Business white paper Standardize your ITSM An HP approach based on best practices
Table of contents 3 Introduction 3 Benefits and challenges 5 The HP approach to standardizing ITSM 6 Establish an IT operations communications hub for service management 7 Implement core processes for incident management first 8 Open the door to efficiencies with change management 9 Ramp up IT value with self-service and other operational efficiencies 10 Why HP for ITSM standardization? 11 Asset management not just for financial managers 11 The options 11 The expertise 11 HP Software Services 11 For more information 2 December, 2012
Introduction New technologies such as virtualization and cloud enable IT organizations to deliver efficient and high-quality services. Regardless of a specific IT initiative, executive managers have stopped asking, Should we implement services?, and have started asking, How long will it take to do so? This is where IT service management (ITSM) comes in. Enterprises have begun to reap the benefits of data center consolidation and standardization, and CIOs have turned their attention to the existence of multiple service desks and disparate IT processes. They are now demanding the same efficiencies and cost savings. They are insisting to standardize and consolidate processes. So, IT operations managers must find ways to complete process improvement projects on time, within budget, and demonstrate the expected returns. We provide HP Service Manager software, which is complemented by HP Service Anywhere a new, native software-as-a-service (SaaS) IT service desk solution. The software helps you implement effective, cost-efficient service desks and the IT processes that make them (these service desks) work. Our pragmatic approach is designed to help IT achieve three goals: Increase measurable IT value to the business Reduce costs through service management automation Lower risk through centralized and enforced processes This paper explains how we achieve these goals. We ll touch briefly on the benefits, but in many organizations, the case is already made. For IT organizations striving to step up to the role of a true IT service provider, standardized and efficient service management is a business basic. Standardization improves service levels, reduces costs, and enables IT to meet compliance objectives better. Benefits and challenges The case for ITSM standardization is compelling. Across the industry, customers report that after consolidation, service desk staff reduced the time spent on entering, updating, and managing tickets and the time spent on maintenance events. At the same time, most of the incidents can be resolved on the first call, compared incidents referred to tier 2 and tier 3 specialists; all this while cutting service desk overtime significantly. Standardization cost savings go beyond operational efficiency. Organizations that bolt together disparate ITSM processes and supporting software create ongoing cost streams that drain resources and divert investment from innovation. It is easy to see why top-level managers are asking operations staff to overcome the obstacles and move quickly to the benefits of standardization. Though the benefits and the directives are clear, there are challenges. Application owners and other IT staff in line of business can be skeptical of programs that reduce the span of their control. They fear service levels delivered to users will decline. And they often object that their particular business is unique and requires the unique services and processes currently in place rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. A high degree of integration is needed among ITSM processes and, therefore, among the systems that enable them. Service catalogs and requests initiated by users must flow seamlessly into the fulfillment and change processes. Ineffective changes often result in incidents, so change information must be available in the incident management process. Similarly, problem management is driven by knowledge of what incidents are caused by underlying problems that can be addressed and solved. 3 December, 2012
Since efficiency and effectiveness of ITSM processes improve when they can access information from other IT processes, ITSM systems should integrate with other systems that provide and manage IT services. For example, systems that discover or manage workstations, servers, network elements, databases, and applications have configuration information that ITSM needs. Large-scale strategic initiatives flow out of project and portfolio management systems and often result in many individual changes, so visibility into these systems is important. It is a lot of integration, so ITSM software must enable IT staff to plan and implement it with increased efficiency and reduced risk. Finally, the job of rationalizing and standardizing inconsistent IT processes usually overshadows the technical tasks. This is a critical step because customizing software to address special cases can increase implementation time and risk. It is a common cause of projects going off track. To overcome these obstacles a pragmatic approach is required supported by robust software, best practices, and expert services. 4 December, 2012
