:
certifications, there are qualifications available for individuals. Most of these have prerequisites which are ITIL based. These are: • ITSMF — ISO20000 consultant certificate. The pre-requisite is ITIL Foundation. • ITSMF — ISO20000 auditor certificate. The pre-requisite is an auditing qualification. • EXIN — ISO20000 Foundation, Professional level and Advanced certificates. The prerequisite for professional and advanced is ITIL or ISO20000 qualifications, for
foundation it is ITIL foundation or service management experience. • ISEB — ISO20000 Foundation course. The prerequisite is ITIL foundation or service management experience.
Future ITIL v3 is now gaining ground and will not be updated for many years although it will be supplemented with online material as required.
ISO 20000 PROCESS Management System Planning and Implementing service management (Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle) Planning and implementing new or changed services Service level management Service catalogue management Service reporting Capacity management Availability and service continuity management Service continuity management Information security management Budgeting and accounting for IT services Configuration management Knowledge management Change management Release management Incident management Problem management Business relationship management Supplier management
The standard is already being updated by the ISO work group. The standard will remain stable for some years which is important in the marketplace. The next version of part 1 is likely to be published in 2009 with part 2 following a year later. These updates will bring in alignment to ITIL v3. Activities considered to be mandatory and auditable for best practice will be added into part 1; other activities will become recommendations in part 2.
ITIL V3 PROCESS OR LIFECYCLE Some aspects of Service strategy Measure and Improve in CSI Various aspects of Service design and Service transition Service level management, Report in CSI Capacity management Availability management, Access management Information security management Financial management Asset & Configuration management,
31 Change management Release & deployment management Incident management, Request fulfilment, Event management Problem management Some aspects of Service strategy Supplier management
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From challenge to opportunity Alan Pett reviews the potential costs and beneďŹ ts Leveraging standards and ITIL based processes to achieve increased differentiation
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the decision to add these more complex solutions to the portfolio can also have unexpected yet significant bottom line implications
I
T USED to be that attaining ISO 9001 Quality Management or ITIL IT Service Management certification was the preserve of the larger organisation, however many smaller IT solutions providers are now finding that their customers are starting to demand these standards as a core requirement for doing business. In this article I’ll try to explain why certification is so important for businesses and why I believe that independent certification in key areas such as quality, information security and IT service management should no longer be confined to larger companies, and is particularly applicable for channel organisations developing complex solutions for their customers. Looking at the UK channel market we find that the UK partner community is characterised by two main drivers. Among smaller integrators and distribution partners, there’s a desire to expand their business portfolios, particularly into higher value advanced technology solutions such as Unified Communications, Security capabilities and Datacentre services. However for more complex Systems Integrator companies, the requirement is often for an increased service and solutions capability to help them scope and deliver their
business propositions efficiently and ensure that their solutions are delivered to very high standards of customer satisfaction. For both kinds of channel organisations, these higher value projects are typically more complex; margins are consequently higher and there is less fierce price competitiveness. But the decision to add these more complex solutions to the portfolio can also have unexpected yet significant bottom line implications with regard to areas such as capital investments, specialist recruitment needs as well as training and sales support.
Adopting a Quality Management approach for business operations If UK channel businesses are going to be able to address these opportunities successfully, there’s a pressing requirement for them to implement clearly established and replicable processes that help to optimise their business performance, as well as well defined service management procedures and operational performance guidelines to ensure a consistently high quality offering. It’s important for solutions providers to strengthen their own internal systems if they are to provide their customers with a high
quality service each and every time. Service Level Agreements of course are important, but they work so much better when they are actually backed by rigorous quality processes, and a structured service management capability. That’s why I’d encourage organisations to invest a significant amount of their time and resources on securing the range of different certifications that are available to demonstrate their ability to deliver against the most exacting standards. In addition to ISO 9001 Quality Management, there are significant benefits that can also be achieved by working towards and adopting ITIL based IT Service Management and ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems certification.
Balancing costs with benefits Of course there are significant internal costs and resources required in going down the certification route, as well as an ongoing commitment to making sure that initiatives such as ISO 9001 and ITIL become and remain embedded as an integral part of how a business operates. But it’s important to match these costs against the ability, when all your key processes are backed by independent certification from BSI — the
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The CFO wants better margins.
The CMO wants higher brand awareness.
The COO wants better ways to manage costs.
The CEO simply wants results.
The CIO has to deliver all of the above and now has a way to make it happen.
Welcome to Business Service Management from BMC Software. Business Service Management (BSM) means the goals of IT are the same as the goals of the business. And with proven software and processes from BMC Software, BSM can be implemented in stages, demonstrating the value of IT as you go. ITIL v.3 incorporates BSM as a best practice. All business success stories have to start somewhere. With BSM from BMC Software, they begin in IT.
Visit us at stand H8/9 at ITSMF on 12-14 November 2007 to find out more about BSM and ITIL v.3.
Š 2007 BMC Software, Inc. All Right Reserved.
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leading UKAS accredited organisation — to give unequivocal responses to customers seeking quality, information security and IT service management credentials. Very quickly, partners will find that their customers start to demonstrate real confidence in their technology partner’s own processes and, infrastructure and especially in their ability to understand and deliver on project requirements. However, knowing how complex and time consuming implementing these Quality Management processes can be, I would recommend that organisations think hard about the support they might need to support their own certification activities.
Why do companies need help with certification? If ISO certification is to be successful it’s essential that organisations recognise the scale of the process in front of them. It typically requires hands on senior management involvement, and the right level of resources allocated to the task. The process demands management attention, but also appropriate buy in and support from employees throughout the company. The right expectations also have to be set. Quality certification can help manage a business by streamlining processes, strengthening your brand in the marketplace and opening up new opportunities. However there are also costs involved, with operational expenses going up because of expenditure on systems and more time spent on processes and checks. Longer term though, the benefits and payback comes through in areas such as reduced staff training, improved inventory procedures and more effective service management. That’s where specialist consultancy and process management can help, particularly for smaller organisations such as channel businesses that typically won’t have a good quality manager in place. External consultancy and services can play a key role in planning and driving forward a company’s quality management implementation, mentoring internal project champions and guiding the company in the right direction. External professional support can also help in shortening the timeline for an ISO 9000 implementation from start to finish. Depending on the size of the organisation, projects can take anything from nine to 18 months with a key success factor being how closely companies are aligned to their project
Developing certification and process management skills for channel partners
ITIL certification can prove a powerful differentiator and confirm their ability to deliver a structured services approach to the growing number of customers who increasingly require more formal service certification goals. Time to certification is obviously a variable, but expert help in ensuring that companies are on track and avoiding pitfalls can clearly be invaluable.
Turning ITIL into a services asset Another key certification area is ITIL — a set of best practice concepts and techniques for addressing the effective management of IT infrastructure, service delivery and service support. Originally a public sector initiative, ITIL has been successfully adopted by the corporate sector but is often seen as less appropriate for smaller organisations. For some channel organisations, however, ITIL certification can prove a powerful differentiator and confirm their ability to deliver a structured services approach to the growing number of customers who increasingly require more formal service certification. While the process of adopting and implementing ITIL certification can be time consuming, the benefits for a smaller organisation are that there are typically less staff and processes involved, and that the benefits can be significant in terms of more streamlined support processes and more efficient IT operations.
We’re now starting to see how some of those partner organisations that can clearly demonstrate ISO Quality Management certification, ITIL based processes and Environmental certification are positioning themselves to address higher value business opportunities. Effective adherence with these standards can also play a part in helping to ensure compliance and reduce the longer term risk of penalties and litigation. To achieve these kinds of benefits, however, smaller organisations need to consider a number of key service improvement issues. If they can find an organisation or partner that has already addressed these issues, then there’s a strong chance they can accelerate their internal procedures and benefit from a fast track approach to advanced process management and adherence. Three key examples of this would include: • Ensuring effective risk assessment — you should carry out detailed reviews of security threats and vulnerabilities within your organisation’s systems and examine their potential business impact. These will not only relate to IT but will encompass all sensitive and mission critical information held within your business. • Matching current and future Best Practice — it’s important to match current systems and processes against recognised best practice within your industry — effective Gap Analysis is an important first step towards achieving ISO Certification. • Support for documentation drafting — while it’s entirely possible to draft all your own ITIL or ISO documentation, it makes a lot of sense to get in some expert help as specialists know exactly the kind of wording and process related approach that works, while you benefit from less call on your valuable internal resources. Having gone through many of these processes ourselves, we’ve seen the value in certifying aspects of our business, and are convinced it can be a powerful market differentiator. For channel firms that have previously thought accreditation programmes such as ISO Quality Management and ITIL Service Management were not right for their business, our advice would be to think again — they might be missing out on a significant opportunity for growth.
