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ITIL abhors a vacuum
November 30, 2011The value of ITIL software and operational practices to a business can be considerable, but a recent report from IT consulting firm Compass argued that both must be integrated with the rest of a company's operations before they can provide real advantages.
Simply implementing ITIL software is all well and good, but complying with the process for its own sake is of little value, according to Compass. In fact, it often leads to reductions in operational efficiency, rather than gains.
"This [practice] can lead to a 'hot potato' culture that focuses on documenting activity, following the rules, and passing tasks down the line, rather than on getting things done. True enterprise-wide process maturity is characterized by clear activities, functions, roles and responsibilities," principal consultant Chris Pfauser said.
An implementation of a new IT operations system is only as strong as its weakest link, he added, noting that isolated areas of competence can't make up for the rest of an organization being poorly prepared.
One particularly important consideration, according to experts, is the need to get executive support for a major IT operations restructuring. Without the backing of an organization's main bosses, such efforts are generally doomed.