Reinhardt Botha

ITIL (information technology and infrastructure library) and other IT service management (ITSM) literature is too theoretical, even for academics.
So says Reinhardt Botha, Professor: Information Technology at the Institute for ICT Advancement & School of ICT, at the Nelson Mandela" rel=tag>Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. He was speaking at deliverIT, ITWeb’s ITSM summit, in Johannesburg.

Botha said many students failed to get a good grasp on how to implement ITSM principles, because of the lack of practical experience they receive.

Barclay Rae

Also speaking at the conference, international ITSM consultant Barclay Rae noted that customers and technology would lead industry, not methodologies. Rae said organisations needed to adopt an outside-in approach to IT service delivery. In addition, ITSM must be relevant to the business needs, Rae noted, stressing that organisations must take small steps with practical targets and deliverables.

Tore Brynaa

Tore Brynaa, BMC consultant, echoed these sentiments, saying people want an “IT supermarket”, a one-stop shop where they can get everything, and do anything. Self-service is vital in enabling customers, he said. IT needs to find out how to create platforms that give customers self-service tools that offer them the convenience they desire, he added. ITSM is all about the customer and how IT relates, said Hannes Lategan from CA Southern Africa.

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Craig Terblanche" src="http://www.iweek.co.za/images/stories/2010/Craig-Terblanche.jpg" />Simple guidance is what people want; real-world governance is what’s needed, Rae concluded.
Craig Terblanche, MD of CXO advisor, said in his talk that enterprises should be clear on what they expect from software as a service (SaaS) solutions, and should focus on the ends, and not the means.

“SaaS is becoming mainstream in the corporate IT mix and, as a result, CIOs need to be informed, to ensure SaaS is understood by the business. Business managers need to find ways to support users – organisations cannot just use technology for technology’s sake,” he said.