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The best path to grow EMC, as John Hancock finds, is committed to providing market leading technologies and growth by whatever method works best
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UCCESSFUL COMPANIES stand or fall by, among other things, their ability to be offering the right products at the right time to the right people. But in a world where change is, increasingly, the most constant phenomenon, meeting those requirements is an ever greater task. In the world of IT, that imperative can be made all the more challenging
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by the speed at which change occurs, the constantly growing levels of expectation among those who see IT departments as a near magic solution to any business problem and the evolving list of business capabilities that IT makes possible and for which, in a real ‘rod for its own back’ reality, it is expected to provide the management tools. In this
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Our goal is to help organisations transform the way they create value from information
VitAL: How large is the business and what is its geographical spread? CM: There are currently more than 37,000 employees in EMC with 40% of those being outside of the USA: we also have 400 sales offices and partners in 70 countries. The whole operation is headquartered in Hopkinton Massachusetts in the greater Boston area.
environment, IT businesses that can themselves employ a flexible and multi level approach to development should be better placed to benefit from the best of all worlds when it comes to improving and maintaining the solutions that they offer their customers. EMC recently made the news with its acquisition of Infra Corporation, but this announcement should not be read in isolation. EMC is a well established business by IT sector standards, indeed by any business standards and has been growing in size, scope and capability for nearly three decades. This has not been limited to one particular growth path but has rather utilised both organic growth and growth by acquisition where appropriate to create the optimum business offer in the optimum time. We caught up with a very busy Colin Murray, Regional Vice President of Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) for EMC’s Resource Management Software Group (RMSG), to ask the usual questions.
VitAL: What does EMC offer the market and its customers? CM: We provide the tools that can help an organisation capitalise on its information, using tools ranging from systems, software, services and combinations thereof to provide solutions that enable the information infrastructure to work for the business. Information is a company’s most important asset and our solutions aim to ensure that the maximum value is derived from it.
VitAL: What were the origins of EMC, i.e. how did it start and develop and how has it grown? Colin Murray: From its foundation in 1979, EMC has gone through a number of transformations from an original focus on storage devices to a current business focus on information infrastructure, technology and services. Our goal is to help organisations transform the way they create value from information – from storing information to protecting it, adding intelligence to it, virtualising it and automating the infrastructure used to manage information. There was a major transformation step in the year 2000 when the current president, Joe Tucci, was appointed. From 1979 until 2000 the business had grown to $8.8 billion of revenue (including $1.8 billion of income). Tucci had a new vision for EMC to ‘own’ the information infrastructure; he realised that storage is valuable but the real market was in adding value by raising our game to help clients manage the whole life cycle of information. The success of this strategy can be gauged from the fact that by 2007 revenue had grown to $13.23 billion.
VitAL: What are the product and services that the business delivers? CM: In the first instance we offer storage systems and platforms featuring a choice of performance criteria, scalability and functionality to suit each customer’s operations. Over and above that, we then offer software to address business information needs in a range of areas including archiving, back up and recovery [from disaster], business continuity and availability, collaboration, enterprise content management, resource management and virtualisation. At the highest level we offer professional services to help organisations design, build and implement their information infrastructure. VitAL: Are there any particular areas in which EMC specialises? CM: I speak on behalf of EMC’s Resource Management Software Group, and this group specialises in resource and IT Operations management: our objective is to give our customers the stability and control across their whole information infrastructure. Enterprises spend their IT resources in four main areas: -Storage; Networks; Servers; and… Applications. Each area or domain of resources needs to be managed and our solutions assist customers to automate these management tasks. Most businesses are amazed when they assess the effort needed to manage resources from installation through configuration, updating and maintenance (it’s remarkable how much resources this takes), problems (again it’s surprising how much resource is needed to
trace and repair a problem) and compliance (increasingly business activities are governed by a number of regulations and standards; they may be government standards such as Sarbanes Oxley, industry standards, such as are applied to payment cards operations or company standards). Probably only one in 10 enterprises can say that they are managing their compliance obligations effectively; a ratio that becomes even worse if finance businesses are taken out of the calculation. VitAL: What do you see as EMC’s main challenges and opportunities? CM: In fact, conversely the challenges that our customers face represent our greatest opportunities. IT continues to evolve with new approaches in the past 24 months such as Web based applications which could be applicable across hundreds of computers. Virtualisation means that while there are far less physical servers than there used to be there are far more virtual servers, which makes it more difficult to see and manage them. At the same time that more and more complex applications are being developed and installed IT systems are becoming increasingly important to business. So if you’re in IT, your importance is growing [and with that, the demands that are placed on you] while at the same time you are expected to manage an increasingly complex sector. As if all that wasn’t enough there is also, in the present economic climate, a major focus on cost reduction, which inevitably means fewer resources are available to support the developments that are needed. VitAL: How do those challenges and opportunities impact on the business? CM: They create opportunities for EMC to continue to add value in new areas. The challenge is to address these different business problems with an integrated solution. EMC has been acquiring and developing a number of new solutions. Two years ago, EMCs Resource Management Software Group had two main products offering storage (ControlCenter) and network fault management (Smarts). Over the past two years we have addressed many more infrastructure management problems. EMC RMSG has begun to extend its products to enable cross-domain management. An example is SIA — Storage Insight for Availability — which provided cross-domain network and storage root cause analysis, and Control Center 6.0 which was the first product to deliver storage resource management for virtual environments. You can’t manage the infrastructure if you don’t accurately know what you have and
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VITAL PROFILE
Many organisations are currently reengineering their processes around ITIL and Infra, being based on ITIL practices, is a natural automation tool where it is; so one year ago we acquired a company called nLayers, which has a technology that automatically discovers business applications that are being used, the servers on which they are being housed and the dependencies between them. We also recognise the challenge and cost of configuring infrastructure. In the fourth quarter of 2007, EMC acquired a company called Voyence, whose technologies automate reconfiguration and compliance management of devices. The acquisitions of nLayers and Voyence, as well as the addition of new products such as IT Compliance Analyzer and VoIP Performance Manager, have provided strong discovery, dependency mapping, and change management capabilities essential to this transition. The opportunity for EMC is the integration of these acquired products to provide one seamless solution across the business: and of course we’re not alone in this, our competitors are doing much the same. So that represents a further challenge, but one that we have managed very well in a short timeframe. VitAL: What is EMC’s policy on people, i.e. training, career development etc? CM: All companies would say that people are important but we believe that we have the credentials to support that statement for EMC. We have long been in Training Magazine’s top 125 companies in the areas of training and development, and advanced last year to number two in the overall listings and the top IT company. Also, although it may not have any scientific basis, I have observed an unusually high proportion of people who have been at EMC a long time and, by IT industry standards [where career moves are often moves to a different business], a high number of internal movements.
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50190 UKCMG adv2:UKCMG 2005 8pp
7/2/08
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Sharing Best Practices & Experience Performance Testing
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A must attend event with excellent papers from industry experts, US guest speakers, education specialists and end users. The three-day event will cover hot topics and issues in Performance, Capacity Management, Service Management, Distributed and Mainframe including beginner sessions. CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS ITIL Accredited Training courses embedded within the conference programme. HP ITIL V3 Simulation session - 2 hour session worth over £2000! Workshop sessions - excellent education and training opportunities for attendees. Exhibition hall with industry leading vendors. SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS UKCMG is delighted to welcome renowned speakers to the conference: Glenn Anderson, IBM • Adrian Cockcroft, Netflix • Chris Molloy, IBM • Amy Spellman, HyPerformix • Richard Ralston, Humana Inc • Michael Lundblad, IBM • Barry Merill, MXG • Brian Johnson, CA • Peg McMahon, Sprint/Nexel & Michael Salsburg, Unisys - Mullen Award Winners from USCMG 2007
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VITAL PROFILE
it’s surprising how much resource is needed to trace and repair a problem
VitAL: EMC has recently acquired Infra Corporation; why was it decided to do this? CM: Infra is in the IT service desk and service management market. That market is showing steady growth and a large number of organisations are reevaluating their investment in helpdesk systems. This is a strategic market which bridges the gap between back office IT operations, and the front office and service desk. Infra supplies this linkage and EMC’s next step in developing the information infrastructure. VitAL: Why did EMC select Infra as a takeover target? CM: They have a leading position in this service desk market which helps to fill out our resource management portfolio. EMC’s (RMSG) delivers an extensive product set based upon customer requirements for visibility and control across their information infrastructure. Our roadmap is driving towards a unified product architecture that will allow us to focus on storage, network, and server teams as we do today, but also across the entire data centre team with an integrated solution set. With Infra’s award-winning web-based IT Service Deak solution, EMC now helps companies to unify front office IT Service Management with IT back office infrastructure management. This is an evolution that takes our customers forward, not a revolution that leaves anyone behind. VitAL: How do you envisage the new relationship working in addressing current challenges, exploiting current opportunities and in planning the future for the business? CM: The Infra business will continue as a separate business unit within the Resource Management Group. However we have immediately started introducing Infra solutions to the EMC customer base. Infra makes EMC much better positioned for larger and more comprehensive resource management projects. Many organisations are currently reengineering their processes around ITIL and Infra, being based on ITIL practices, is a natural automation tool for organisations reorganising along ITIL lines. They will also need new back office tools, which EMC can provide.
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COLIN MURRAY is Regional Vice President of Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) for EMC’s Resource Management Software Group. He joined EMC in June, 2007. Mr Murray has 22 years of sales, marketing, and general management experience in IT and telecommunications. Prior to EMC, he led the EMEA organisations of Visual Networks (network and application performance management) and Digiquant (Internet service management). Before this, he ran the EMEA sales organisation for LHS (telecommunications billing and customer care). Mr Murray also spent 10 years at Computer Sciences Corporation, selling operational and business support systems to telecommunications service providers, and started his career at Teradyne’s telecommunications network testing division.
VitAL: What previous acquisitions has EMC made and how have they added to the business’s capability? CM: We have already mentioned nLayers, Voyence, Smarts and Infra just in the RMSG, but there have been a number of very important acquisitions including RSA for security, Documentum and Captiva for content management, and VMware for virtualisation capabilities.
