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ITIL Service Catalog

Manage IT Demand from Request to Delivery

• Do you have difficulties managing customer demand?
• Is your service desk swamped by repetitive requests for services?
• Do your customers know which services are available to them?
• Are your customers missing out on business opportunities because IT is too slow to react?

The ITIL Service Catalog Opportunity

A service catalog is an opportunity to open up IT to the business, demonstrate value and keep IT customers satisfied. By providing a service catalog focused on delivering value to the business and presented in an easy-to-use, non-technical manner, the partnership between IT and the business is transformed – with benefits on both sides. Implementing a service catalog is a major step towards running IT as a business.

IT only matters to customers when they are having a problem or they need something - demands traditionally handled by the service desk. When requesting a service, a business user will often contact the service desk and make the request with little knowledge of the details of the services available or their ability to meet the business need. The process begins with the customer and the part the service desk plays is entirely reactive.

The medium of exchange for demonstrating IT effectiveness is a properly defined service catalog. Unless IT's services are defined, IT's contribution is implicit and difficult to measure.
Gartner, Benchmarks Can Guide Cost-Optimization Initiatives, Michael Smith, June 05 2009

The service catalog represents a transformation in the way IT interacts with the customer. Switching to a pro-active customer service approach for the delivery of services, the IT department presents services to the customer through a web interface and allows the customer to select and request appropriate services based on clear information presented in a way that is appropriate to the business – what the service will do for the customer? How much will it cost? How long will it take? Services are selected, requested, categorized, routed, authorized, delivered and charged without involvement from the service desk and most importantly, the user knows what to expect, so will be more satisfied with the result.

Transform IT with an ITIL Service Catalog

The service catalog drives business-IT alignment (BITA) by encouraging a change in attitude - towards running IT like a business. When service usage is monitored, demand can be measured and the service portfolio managed accordingly to improve the quality of high-demand services, retire unused services and release resources to meet forthcoming needs of the business. Just like a retail operation, IT should focus on the offerings that are most important to customers – those that bring the greatest business value.

The Value of the IT Service Catalog

• The IT service portfolio is more closely aligned to business needs
• The value of each IT service offering is clear to business users
• IT becomes more flexible and agile in meeting changing market forces
• Service provisioning is more responsive and efficient
• The service desk is free to focus on incident resolution
• Costs are reduced
• User expectation is managed and customer satisfaction is improved
• IT becomes a contributor to the business

Once IT services have been properly defined, the IT organization can use these services and the SLAs to identify and explain how IT can lower cost in the business.
Gartner, A Checklist for Cost Optimization, Michael Smith et al, May 12 2009

Next: The assyst Service Catalog

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