Figure 1. Tight integration is required among ITSM processes Core ITSM processes Knowledge management Service catalog Request fulfillment Incident management Change management External systems Problem management Service-level management Service reporting and measurement The HP approach to standardizing ITSM Successful enterprises view ITSM standardization not only as a change in software but as standardization of IT processes and enhanced communication between all functions. Standardization is a transformation process; software is one of the supporting elements. While the exact implementation plan may vary with the organization s situation and needs, completing projects on time and on budget is critical to the success of all IT organizations. Our approach to ITSM standardization is designed to deliver quick wins and rapid ROI. Here are the steps that can lead to success in most organizations: 1. Establish the service desk as an IT operations communications hub for service management 2. Implement core processes supporting incident management first 3. Open the door to efficiencies with change management 4. Ramp up IT value with self-service and other operational efficiencies Priorities and implementation order may vary, but most successful efforts focus on steps 1 through 3 to achieve the control needed, and then follow up with the additional services described in step 4. In each case, we ll explain the concept and then show how HP Service Manager software enables it. 5 December, 2012
Figure 2. ITIL v3 service lifecycle Service strategy Strategy generation Financial management Service portfolio management Demand generation Service operation Event management Incident management Request fulfillment Problem management Access management Continual service improvement 7-step improvement process Service measurement Service reporting Service design Service-level management Capacity management Availability management IT service continuity management Information security management Supplier management Service transition Transition planning and support Change management Service asset and configuration management Release and deployment management Service validation and testing Evaluation Knowledge management 1. Establish an IT operations communications hub for service management The service desk is the single point of contact between business users and IT, and it serves as a communication focal point within the IT organization. A consolidated service desk provides a single source of information regarding configuration items (CIs), organizations, users, and in-process activity. It is the integration point for the many systems that provide the data used in ITSM processes. Such an ITSM communications hub enhances information sharing, helps foster communication across IT functions, and enables meaningful reporting by providing consistent metrics for IT to gauge the success of services and the efficiency of operations. In addition to serving current needs better, such a communications hub provides a platform to extend operations across the entire services lifecycle described by the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) as IT becomes a business-aligned service provider. See figure 2. HP IT Service Management solutions enable a consolidated communications hub approach and provide the underpinnings for standardized service management functions. It uses HP Universal Configuration Management Database (CMDB) software a federated configuration management system (CMS) that enables easy integration with the systems IT already has in place. It provides the connection point for other service management solution components, which can be added incrementally, and it offers an uniform set of metrics available through dashboard reports that enable IT to monitor and report on services continually. HP Universal CMDB populates automatically with HP Universal Discovery (UD) software that discovers and maintains accurate inventory, application, configuration, and relationship information for IT infrastructure and services. HP UD has built-in knowledge of many devices and applications, and it can also tap information in many HP and third-party management systems. It provides most accurate and current configuration information a key requirement for efficient and effective service management. 6 December, 2012
Figure 3. HP Universal CMDB and HP Universal Discovery Client access Visualization reporting HP UCMDB HP Universal Discovery Your environment Configuration data Management data Process data Data source Data source Data source Data source Data source Data source 2. Implement core processes for incident management first Incident management is a core help desk function, and is usually the place to start process standardization. Consolidating incident management enables IT to maintain service to users while achieving many of the efficiencies and benefits ITSM standardization promises. When incidents are resolved faster, the cost per incident is reduced, and IT staff can begin to focus efforts on finding the underlying cause of incidents to prevent them from reoccurring. When incident management uses standardized processes and tools across business units and around the globe IT can support users throughout a day from help desks located in different regions while providing a consistent level of service. A key in incident management is effective integration with event management systems and the associated operations bridge. This enables help desk staff to prioritize incidents correctly, based on the potential business impact. HP ITSM provides built-in support for ITIL-aligned processes for incident management, problem management, and scheduled maintenance. Even if ITIL compliance is not a goal of the organization, the consistent implementation of processes throughout IT and adoption of preconfigured best practices rather than customization greatly enhances IT s ability to carry out the project on time and on budget. HP Service Manager help desk offers self-service ticketing for users to increase efficiency further. And it provides visibility into each incident so help desk staff can know which incidents are open, who is responsible, and what the status is. 7 December, 2012