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VITAL LESSONS VitAL: Do you expect EMC’s growth to be achieved through increased market share in current markets or through involvement in new markets; if so, what? CM: Our current focus is on resource management and, in that area, we will both develop our current markets and seek out new markets. The new portfolio of products has significantly transformed this part of EMC and enabled us to work with large enterprises and in data centres which are new markets of for us. RMSG has a very strong customer base in the telecoms sector across EMEA. With our focus on network management and moving away from simply storage management there are a number of opportunities for radical growth working across all parts of EMC.
Losing IT and gaining a place on the first team Sharon Taylor says we are the business.
VitAL: Will the company grow organically or by acquisition in the future? CM: We will continue to grow by both methods. VitAL: What are the future plans for the business? CM: There are one or two remaining areas that we like to fill in, but of particular importance is the integration of products. We are doing that by building configuration management systems based on Infra and we just announced a new integrated product aimed at bridging the IT and security operations functions in support of improved compliance, risk management and cost control. The technology is based on EMC’s VoyenceControl product for Network Change and Configuration Management (NCCM) and the EMC RSA enVision product for Security Information and Event Management (SIEM). We will create a unified common data model across all products to be able to offer a full family of resource management and configuration management systems. VitAL: What is EMC’s view of the current state of IT Service Management and IT - in business and the economy in general? What challenges and opportunities do you see? CM: We see the IT Service Management world as booming. More and more enterprises are trying to become innovative in the way they manage IT; implementing ITIL, reengineering their processes and implementing integrated systems to support them. We are optimistic about the current state and the future of IT Service Management. There are some signs of wider economic challenges but we feel that the fact that we focus on automation for resource management will be attractive in the current environment, especially where there may be a focus on cost reductions.
A door to endless opportunities?
We are evolving to a level of maturity where IT is not aligned or partnered with the business. We are the business
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URING A recent media interview on the contribution ITIL V3 will make to the IT industry, I was tempted to say ‘none’. Purely tongue in cheek of course, but with a serious side to having some truth. I believe the biggest contribution ITIL V3, along with the Service Management profession, will make going forward is the realization that the focus of thought leadership, strategic, tactical and operational conversation is shifting from IT Service Management to just plain Service Management. We are evolving to a level of maturity where IT is not aligned or partnered with the business. We are the business. We innovate, enable, mature and create the possibility for business to excel and lead in all industries. As such, our visions, thoughts, actions and
contribution is to not simply be IT Service Providers, but to be Service Providers and to take on all that entails. As it becomes more main stream to drop the IT from our service management vernacular, we open doors for ourselves to be seriously considered part of the business, not an entity which sits on the periphery and executes business strategy, but a part of the business that creates, delivers and shapes business strategy of the future. From where I sit, that creates endless potential for our industry to shape our future, and stop just being a piece of the execution. That is a seat I want to be in. So to my critics... I’m happy to say I am finally losing IT. And it seems I’m in good company!
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Why integrate, when you can aggregate Lisa Hammond looks at making the change from IT department to service provider
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Rather than dismantling business units, companies can make them permeable to information
N ORDER to be responsive to customers, companies often restructure business units, create cross functional teams, outsource or offshore functions and spend huge amounts of money trying to integrate technological silos. Such attempts distract the business, contaminate strategies and rarely capture the value they aim to achieve. But it doesn’t have to be like this. Rather than dismantling business units, companies can make them permeable to information. They can aggregate all their data on products, filtering it through connected databases and applications, and distil the services through connected services bundles in order to deliver them in a more meaningful manner
to customers. Such aggregation can lead to better customer relationships and more sales, as well as improved operational efficiency.
The culture of participation Today, market dynamics and customers’ preferences have changed. Customers demand personalised service, and they expect to spend their money with organisations that value and understand them. Unfortunately many companies were built in an era of slower change where tight integration of sales, product development, IT functions, and efficiency of processes provided competitive advantage. The power base rested
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number crunchers look after finance and engineers are drawn to product development, manufacturing, or IT. But, while division of labour is good for productivity, it also breeds a complex sociology. Senior executives are worried about silos because the costs of non cooperation are rising. In an increasingly competitive global economy, companies across all industries are under pressure to increase sales and improve efficiency. Unfortunately the easy cost cuts have already been made. Further progress requires serious focus from the leadership team to redesign service bundles with people, processes and technology from various silos and link them in service chains to meet and, where possible, exceed customers’ demands.
Figure 1: Today’s market dynamics
with the large companies and customers bought from household names. Trust came from scale of operations. That thinking also encouraged companies to operate in terms of ‘supply push’ to move products to customers. The question then was not one of: ‘Does the customer demand the product?’ but ‘Can the company sell the product?’ Our society of large, complex organisations is a perfect breeding ground and today the silo’s that lock customer and product information prevent organisations from responding to this enormous customer movement. Customers buy from those companies that make it easy to do business with them. Today, customers are impatient and expect service excellence at the most competitive price. While companies have to focus on creating great products, customers think in terms of the activities they perform and the benefits they seek. For companies, products are ends, but for customers, products are means.
Breaking the silo’s Every company has silos, such as product development, customer facing business units, sales and distribution channels, geographies and information technology (IT). These silos
are separated by well defined and often rigid boundaries which tend to obstruct the flow of information. It is said that dog owners and their pets come to resemble each other. The same mechanism is at work for companies and their IT systems — companies come to look like their IT systems. Change the IT and the company changes its structure and delivery mode. The primary function of a company is to increase sales whilst reducing transaction costs. The higher the transaction costs, the smaller the scope of the market. Today, in many organisations, over engineered enterprise resource planning applications and IT silos have increased the transaction costs to worrying levels. Silos in orgainsations are not new. Most of the time, they are just another obstacle to be overcome or circumvented. Occasionally, however, silos become so powerful that an organisation is rendered dysfunctional. The irony is that silos arise from the quest for efficiency. As Adam Smith pointed out many years ago, work gets done more quickly when it is divided into chunks and done by specialists. Today, in a typical company, confident, outgoing types handle sales,
Companies essentially need to transform from being product centric, finding customers for their products, to a service oriented, finding products for their customers. The transformation challenge Companies essentially need to transform from being product centric, finding customers for their products, to a service oriented, finding products for their customers. This transformation, means aggregating fragmented products, enabling flexible new offerings tailored to the needs of different customers to be created, and revamping IT architecture to support this new way of going to the market. Using technology, one can move transactions that were previously internal to the outside meaning companies no longer need to own the pieces if they can coordinate elements offered by the market at a lower price.
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And indeed, lower costs have already led many companies to outsource and offshore production activities. Many are becoming coordinators and aggregators without any production activities at all. Here, employees become increasingly independent free agents, a myriad of highly specialised suppliers vie for their services and customers seek customised products and solutions. Such aggregation can lead not just to better customer relationships and sales but also to greater efficiency. It allows a company, for example, to avoid the high cost of maintaining different IT systems with redundant data while at the same time reducing operating costs.
How to go about it
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Aggregation needs to take place along three dimensions: the offerings a company presents to customers, the company’s IT systems and the organisation itself. Step 1 — Identify and profile major customer segments. Next, analyse the workflows of each customer segment and produce a detailed map of customer activities. Then overlay products and services on to this map, showing how they support the various activities. This will allow a business to see how its products could be assembled into flexible and loosely coupled new bundles (called service bundles) that would meet the needs of the key customer segments, providing the basis for the design of customised interfaces for each segment. By then bundling these products together with services, the company can deliver greater value to customers at a lower cost. Step 2 — Move from an IT environment, where individual business units control both IT infrastructure and customer facing applications, to a tiered architecture, where control over the customer facing applications is consolidated with customer focused teams. The decoupling of customer facing applications and backend infrastructure can be made possible by a new application server which allows legacy applications and products to be presented as objects or modular components that can be aggregated and flexibly assembled to create customised solutions for customers. In addition to creating a tiered architecture, enhance IT aggregation by developing a common nomenclature for products, common protocols for accessing applications components, common XML standards, and common standards for look and feel and finally consolidate IT hardware and the network. Step 3 — Separate control for product development and manufacturing from control over customers. Serve both by a set
of centralised shared services organisations such as supply chain, finance, HR and IT with senior management at its core. Next, new skills in customer relationship management will need to be developed including a new measure for customer potential and profitability. If a company cannot measure revenue and profit by customer, for example, it won’t be able to reward employees for focusing on the right ones.
The IT organisation as a shared service IT needs to shift from an in house capital asset to a centralised shared service that will overturn strategic and operating assumptions and pose daunting challenges for IT suppliers. The IT organisation will require three major components:1. Core IT resources will be maintained centrally and distributed to end users on a subscription basis. Serving the core IT resources will be a diverse array of component suppliers — the makers of computers, storage units, operating and utility software, applications and offshore service providers. 2. Large network operators will maintain the high capacity data communication lines needed for the system to work. 3. Business focused, innovative, service orientated technology leaders will be absorbed into the front facing parts of the organisation to help decide the best technologies, markets, sources and offerings.
For these technology leaders, raising the IT organisation’s productivity is an absolute imperative. Several factors characterise such IT productivity leadership. • These individuals focus on improving the productivity of their core business processes, as investments in new ones, such as utility computing, often yield little return and may even complicate the overall business system. • Once the leading companies determine which processes drive their productivity, they decide where to lead, and where to match competitors, and then build a lasting competitive advantage through creating simpler and cheaper alternatives, e.g. shared infrastructure platforms. • Rather than relying on a silver bullet, IT productivity leaders adopt an end to end approach to service delivery by creating service bundles and linking them through service chains. They generate gains from a combination of organisational alignment and targeted investment. In contrast, companies that bet their future on utility computing and other IT expenditures, such as ERP systems, without bothering to improve processes and services may be disappointed.
Defining Productivity An IT organisation’s productivity is the ratio of inputs to outputs — the value of what a company puts into a production process compared with what it gets out. A production process has three main inputs:
If a company cannot measure revenue and profit by customer, for example, it won’t be able to reward employees for focusing on the right ones
Figure 2: The three dimension of service aggregation
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With all else equal in a given market, a company that has higher IT productivity will enjoy greater profitability • Labour (such as IT workers); • Capital (IT equipment and buildings); • Purchased inputs (IT software and services bought from IT suppliers). The numerator of the IT organisation’s productivity equation is value added (output minus the purchased inputs); the denominator, costs (capital costs plus labour). IT workers productivity (value added output per employee) and capital productivity (value added output per pound or euro of capital stock) can be examined separately. IT workers productivity is highly relevant to companies because much of their productive capacity resides in people. With all else equal in a given market, a company that has higher IT productivity will enjoy greater profitability. A more IT productive company can either produce the same output with fewer inputs and thus enjoy a cost
advantage or produce more or better output with the same inputs and command a price premium. Over time, the higher profitability of more IT productive organisations will attract competition, and profitability will tend to converge. Profitability is therefore a reward for improvements in IT productivity.
Reiterating the purpose The disjunction between how customers think and how companies organise themselves is what leads to inefficiencies and missed opportunities. And that is precisely the problem that service aggregation solves. Service aggregation enables companies to get closer to customers, increase sales, sustain product and service innovation, and improve operational efficiencies — four objectives that have traditionally been extraordinarily difficult to achieve simultaneously.
The dominance of customer choice of services they want to buy means realignment of product development, back office functions, IT applications and infrastructures and customer relationship organisations. Once a company controls the relationship with its customer, it can use its store of customer information to expand into other adjacent markets. It is worth noting that organisations achieve their ultimate goals when specialists share knowledge and work together. Work mostly gets done in functional departments, but value is delivered to customers via service chains that cut across the functional areas or departments. It is clear that victors will be those companies with the best designed service aggregation capabilities, the most responsive partners’ network in their service chains, and the closest customer relationships. IT’s role in all this must be ignored at one’s peril.
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there’s a whole world of technology out there which, in many cases, remains separate from mainstream enterprise applications
A whole new world CAD technology is closer to IT than you think, says Kevin Ison
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HICH SOFTWARE application has had the most impact on the world today? Yes, Microsoft Windows is a powerful contender. But looking around, I would argue that — surprisingly — the answer is not a foregone conclusion. IT experts may be amazed to know that there’s a whole world of technology out there which, in many cases, remains separate from mainstream enterprise applications. However, despite this, it is powerful, all pervasive and its reach is growing. It’s easy to forget that IT isn’t just for numbers. It can be applied to things too — buildings, products and places, for example. Almost everything you see today that has been manmade over the past couple of decades; from bulldozers to motorways, from hospitals to musical instruments, from ballpoint pens to ski lifts, has been created using computer aided design or CAD. But despite its all embracing nature, the world of CAD is a curious one. It bridges the gap between the creative type and the computer techie, but little is known about it beyond its own parameters. Over the past few years, CAD technology has morphed into something far more radical, powerful and quite honestly, mind boggling, offering us the prospect of a virtually real alternative world which can give us what plain reality can’t give us. Special effects in films and games are created from this very technology and it’s now commonplace to see computer generated
images (CGI) on television on programmes from home makeovers to history documentaries. If Jeremy Clarkson raves about the latest red hot sports car not yet in production, chances are that the ‘photo’ on the screen is in fact a CGI, however real it appears. But what does this mean for business? The big news here is that, despite the ‘wow’ factor of 3D design and photo realistic representation, the value of CAD is far more than skin deep. The technology is enabling users, not just to see their designs before they are real, but to also experience them. In turn, this is helping them address some
of the key issues challenging businesses today. For example, being able to work in a virtual or electronic world aids better collaboration particularly when working with global teams and, because 3D design makes testing and analysis easier and less expensive, it enables them to create more sustainable designs with less waste. The key to 3D design is not, in fact, the model itself but a powerful database behind it. This contains everything you could ever need to know about a design such as dimensions, materials, numbers of components needed and so on. And one of the most significant advances of the past few years has been the development of parametric technology. In short, this means that if any part of the model or any view of the design is changed, everything connected with the design updates accordingly. Imagine, for example, a civil engineer designing a new road junction. They can see from the 3D computer model that a grass verge will obstruct the view around a bend. They can then simply drag out the kerb on one side of the road to test the impact. If this doesn’t work, they can try the other side. Each time, everything else on the project will react automatically to the move. A 3D product design becomes a digital prototype; a rendered building model doesn’t just prove that a new building looks good, but also that it is strong enough to stand up to the elements. Of course, this idea isn’t entirely new. Industries such as automotive
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A smart operation may even use this information to help calculate what spares will be needed for the product throughout its lifetime
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and aerospace have, for a long time, used software to analyse and simulate. Structural engineers, for example have been able to test the strength of girders and beams. However, the difference now is that this capability is being gradually incorporated into mainstream design software tools, making it affordable and useable for all who need to use it, This means that an increasing amount of testing can be done in house as an integral part of the design process. There are no delays as data is converted and the model is sent back and forth and designers can be flexible in their analysis, responding quickly to the results and quickly tweaking and adjusting the design to get it right. This has significant ramifications on the way things are designed. For example in the architecture, engineering and construction industry it is driving the take up of a radical new design methodology known as building information modelling or BIM. Here, instead of data and drawings being recreated every time a design moves to a new phase, architects, engineers, construction professionals and even facility managers and owners all work from a single model — a digital prototype of
a building which can be used to test its real world performance. Architects and engineers can begin to test the energy efficiency and daylighting of their buildings at the early stage of the design process, the results influencing the form of the design. In this way, ‘green’ design becomes an organic process rather than an afterthought. By testing a building’s performance, as well as its aesthetic appeal, they can consider total cost of ownership which may justify using more expensive, but more sustainable raw materials. It also works in keeping costs down. It’s easy to create an energy efficient building by using a top of the range heating system, but there may be other, more cost effective, ways such as revising the size or number of doors or windows on the building model to reach the same result. Because the building model holds and centralises all relevant asset information, it becomes increasingly valuable as the project progresses, particularly for maintenance. For example, it may hold details of size and make of light fittings and when they were last replaced. This can help facilities managers predict when assets need renewing, leading
to more efficient maintenance and more precise budgeting. These methods work well with infrastructure too, especially when combined with mapping data. Hard pressed utilities battling to replace ageing infrastructure while complying with stringent government regulations, for example, can hold a digital model of underground piping and cables, enabling pre emptive reliability centred maintenance. If, for instance, pumps fail, on average, every 12 years, they can identify all 11 year old pumps in order to monitor or replace them. If like many large utilities you have tens of thousands of pumps, you can then ensure that budget and workforce are available to do the job. As a result, fewer customer minutes of electricity or water are lost through the breakdown of outdated systems. The latest geospatial software enables the integration of CAD with geographic information. This opens the way for the creation of entire digital cities — virtual models of complete urban areas including buildings and infrastructure populated with reliable and continuously updated data which can be used for a complete range of purposes.
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For example, data can be combined with statistics from external sources such as the police or Ordnance Survey to create predictive models for emergency and other planning. The benefits are no less dramatic in the product design arena. The latest software can convert a 3D model into a working prototype with parts and assemblies with real world properties. It automatically creates the reaction loads throughout the assembly itself. It also transfers multiple loads to determine stress. For example, if things are being pushed in one direction and held in another through a spring or similar device, this becomes part of the calculation. Previously to work out stresses, for example, you would take a portion of the total area to apply the loads. To do this properly you would need a good knowledge of symmetry, simplication and how to apply the loads. Consequently, however expert the engineer, the testing was never done on the real model, but on someone’s simplification, so errors were common. Now, however, testing can be carried out on the whole product with far greater accuracy, ensuring it is fit for purpose. And it
can be done as an integral part of the design process, rather than having to wait for days or weeks even for the analysis process to run its course. Increasingly this ability to test and simulate is being used to proactively improve the quality of products. For example, manufacturers use it to calculate eventual point of failure and design the product so that this is in a serviceable area, so prolonging its life. A smart operation may even use this information to help calculate what spares will be needed for the product throughout its lifetime. A recent report by the analyst firm, Aberdeen Group shows that best in class manufacturers make only half the number of physical protoypes as the average, but they get their product to market around 58 days faster. Making a physical prototype takes time, money and specialist skill. If it’s not right, it gets cast aside or destroyed and it’s back to square one. Using a digital protype, designers can revise and finesse to their heart’s content to get it right — meeting today’s demands for more highly styled and individual products, but still getting their designs into production and to the marketplace quicker.