Figure 4. HP ITSM solution provides comprehensive lifecycle coverage. IT performance metrics Service portal Service desk Incident Problem Knowledge SLAs Change Management Planning Approvals Impact/risk Virtual CAB Request Catalog Self service Goods and services Approvals Provisioning Asset Management Assets Contracts Governance Costs CMS Discovery 3. Open the door to efficiencies with change management Throughout the industry, the majority of incidents can be tracked down to improperly implemented change. Change often challenges IT because changes span multiple departments and require careful planning to avoid unforeseen consequences. Even carefully planned changes may conflict with those being planned by other groups. The change management processes prescribed by ITIL and other IT best practices are designed to reduce risk and rework by identifying dependencies, involving groups that might be affected, documenting changes, and enabling them to be easily undone if they fail. While change management is one of the more challenging processes to implement, consolidating it offers some of the greatest rewards in both IT efficiency and service improvement. HP Service Manager addresses the complexity of change through a powerful workflow capability that links stakeholders with current and planned configuration data so the consequences of each change can be more easily foreseen and conflicts spotted early. Rather than relying solely on committee meetings, changes are presented to a virtual change advisory board (CAB) for review and approval. CAB approvers access a decision-support system that helps them analyze the risk represented by the change. Since the underlying HP UCMDB has current and accurate information on all CIs and the relationships among them, impact analysis is automated. Once initiated, change requests are monitored so each requester can track the status of their change, and change information is easily accessible by IT staff involved in incident and problem management. Since HP UD discovers and maintains the actual state of CIs automatically, changes can be validated, and unplanned changes can be identified and reconciled quickly. Documentation of all aspects of changes and adherence to a prescribed change management process is key to demonstrating and reporting effectiveness of IT controls for compliance. So HP Service Manager enables IT managers to produce changed documentation quickly when required by auditors. The efficiency and predictability of changes can be improved further through automation of change execution. HP Operations Orchestration software lets IT make the connection between the change management process and the tools that actually deploy the change to reduce the workload of server as well as network specialists and execute changes faster and with fewer errors. 8 December, 2012
4. Ramp up IT value with self-service and other operational efficiencies Once the fundamentals are in place and operating well, it is time to ramp up the value IT delivers to the business by adding components that further increase efficiency and improve service to users. Reduce incidents with problem management Problem management is a systematic approach that identifies, prioritizes, and corrects recurring problems. This reduces incidents, and more important to the business, makes IT services and applications work better for the users. HP Service Manager provides preconfigured, ITIL-aligned processes for incident and problem management in the HP Service Manager help desk. Capture and apply knowledge Knowledge management captures the information associated with incidents and problems and makes it available to the help desk via an easily searchable knowledge base. This reduces rework for IT staff, and it gets the end user back to business quicker. HP Service Manager Knowledge Management module implements a full knowledge lifecycle, and it brings knowledge into the incident management process so help desk personnel can often find the best available answer in real time while working with end users. Even better, end users can access the knowledge base directly to find their answers. Add service catalog and end-user self service A service catalog lets users request the IT goods and services they need to do their jobs according to their job function and track their requests through approval, order, and fulfillment stages. This is an efficiency boost for users and IT, and it enables IT to establish standard configurations that increase consistency in infrastructure and conform to company s purchasing policies. HP Service Manager Service Catalog module integrates with different fulfillment functions to provide a consolidated solution that unifies the request, fulfillment, and management of IT services. Improve service levels Cost-based IT services and associated service-level agreements (SLAs) put IT in a business relationship with users. But how does IT establish the cost for services, and what kind of service levels should an