I began this article talking about how CAD rarely impinged on the world of the typical IT manager. But for anyone working for an operation with a design office, this could soon be changing. As we’ve discussed, the difference between conventional 2D design and 3D digital modelling is the amount of valuable data available. Take an example, forward looking manufacturers are now discovering ways to feed design data directly into enterprise systems such as ERP or CRM, helping to speed up purchasing and the supply chain, helping sales and marketing win business earlier and putting reliable and totally current information at the fingertips of customer facing staff. A new paradigm is emerging and it makes business sense, as well as helping designers realise their ideas in a more creative and intuitive way. No longer is the virtual world an escape from reality — but rather a preview of real life that can be honed and improved. It may not be IT as you know it; it may be an entirely different world, both figuratively and literally. But the concept of a virtual universe may not be as fantastic and futuristic as it sounds.
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Staying power NetSupport has not just lasted the course; Camilla Dunwell discovered a business that has made the course its own
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NetSupport’s reputation is built on High performance, secure and proven remote control and desktop management software
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UALITY IS often in the provenance, that accumulation of information and character that reflects experience, proven capability and durability. And this is so whether the subject in question is a car (Rolls Royce), a musical instrument (Stradivarius), a piece of furniture or a business. NetSupport has been providing solutions for IT networks from almost before the term was coined and so has unparalleled depth of experience in its chosen sector. Couple that with a clearly focused approach to the market and a commitment to develop capabilities in house and you have a company that leads its sector. Today, the Group Managing Director is Al Kingsley and VitAL managed to exploit
a rare window in his day to ask our usual questions. VitAL: What were the origins of NetSupport, i.e. how did it start and develop and how has it grown? Al Kingsley: The business was founded by David Apsey in 1989, as Productive Computer Insight offering initially NetSupport Manager, a remote control solution for DOS systems — there were no other solutions available at that time. With consistent growth year on year since then, the business name was changed to NetSupport six years ago to align the company name with the brand we had established. We have been Deloitte Fast 50 award (recognising the fastest growing technology companies)
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winners for six years running, and Technology Exporter of the Year 2007. VitAL: How large is the business and what is its geographical spread? AK: Our headquarters are in Peterborough UK and there are wholly owned sales and support subsidiaries in UK, Munich, Atlanta, Toronto and Tokyo. There are currently 100+ staff centrally and our technology is currently installed on over 7 million computers worldwide for approximately 90,000 unique customers that we maintain in 60 different countries. VitAL: What does NetSupport offer the market and its customers? AK: NetSupport’s reputation is built on High performance, secure and proven remote control and desktop management software. Our corporate customers range from FTSE500 companies, Banks and local government across the spectrum to small SMEs. Customers worldwide include HSBC, KPMG, British Sugar, Barclays, Volvo, Allianz, Heineken, Pfizer right the way through to the FIA, British Athletics, World Snooker and the United Nations yet are equally adopted as cost effective solutions in the SME sector. Our products are : • NetSupport Manager — PC Remote Control; • NetSupport School — Classroom Management; • NetSupport Protect — Desktop security; • NetSupport DNA — Desktop Asset Management; • NetSupport Helpdesk — ITIL based Helpdesk; • NetSupport Notify — Desktop Notification; • NetSupport 24-7 — On Demand Remote Control; • NetSupport Inform — Corporate Training tool.
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VitAL: What are the product/services that the business delivers? AK: All of our products are focused around the management and control of computers within an enterprise. The tools we provide range from Remote Control software, Inventory and Asset management suites, and Helpdesk software through to Endpoint security, enterprise Alerting and Classroom instruction software. VitAL: Are there any particular areas in which NetSupport specialises? AK: Without a doubt we are best recognised as market leaders in multi platform Remote Control and Inventory technology. In the
last five years our portfolio has extended to include Helpdesk based tools, which naturally align alongside remote control and inventory solutions, so that we now provide a unified offering for the typical IT helpdesk. VitAL: What do you see as NetSupport’s main challenges and opportunities? AK: The biggest opportunity is reacting to the change in working practices. The workplace and its workers are much more mobile, and, as such, with new technology and the expansion of mobile data and devices, there is a growing
demand for technology that will allow effective management and use of these systems. The cost to companies of system downtime continues to grow, so tools such as those from NetSupport can generate significant savings against the cost of ownership of their technology. Without a doubt all developers, especially those in our sector, face a huge challenge with the diversity of operating systems and environments; the level of investment needed to keep and add compatibility to our products is significant. Vista created a headache for
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many, and with new mobile platforms and Linux derivations, we expect this to be an ongoing challenge in the future. Naturally, for NetSupport we also see this as an opportunity, if we continue to innovate and cater for new environments then we hope to continue to capitalise against some of our slower and less creative competitors. Our philosophy has always been to ‘Innovate not Replicate’, in essence we need to bring new benefits to the table for customers, not simply try and provide another alternative to an already congested market. We were one of
Our philosophy has always been to ‘Innovate not Replicate’ the first companies to develop remote control back in the late 80s, the first to include the ability to Show a screen back to a user, the first to provide a multi user instruction tool for training staff in the workplace on new software, and so on.
VitAL: How do those challenges and opportunities impact on the business? AK: We are continually updating our skill set internally, making sure we continue to focus on innovation and new product features to keep ahead of our rivals. As a developer, all technology is created in house. We don’t outsource or offshore any of our development as we feel that while it may achieve short term gains, it almost always creates issues down the line in terms of product support, code knowledge and the future compatibility and evolution of a product.
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on making sure that for the markets we are already dominant in we don’t get complacent. We give priority to our existing customer base to ensure the technology they’ve invested in evolves year after year. That’s unusual, as the growth handbook would suggest go for new business first, but we know from experience that if you look after you existing customers, learn from their feedback and ideas, that it will ultimately lead to new business.
VitAL: What is NetSupport’s policy on people, i.e. training, career development etc? AK: Our Focus is very much on people retention. The knowledge our team have built up over the last 19 years is immense in what is a very specialised sector. We make sure all our staff have access to the latest hardware and software environments and regularly attend courses. In our UK HQ we have 300 computers that are used solely for product testing and development work. Where we feel we need additional input then we recruit accordingly to make sure we always have product knowledge shared across the team. We have only lost two developers from our team in the last 15 years and one of those emigrated, so I am confident we are doing the right things.
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VitAL: NetSupport has recently won some awards; what were these and why do you think NetSupport won them? AK: We have won… • Network World - Best of the Tests 2008 — NetSupport Manager; • Network Computing - Software Product of the Year 2008 — NetSupport manager; • Network Computing - New Product of the Year 2008 — NetSupport Protect; • Technology and Learning Award of Excellence 2007 — products that have stood the test of time — NetSupport School; • PC Pro A List Recommended Award — NetSupport 24-7; • Network Computing Finalist 2008 — NetSupport Helpdesk.
The best solutions are ones that everyone can use, quickly and reliably with minimal training VitAL: What is the global reach of your market? AK: Much like the capabilities of our product, we are a global business and sell currently into approx 60 countries worldwide. Our core products are available in up to 14+ languages including: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Arabic, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian and Czech. VitAL: What new markets is NetSupport winning and/or targeting for the future? AK: Geographicaly Asia and the Middle East are growing fast for NetSupport. In technology terms, then tools and support within mobile and wireless environments is certainly high demand for us. The Helpdesk and Asset Management sector is very competitive and we have seen excellent progress in the last two years by aligning our focus on ease of use and installation of our products. We continue to focus first and foremost
VitAL: How is NetSupport’s software evolving? AK: Our products constantly evolve, most receive at least two updates a year with new ideas or updates due to changes in the environments they operate in. Again we always start from a position of adding accessibility and ease of use first to the recipe, not just functions for function sake. The true cost of any software product is its licence, time and resource to deploy and configure and then to train its users to maintain it. We focus on removing the costs of implementation and user training as much as possible. We also know that as we add more features and power to our software we have to marry that with more security and centralised control. All our products allow seamless integration with Active Directory or NT domain profiles, all carry data encryption up to 256 AES and recently we even introduced support for smart card authentication to our remote control software. VitAL: Do you expect NetSupport’s growth to be achieved through increased market share in current markets or through involvement in new markets; if so, what? AK: We expect growth in both areas as we continue to be No 1 in our chosen category and clearly there are other international verticals that we have not focused on as yet. In the Uk we already have a very strong position in the Remote Control sector and our position in the desktop management and Helpdesk verticals is climbing monthly. We just have to keep providing a compelling reason why companies should give our products a try and continue to have confidence that when they do, many will want to stay with us. VitAL: Will the company grow organically or by acquisition in the future? AK: Never say ‘never’, but our strategy has always been on organic growth as we believe this ensures that we have the right ongoing skills set and understanding of our technology. We don’t sign up to the concept of ‘buying in’
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via acquisition as we have seen too many solutions that have been expanded via this route. Often they lose their compatibility and reliability and most of all, the companies lose the level of knowledge needed to properly support their customers. VitAL: What are the future plans for the business? AK: Given that we’ve been growing both in terms of turnover and profits every year since inception, we will first and foremost continue to do what we do well, which is to focus on where our skill set is best suited and not try and deviate from what we are best at by offering 101 different utilities across a broad spectrum. Our revenues grew almost 20% again this year but we have no desire to be the biggest company in the world, we always stick to wanting to be the best, and for us that means keeping the products at the top of the pile and making sure we can deliver on what we promise to our customers. VitAL: What is your and / or NetSupport’s view of the current state of IT Service Management
and IT - in business and the economy in general? What challenges and opportunities do you see? AK: Our sector has a high profile at the moment. IT Service Management and asset management are key agenda items for many companies. We still believe there is a wealth of conflicting feedback and ideas, and fundamentally there is still a desire to over complicate what should be a relatively straightforward and structured process. I should add, often it’s the vendors who try to convince companies that they need a lot more than they really do. The best solutions are ones that everyone can use, quickly and reliably with minimal training. It really shouldn’t be about ‘biggest is best’. Effective control and inventory of assets should be about management of that resource to achieve maximum productivity and operational time out of your technology. It should not automatically be a question of cost; the right tools should deliver savings to a business not additional outlay. The key is that IT Service Management covers so many potential aspects that the risk is that people end up with a raft of non compatible point
solutions rather than focusing on technology that can work together. Given that IT Service Management tools and Helpdesk tools are all about increasing effectiveness of companies, and producing and delivering cost effective working practices and speedy ROI, even with an economic downturn in certain markets, tools that deliver cost savings should continue to be high on customers’ shopping lists. VitAL: Are there any other matters that have been missed from here but which you feel would add further to readers’ understanding of NetSupport? AK: NetSupport is known as being the best of the best for Remote Control: over the last 10 years we have won awards in almost every leading IT publication for our software. Our portfolio now covering Helpdesk and Asset Management as well as desktop alerting all carries a common theme, the tools have been built from the ground up to work together seamlessly. If you install a NetSupport helpdesk you can utilise our remote control or undertake a system inventory with nothing more than a single mouse click.
“I challenge anyone serious about Service Management not to look at e-Service Desk before investing in technology. BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE
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Extraordinary solutions for Total Service Management contact us for a product demonstration on +44 (0) 1666 828 600 or www.iccm.co.uk
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Intergration is the secret of success Removing the barriers between parts of the business can, as Andrew Tillman explains, improve ability to respond to client needs
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HE USE of disparate systems — and even paper records — for service management applications ought to be a thing of the past with the new wave of thought on providing service excellence while at the same time saving money on operational costs. Users require centralised service management solutions that are tailored to meet their requirements and these should be easy to implement. These solutions should be based on standard packages that utilise a standard operating platform, which makes integration with back office systems easy, as well as giving the flexibility for development. Moreover, by centralising these systems around a single database, businesses gain real time accuracy and eradicate silos of dated information built up within different departments. This makes customer service easier as well as underpinning the smooth running of the organisation.
All kinds of systems — enterprise resource planning, CRM (customer relationship management) and contact management — are used to provide a central information repository. To enable these centralised back office systems to reach out to the field, additional applications are required. The best of these have been developed specifically from the ground up and provide both ease of use and ready integration between each other and the back office. Individual systems, however, present a host of issues. It’s not that standalone systems are a bad thing per se, but when faced with integrating data between each of them and de duping information then the problems begin. Much better that a service management solution be developed that can pull together the functions and information necessary to run a successful service business. This presents the end users — the field service team — with a
single information tool, which speeds up data input for them and accurate communication from the office. There is a strong argument that, with new technology, users should be able to deploy an optimised solution that will provide seamless management of dynamic scheduling, recording and communicating changes, stock, procedures and reporting, without logging in and out of umpteen screens. Furthermore, such a solution will allow field service personnel to utilise the latest GPRS handheld computers and PDAs to replace constant telephone calls and clipboards. This will enable the people in the field to access their job schedules, interrogate stock information, locate assistance, etc, all on the screen of the handheld. Some companies have gone to integrators and have purchased bespoke systems to help automate the mobile workforce. However, this route is not recommended
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To enable these centralised back office systems to reach out to the field, additional applications are required
as these bespoke developments can prove problematic and costly. There are alternatives to bespoke system development and integration using service management software that runs on handheld computers and PDAs and integrates easily with the back office system to deliver a fully tailored, fully integrated solution. These present the user with a unified solution that can handle all the operational and data issues that forward thinking service management organisations require. In addition, solutions need to integrate with other systems such as vehicle tracking, to deliver the combined power of a coherent service management tool with fleet management. The additional benefit of adding vehicle tracking is the ability to utilise real-time alarms, barred zones, exception reports, and other live telematics based reporting. The importance of specifying standardised
solutions is central to effective implementation as it means that a company’s investment in technology today will allow future development without having to go back to the drawing board. A look at some of the applications and benefits of integrated service management solutions shows that companies
solutions need to integrate with other systems such as vehicle tracking, to deliver the combined power of a coherent service management tool
have everything to gain. Vp Group is a leading equipment hire organisation that has implemented an integrated real time mobile service management solution. The PDA based solution is delivering significant benefits to Groundforce’s Survey Technology and Piletec divisions, by reducing administration costs and improving the ability to resolve customer queries immediately. Groundforce uses the integrated solution to manage the hire and service of specialist surveying and piling equipment to civil engineering and construction companies. The innovative service and hire management systems run on PDAs and fully integrate with Groundforce’s G42 hire package. Since implementing the solution, Piletec has dramatically reduced administration, paper based document management and telephone calls. In addition, the company has the advantage of proof of delivery by capturing and transmitting customer signatures directly back to the back office system in real time. PDAs make light work of allocating jobs to field staff. There are three specific job types managed by the system: deliveries, collections and on site servicing. These jobs are sent directly to the PDAs, with accurate details and instructions remedying any need to use paper notes or make several phone calls. In practice, jobs can be transmitted immediately to appropriate staff as soon as a contract is entered onto the system. This real time activity helps to maintain Groundforce’s delivery of exceptional technology while underpinning excellent customer service. “When we set out to automate our Survey Technology and Piletec divisions we had specific aims in mind. We wanted to stop all unnecessary, unproductive branch administration and capture customer signatures for proof of delivery. We have achieved this with fantastic results. In the past we measured an average of 11 days to resolve proof of delivery queries, due to the administration required to locate and distribute paperwork; now we can resolve these problems immediately to everyone’s
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there is much to gain from implementing fully integrated real time solutions that link the back office to customer facing personnel.
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satisfaction,” Tony Bastin, IT Development Manager, Vp Group. Another mobile service management user is Tyrefix UK. This organisation is saving £30,000 a year through the implementation of mobile field service management. As well as reducing costs, the solution is also improving customer service and increasing operating efficiencies. The integrated solution facilitates the recording and management of detailed job specific information, the capture and reference of photographic evidence and a fully transparent and automated accounting system. “With around 80 field engineers completing an average of 1,000 call outs per day it is essential that we maintain accurate service records and accounts for every job and every customer. X-Service enables fast and efficient data capture in the field, recording and referencing of additional service information, such as photographic evidence, and automatic integration with our electronic accounting system,” said Chris Dale, Administration Director of Tyrefix UK. “We have improved the
service we provide, increased the efficiency of our operation and achieved ongoing savings in excess of £30,000 per annum.” For each job general service information is recorded on a handheld device, including arrival time, time on site and departure time. Job specific information is also captured such as vehicle type, repair details, replacement part information and customer signature. If required photographic evidence can be captured, to support an insurance claim for example. This is automatically referenced to the specific job, and the system automatically transmits all captured information to a central management system for the electronic production of invoices and other documentation. Using an advanced vehicle management service Tyrefix hopes to achieve additional improvements in both service delivery and customer care. “We hope to further improve both staff and fuel optimisation,” continued Dale. “[The system] will also help us to manage contract specific timeframes and provide detailed information for Key Performance
Indicator monitoring.” In another application, field service engineers are able to respond within three hours to customer call outs. This paperless scheduling solution manages the planned maintenance and installations jobs as well as for rapid reactive response to emergencies. Integrated with vehicle tracking, it enables the service engineering firm to allocate the nearest engineer to deal with the call out. The operations office allocates jobs to engineers directly to their GPRS enabled handhelds. The field service team also tracks the service vehicles and can quickly pinpoint the nearest available engineer for rapid response to emergencies. All of this is achieved with total accuracy and without the need for paper records. Using the handhelds, engineers simply log job details onto the system and the records are updated automatically in real time without keying in information or the need for paper documentation. In addition the field service manager, who also performs service engineering, can use his handheld to see where each member of the team is at any time, regardless of his own location. This has reduced the number of phone calls both he and the service centre make to the staff as they know exactly where each service team member is at any time and can monitor the exact time taken on each job. The integrated mobile system delivers easy access to accurate real time information on the mobile device and enables the team to get their jobs done quickly and efficiently. The above examples clearly show that there is much to gain from implementing fully integrated real time solutions that link the back office to customer facing personnel. Such solutions should provide immediate benefits both in terms of reducing costs and improving service delivery. The importance of standardised solutions that integrate seamlessly with management information systems to present a unified service management solution is paramount. Such solutions reduce service management costs and make it possible to get more work done in less time because of better scheduling and reporting of jobs, and the seamless integration with back-end systems ensures all data is accurate and up to date. These solutions are 21st century service management solutions and not the systems hack of the last century.
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What goes around Recycling isn’t just another chore, says Camilla Dunwell; it can put value on the bottom line
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O QUICKLY recap, in the previous issue of VitAL we looked at the three ‘Rs’ of waste management two key planks of which were… • Re use. • Recycling. Both recycling and re use will reduce the amount of waste material produced by a business and, inasmuch as they both depend on finding new or further uses for what might otherwise be discarded as waste, can be considered together. However, it may be that recent interventions in this whole area by the UK and other governments have given rise to the belief that ‘if they’re involved, it must be something that will drain profitability’. It’s not: recycling and re use can improve the bottom line — albeit often by reducing a tax burden but sometimes in positive ways as well. In an article of this length, it would be impossible to even outline the numerous pieces of legislation that relate to the cost of waste, let alone to explain the complexities of their operation: sufficient to say that the UK government adheres to a policy that ‘he who causes or contributes to the waste should bear an appropriate share of the cost of disposing of it’, and there’s an undeniable logic to that approach. Readers will already be familiar with the cost of waste disposal if they have to arrange for ‘trade waste’ collections by their local authority or its outsource waste management provider.