organization commit to and develop? Once established, how do we enable continual improvement? HP Service Manager s Service Level Management module helps IT establish appropriate costs for services, and it enables IT to develop service level objectives and agreements and track their achievement. It also helps IT specialists prioritize incidents by alerting them to potential SLA violations, so the number of missed SLAs is reduced. Continual improvement Continual improvement means measuring, reporting, analyzing, and adjusting. HP Service Manager consolidates service management data across all parts of the organization and all processes to provide a consistent set of metrics. A robust dashboard lets managers visualize data in rich and meaningful displays so they can better understand the level of service being provided to users and the amount of IT effort required to make it happen. When IT provides users with real data, skeptics begin to see the value of standardized services and IT comes to be viewed as the service provider they strive to be. HP IT Executive Scorecard complements HP Service Manager s dashboard by providing key IT performance metrics. More than 30 ITSM key performance indicators help IT to perform better. 9 December, 2012
Why HP for ITSM standardization? HP has helped more than 4,000 customers improve their ITSM. Each of them had other options but they choose HP. The solution HP Service Manager offers a set of integrated modules that enable IT organizations to solve the most critical problems first and then grow the solution to provide higher levels of IT productivity and better customer service. The preconfigured best practices and integrations in HP Service Manager go beyond alternative solutions to help IT deliver value quicker. For example: Integration with key components of IT operations solutions such as network and system management, asset management, and business service automation creates the unified communications hub that keeps all IT departments on the same page and broadens their support of the services lifecycle. A comprehensive end-to-end change management system improves effectiveness, reduces risk, and helps demonstrate compliance. A HP Universal CMDB with Universal Discovery allows multiple specialized management systems to exist while leveraging the information available from each of them. 10 December, 2012
Asset management not just for financial managers Asset management provides controls that enable IT to know what assets are available for deployment, where they are located, who is using them, if they are under warranty, what maintenance and service contracts exist, and what they cost. IT service managers need that information to fulfill requests, implement changes, and handle incidents and problems. And as requests are fulfilled and changes are made, financial managers need that information to keep financial data up to date. When it is time to renegotiate and renew support contracts, they may also need to know what incidents and problems assets have experienced. HP Service Manager works with HP Asset Manager software to keep the financial world reconciled with the physical world as assets are deployed, changed, and retired. The integration provides IT service managers the asset information they need to do their jobs, and it provides financial managers the data needed to help optimize the assets of the enterprise. The options HP offers software and services you can choose the solution that works best for your organization. If you prefer to avoid long-term infrastructure investments, shift your capital investments to operating expenses, reduce staff training, and focus your IT resources on other business initiatives, choose HP Service Anywhere. This is a SaaS IT service desk solution from HP, which brings you many benefits while accelerating adoption and shortening time to value. The expertise Whether you choose to implement HP Service Manager at your site, use HP Service Anywhere (SaaS), or outsource your whole service management operation, our thousands of ITIL-trained professionals are available to help you plan your project, standardize your processes, and manage your service management consolidation to achieve the efficiencies and service improvements the CIO demands. HP Software Services Get the most from your software investment. We know that your support challenges may vary according to the size and business-critical needs of your organization. HP provides technical software support services that address all aspects of your software lifecycle. This gives you the flexibility of choosing the appropriate support level to meet your specific IT and business needs. Use HP cost-effective software support to free up IT resources, so you can focus on other business priorities and innovation. HP Software Support Services gives you: One stop for all your software and hardware services saving you time with one call 24x7, 365 days a year. Support for: VMware, Microsoft, Red Hat, and SUSE Linux as well as HP Insight Software Fast answers giving you technical expertise and remote tools to access fast answers, reactive problem resolution, and proactive problem prevention Global Reach Consistent Service Experience giving global technical expertise locally For more information go to hp.com/services/softwaresupport. For more information To learn about HP Service Manager and HP Service Anywhere, visit: hp.com/go/itsm 11 December, 2012
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