Although the business will be paying business rates for the premises, that does not cover the cost of trade waste disposal which has to be paid for separately according to the quantity and nature of the material disposed of. Even the bags in which to contain the waste will often have to be bought from the collector. Also, where waste is regulated, there will usually be a levy payable for waste produced which can only be reduced by demonstrating waste reduction in another area; and re use or contributing to a recycling programme will usually qualify for that. Waste can quickly detract from the appearance a property as well as making the area appear unbusinesslike and even cause injury should anybody be unfortunate enough to trip on it. The one may lead to a loss of customer confidence; the other could lead to being sued. There is a definite cost to waste and current legislation aims to tie that cost to the originators or owners of the waste. Therefore, any efforts to recycle or re use products and materials can save on the costs associated with waste and that alone will add to profits. Also, by re using the likes of ink cartridges, stationery and computers, the costs of invoices payable for those items can be reduced. And a number of suppliers will now offer factory reconditioned products with their own warranty which are effectively re
usable items and which cost a lot less than new. Also, remember the previous article, cascading technology from high demand to less demanding areas of the business can be green and cost effective while there are increasing numbers of collection services for even last year’s mobile phones and handhelds — they may be ‘old hat’ to you but to someone in a less developed economy, they might be the latest technology available. The value of materials collected by recycling firms may not be high, if there is any value at all (after accounting for the collector’s costs) but collection is usually free, better than paying the council to collect waste. And using products made from recycled materials will nowadays not cost any more and could be used as part of a ‘green’ marketing campaign: an increasing number of firms have made their ‘green’ credentials a key plank in their brand and marketing strategy. There is no ‘big idea’ that will generate profit from re use and recycling but a thorough approach to the problem and an open mind about what can be achieved will ensure that the costs of waste can be minimised while savings can be derived from a ‘green’ approach and even some marketing advantage gained. What goes around as re used and recycled products and materials should come around as reduced costs or the profits of ‘green’ marketing.
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Address Management & Database Solutions CAPSCAN
Grand Union House, 20 Kentish Town Road, London NW1 9BB T: +44 (0)20 7428 1255 F: +44 (0)20 7267 2745 W: www.capscan.com C: Kate Overton, CRM Manager E: enquiries@capscan.com Capscan is a leading supplier of international addressing software and data integrity services. The company’s award-winning solutions enable you to capture, verify and enhance name and address data. They help organisations to lower costs, reduce fraud and improve customer service.
Enterprise Software Configuration Management MKS SYSTEMS LTD
Duke’s Court, Duke Street, Woking, Surrey, GU21 5BH T: 01483 733 900 F: 01483 733901 W: www.mks.com/uk C: Lara Sparkes, Marketing Manager E: lara.sparkes@mks.com Founded in 1984, MKS’s ALM solution and its single architecture, drives high levels of user productivity, facilitates rapid deployment, issue management and process standardisation while delivering a complete view of application development activity through real-time metrics, trends and reporting.
Customer Service & Call Centre Solutions CUSTOMER SERVICE NETWORK
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Creative Industries Centre, Wolverhampton Science Park, Wolverhampton, WV10 9TG T: 01902 311641 F: 01902 311637 W: www.customernet.com C: Chris Walker E: chrisw@customernet.com Customer Service Network are experts in Customer and Employee perception measurement. We work with many of the UK’s leading names to help them better understand what their customers and people want. Contact us to find out how we can help.
EGAIN COMMUNICATIONS
ICCM SOLUTIONS
258 Bath Road, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 4DX T: +44 (0) 1753 464646 F: +44 (0) 1753 464647 W: www.egain.com E: ukinfo@egain.com eGain is a leading provider of customer service and contact centre software. Over 800 enterprise customers worldwide have relied on eGain to transform their traditional call centres, help desks and web customer service operations into multichannel customer interaction hubs.
Unit 4 Charlton Business Park, Crudwell Road, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, SN16 9RU T: + 44 (0) 1666 828 600 F: + 44 (0) 1666 826103 W: www.iccm.co.uk C: Jessica Yeung E: info@iccm.co.uk ICCM supply Service software solutions & ITIL V2 & V3 training and consultancy to over 400 global clients in both the private and public sector. e-Service Desk is PinkVerify™ Service Support Enhanced, proving compatibility and pedigree for organisations seeking to align their business with industry best practice.
General Training UKCMG
Suite A1, Kebbell House, Carpenders Park, Watford. WD19 5BE T: + 44 (0) 20 8421 5330 F: + 44 (0) 20 8421 5457 W: www.ukcmg.org.uk C: Laura Goss, UKCMG Secretariat E: ukcmg@ukcmg.org.uk UKCMG is an independent, non-profit, user group organisation targeted at improving members’ knowledge, skills and abilities in Capacity Management and related IT service management disciplines. We achieve this through a combination of events including, a three-day Annual Conference and networking between endusers, consultants & suppliers
Helpdesk Internal/External IBERTEK
Venture House, Arlington Square, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1WA T: F: W: C: E:
01344 742835 01344 742935 www.ibertek.com Nigel Todd Nigel.todd@ibertek.com
IBERTEK specialises in delivering successful ITIL compatible Service Management and complimentary Solutions to organisations of all sizes in all ranges of vertical markets.
Industry body IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT FORUM
150 Wharfedale Road, Winnersh Triangle, Wokingham, Berkshire. RG41 5RG T: 0118 918 6503 F: 0118 969 9749 W: www.itsmf.co.uk C: Ben Clacy E: ben.clacy@itsmf.co.uk The itSMF is the only internationally recognised and independent organisation whose sole focus is on the on-going development and promotion of IT Service Management ’best practice‘, standards and qualifications. The forum has 14,000 UK members and official itSMF chapters in 44 countries.
IT Asset Management BMC SOFTWARE
Assurance House, Vicarage Road, Egham, Surrey. TW20 9JY T: +44 (0) 1784 478 000 F: +44 (0) 1784 430 581 W: www.bmc.com/uk C: Michelle Sunnick E: michelle_sunnick@bmc.com BMC Software is a leading global provider of enterprise management solutions that empower companies to automate their IT and increase its business value. Delivering Business Service Management, BMC solutions span enterprise systems, applications, databases and service management.
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IT Service Management Systems EMC
Tower, Great West Road, Brentford, TW8 9AN, UK T: +44 (0)208 758 6750 F: +44 (0)208 758 6751 W: http://uk.emc.com/smarts/itil C: Suhela Dighe, Marketing Director E: EMCsmartsEMEA@emc.com As part of EMC’s Resource Management solutions, EMC Smarts for ITIL process automation and CMDB strategy empower customers to roll out their ITIL initiatives with minimum risk, automatically populate their CMDB with real-time information on Network, Server and Application resources.
Your VitAL Magazine News Views Strategy Management Case studies and Opinion pieces To advertise in VitAL contact Grant Farrell on +44 (0) 870 863 6930
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EPICOR
IXIF LIMITED
: 1 The Arena, Downshire Way, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG21 1PU T: 0800 3161155 F: 01344 468020 W: www.epicor.com C: Rachel Barber-Kebby E: Euromarketing@epicor.com With over 20 years experience and 15,000 customers, Epicor is a leading provider of ITSM Solutions. Epicor ITSM provides a robust set of service management features that supports the key IT processes outlined by the ITIL.
Connect House, 21 Willow Lane, Mitcham, Surrey, CR4 4NA
FRONTRANGE SOLUTIONS
HORNBILL SYSTEMS
T: F: W: C: E:
020 8274 3359 020 8274 3393 www.ixif.net Royston Adamson-Green rag@ixif.net
IXIF’s MidGuard is a critical component within the ITIL framework Best Practice for Service Delivery and Service Level Agreement reporting. IXIF is also a Jacarta Platinum Reseller for environmental monitoring products, essential for lowering your carbon footprint in the Datacentre.
™
100 Longwater Avenue, GreenPark, Reading, RG2 6GP T: +44 (0)870 401 7300 F: +44 (0)870 401 7301 W: www.frontrange.co.uk C: Kirsty Waller E: Kirsty.waller@frontrange.com With over 8500 customers worldwide, FrontRange are the leading provider of consolidated IT Service solutions, including: • HEAT Service & Support – Award-winning Incident Management & Helpdesk Automation • FrontRange ITSM – Fully integrated, scalable, ITIL aligned IT Service & Infrastructure Management.
INFRA CORPORATION
Connaught House, Portsmouth Road, Send, Surrey GU23 7JY T: +44 (0) 148 321 3200 F: +44 (0) 148 321 3201 W: www.infra.co.uk C: Lindsay Potter E: Lindsay.potter@infra.co.ukm Infra is the international developer of 100% web-based ITSM solution infraEnterprise - including Incident, Problem, Change, Configuration, Release, Availability and Service Level Management. infraEnterprise supports industry best practice methodology such as ITIL and KCS, delivering best value for comparative depth of functionality.
Ares, Odyssey Business Park, West End Road, Ruislip, HA4 6QD T: 020 8582 8282 F: 020 8582 8288 W: www.hornbill.com C: Sales E: info@hornbill.com Supportworks’ Enterprise Support Platform (ESP) provides a fully integrated platform for automating and managing Service Management related processes. Supportworks ESP is the foundation of Hornbill’s ITIL, Helpdesk, Customer, HR and Industry Support solutions. Supportworks ITSM is certified Pink Verify Enhanced.
IT Service Management Consultants ICORE
60 Lombard Street, London. EC3V 9EA T: +44 (0) 207 464 8414 F: +44 (0) 207 464 8888 W: www.icore-ltd.com C: Jane Tweddle – iCore Sales & Marketing Director E: info@icore-ltd.com The UK’s largest independent service management consultancy, this year iCore celebrates ten years in operation. Our services include maturity assessment, process design and development, service improvement and more. iCore has consultants who are fully qualified in ITIL, COBIT, ISO20000 and PRINCE2.
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IT Service Management Consultants PINK ELEPHANT
Atlantic House, Imperial Way, Reading. RG2 0TD T: F: W: C: E:
+ 44 (0) 118 903 6824 + 44 (0) 118 903 6282 www.pinkelephant.com Frances Fenn info.emea@pinkelephant.com
Acknowledged worldwide as niche, independent, IT Service Management Education and Consulting providers. Having trained more people than any other company in ITIL related subjects since 1987, we have contributed to all 3 versions of the ITIL books.
G2G3
Panama House, 14 The High Street, Lasswade, EH18 1ND T: + 44 (0) 131 461 3333 F: + 44 (0) 131 663 8934 W: www.g2g3.com C: David Arrowsmith E: info@g2g3.com
Lewes Enterprise Centre, 112 Malling St, Lewes, E Sussex, BN7 2RJ
G2G3 is the leading provider of communication tools, gaming solutions and simulations that propel enterprise IT and business alignment. Headquartered in the UK, G2G3 has a strong global network of partners supporting the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
STI has been presenting Helpdesk courses since 1989. They are the longest established in the UK and probably Europe. We present at 7 UK public venues and frequently on-site. We are also an Authorised Training Partner for Help Desk Institute.
WARDOWN CONSULTING
IT Service Management Systems NETSUPPORT SOFTWARE
Prudence Place, Proctor Way, Luton, Bedfordshire. LU2 9PE
Towngate East, Market Deeping, Peterborough, PE6 8NE
T: F: W: C: E:
T: F: W: C: E:
01582 488242 01582 488343 www.wardownconsulting.co.uk Rosemary Gurney rosemary.gurney@wardownconsulting.co.uk
Wardown Consulting was established to help businesses capitalise from the substantial benefits that IT Service Management can deliver. Our consultants boast a wealth of industry experience and are accredited to deliver ITIL v2 and v3 training.
IT Service Management Consulting Training CONNECTSPHERE
IT Support Training STI
+44 (0) 1778 382270 +44 (0) 1778 382280 www.netsupportsoftware.co.uk Colette Reed colette@netsupportsoftware.co.uk
NetSupport are developers of desktop management and remote control software packages. The product range comprises NetSupport Manager Remote Control, NetSupport DNA Helpdesk (providing a web-based ITIL-compliant helpdesk), NetSupport DNA Asset Management Suite and NetSupport Protect desktop security and recovery.
TOUCHPAPER SOFTWARE
T: F: W: C: E:
01273 890922 01273 890513 www.sti-ltd.co.uk John Fahey enquiries@sti-ltd.co.uk
Publications, Events, Conferences CUSTOMER MAGAZINE
31 Media, Crawley Business Centre, Stephenson Way, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 1TN T: +44 (0) 870 863 6930 F: +44 (0) 870 085 8837 W: www.31media.co.uk C: Grant Farrell E: grant.farrell@31media.co.uk
Customer is a UK based magazine for senior proffeisonals who are committed to ensuring their businesses are totally customer centric. With a pragmatic eidtorial
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Business and Technology Centre, Bessemer Drive, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 2DX T: +44 (0)845 838 2345 F: +44 (0) 845 838 2346 W: www.connectsphere.com C: Shirley Lacy E: shirley.lacy@connectsphere.com ConnectSphere has a great track record in delivering in successful service improvement programmes that deliver value. Let ConnectSphere help you to plan and apply ISO 20000 and ITIL service management practices using our assessment, consultancy, implementation and training services.
Dukes Court, Duke Street, Woking, Surrey GU21 5RT T: +44 (0) 1483 744444 F: +44(0) 1483 744401 W: www.touchpaper.com C: Louisa Maguire E: intouch@touchpaper.com With over 20 years’ experience, Touchpaper is one of the most established international providers of IT Business Management (ITBM) solutions (covering IT Service Management, Customer Service Solutions and Network & Systems Management). Touchpaper serves 1,800 customers and 3 million users.
approach Cusitomer aims to bring clarity and vision to a sector that has become increasingly complex. Published six times per year and distributed to over 10,000 managers and directors Customer is The Publication for any individual or business that wishes to understand how to align themselves so they can deliver a complete customer experience.
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DIRECTORY
VITAL FOCUS GROUPS
Your VitAL Magazine News, Views, Strategy Management Case studies and Opinion pieces
31 Media, Crawley Business Centre, Stephenson Way, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 1TN T: F: W: C: E:
+44 (0) 870 863 6930 +44 (0) 870 085 8837 www.31media.co.uk Grant Farrell grant.farrell@31media.co.uk
To advertise in VitAL contact Grant Farrell on +44 (0) 870 863 6930
The VitAL Focus Groups are peer to peer discussion forums that take
Inspiration for the modern business
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place at regular intervals throughout the year and provide a solid platform
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for senior IT professionals to discuss,
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debate, and hopefully resolve some of their key challenges. Each session
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is held at a prestigious London venue and is facilitated by a leading industry supplier who lends their expertise to assist in the discussions. Supported by VitAL Magazine, the leading industry publication, the Focus Groups are a ‘must attend’ for any professional that is serious about IT.
Qualifications and Accreditations AIM ACADEMY
T: +44 (0) 1793 417530 F: +44 (0) 1793 417570 W: www.iseb-exams.com C: Stephen Daniels E: Qualsmarketing@hq.bcs.org.uk ISEB is a worldwide IT exam body. ISEB have provided 165,000 exams in the last 3 years to IT Professionals worldwide, covering eight major subject areas including ITIL, Software Testing, Business Analysis, Project Management, Systems Development and IT Law.
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IDMF ................................................47 itSMF......................Inside Back Cover Netsupport......................................14 Pink Elephant..................................21 STI ...................................................51
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Subscriptons...................................02 UKCMG ............................................39 Wardown Consulting.....................04 May / June 2008 : VitAL
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VITAL ENDING
Europe invests in the future Glynn Yarnall’s vision of an IT world
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T’S BEEN sixty years since Frank Stanton, president of CBS, forecast that ‘you can count on having personal sending sets to carry around in your pocket. You’ll be able to make your own broadcasts — to tell the family you will be late for dinner, for example.’ Stanton went on to predict facsimile broadcasting, ‘your home radio set will be able to print your copy of the morning paper’. But what can IT professionals expect over the next few decades? One place to look for clues is the European Commission, which funds research across a range of IT topics. A quick trawl through a few of them gives us an insight into the thinking of some of Europe’s top academic and industrial leaders. And someone who knows about many of the proposals put forward is Peter Walters, the UK’s National Contact Point for the ICT domain. In his words, ‘EU funded Collaborative Research presents a major opportunity for European organisations to pool skills and bring new and more useful ICT applications to the benefit of all, while profiting from their involvement’. Here’s a look at some of the initiatives to have gained funding recently. With Internet traffic growing by nearly 100%
every 18 months, its evolution is addressed by the TRILOGY project, led by BT Research. TRILOGY will deliver solutions enabling its continuing enlargement by addressing its well known shortcomings - Spam, Security, Reliability. In the Multimedia domain, the wider uptake of video on the move is at the heart of the OPTIMIX project, studying point to multi point video streaming, while the 20-20 3D MEDIA project draws on researchers from nine countries to demonstrate compelling entertainment through 3D capable capture to display pathway. Continuing this theme, as its names suggests the 3DPHONE project aims to develop technologies to deliver both 3D image capture and 3D display capability to your mobile phone. Not all projects are as outwardly visible as the Internet and 3D graphics. For example, in the Health domain, Micro nanotechnologies, such as the CD MEDICS initiative, are finding potential applications in protein detection for the diagnosis and management of disease. By contrast, with partners such as IBM and Glasgow University, DUALLOGIC aims to make electronic chips faster and more powerful as it
DUALLOGIC aims to make electronic chips faster and more powerful as it investigates the possibilities of combining two different channel materials in a single silicon substrate chip. investigates the possibilities of combining two different channel materials in a single silicon substrate chip. A different perspective again sees the widespread accessibility of Digital Libraries at the heart of the IMPACT project. It will facilitate more collaborative mass digitisation as a means of delivering content to the public, with its benefits reaching ever wider audiences. For anyone interested in IT trends, a regular scan of (http://cordis.europa.eu/) will not only keep you up to date on many of these projects, but also show you how organisations of all shapes and sizes are working to influence technology in the not so distant future.
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helping develop & promote best practice & standards in IT Service Management
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