Implementing ITIL in

Small Companies
Reality vs. Theory

Agenda
Review of ITIL v3 key concepts, definitions,
objectives and how ITIL processes can
improve IT operations
Why ITIL needed to change
Implementation approach Implementing
ITIL in small companies
Common challenges with implementing ITIL in small companies

Best Practice vs. appropriate measures

what really works in small companies with limited IT staff and
limited perceived value from business.

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Objectives
A level-set as to the changes in ITIL v3 and what those
changes mean to small and medium size companies.
As a result of this presentation, attendees should be
able to walk away with a realistic understanding of
how ITIL can be leveraged in small companies.
Understand the difference between conceptual ITIL
approaches and what has actually worked at several
small companies that have successfully implemented
ITIL.
Overcome ITIL process paralysis that conceptual
models, and/or large shop models have induced in us
all.
Know where to start, how far to go and when too
much is too much.

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Introduction

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ITIL v3
Core Book Titles
Service Strategies
Service Design
Service Transition
Service Operations
Continual Service Improvement

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Service Strategy
A view of ITIL that aligns business and IT so that
each brings out the best in the other. It ensures
that every stage of the service lifecycle stays
focused on the business case and relates to all
the companion process elements that follow.
Subsequent titles will link deliverables to meeting
the business goals, requirements and service
management principles described in this
publication.
Concepts and guidance in this publication
include:
Service Management strategy and value
planning
Linking business plans and directions to IT
service strategy
Planning
and implementing service strategy.
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Service Design
In order to meet the current and future business
requirements, Service Design provides guidance
on the production and maintenance of IT policies,
architectures, and documents for the design of
appropriate and innovative IT services solutions
and processes.
Concepts and guidance in this publication
include:
Service design objectives and elements
Selecting the service design model
Cost model
Benefit/risk analysis
Implementing service design
Measurement and control

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Service Transition
Service Transition focuses on the broader, longterm change management role and release
practices, so that risks, benefits, delivery
mechanism and the ease of ongoing operations of
service are considered.
This publication provides guidance and process
activities for the transition of services into the
business environment.
Concepts and guidance in this publication
include:
Managing organizational and cultural change
Knowledge management
Service knowledge management system
Methods, practices and tools
Measurement and control
Companion best practices

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Service Operations
By focusing on delivery and control process
activities, a highly desirable, steady state of
managing services can be achieved on a day-today basis.
To ensure it is integrated with the rest of the ITIL
library, guidance is based on a selection of
familiar service support and service delivery
control points.
Concepts and guidance in this publication
include:
Application Management
Change Management
Operations Management
Control processes and functions
Scalable practices
Measurement
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Overview
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Continual Service Improvement

Alongside the delivery of consistent, repeatable
process activities as part of service quality, ITIL
has always emphasized the importance of
continual improvements.
Focusing on the process elements involved in
identifying and introducing service management
improvements, this publication also deals with
issues surrounding service retirement.
Concepts and guidance in this publication
include:
Business and technology drivers for
improvement
Justification
Business, financial and organizational
improvements
Methods, practices and tools
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Measurement and control

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V2 vs. v3 Overall Changes

ITIL V2
Framework:

ITIL V3

Set of 2 core books:

Set of 5 core books:

Service Management
Service Support

6 Additional Books

Planning to Implement
Service Delivery, ICT
Infrastructure Management
Security Management
The Business Perspective
Application Management

Service Strategy
Service Design
Service Transition
Service Operation
Continual Service
Improvement

Focus:

Process oriented,
linear

Life cycle approach,

strategic

Business- IT

low

high

Alignment:
V3 will also include complementary material, such as support for particular market
verticals or technologies and web-based, value add products.
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High-Level Differences (contd)

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Processes in the Service Lifecycle

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Why ITIL needed to change

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Why ITIL needed to change

Improve consistency - structure, process, etc.
Add Process Models for every process
To move with the industry in some key strategic
changes such as outsourced services, cultural change
factors
Scalability address small, medium and large
To allow synergy with other best practices e.g. COBIT ,
CMMI
More on business benefits and marketing of ITIL
Guidance on selecting good tools
Consistent terms and definitions
V3 shows you what to do and more on HOW to do it
CMMI is a registered trademark of the Software Engineering Institute of the USA.
COBIT is a registered trademark of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association and the IT Governance Institute.
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Why ITIL needed to change

Focus on value for the customer and their
business
Tighter link to the customer
Integration of the IT service with the business

Industry does not need unnecessary change

But extend and change where necessary

Extend to keep up with business dynamics

E.g. Internet forces, low cost computing, ubiquitous connectivity,
SOA, need for corporate and IT governance

Continued alignment to emerging standards

e.g. ISO/IEC 20000
Reference out to other best practices,
frameworks and standards
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The new structure of ITIL

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The new structure of ITIL

V2 was driven through process understanding
V3 uses models throughout for services and service
management
V3 is more concerned with
The value the Service delivers to the business goals, subject to
constraints
Influences and effects at different points within the life cycle
Dependencies among the lifecycle stages
How a service is made up and delivered through capability and
resources
Roles and responsibilities of the key players

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The New Structure of ITIL

V3 recognizes that:
There are more roles e.g. Release and Deployment
There are far more functions than just the Service
Desk
People motivators play an important role in the
success of Service Management delivery
IT is a Strategic Business Unit
ITIL v2 did not lend itself to small and
medium size companies
V3 creates a way to integrate IT processes, people
and tools with the Business Strategy and
Outcomes through IT services
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Implementation Approaches
ITIL for small companies

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Key Reasons for ITIL Adoption in small companies

Our primary driver for

implementing ITIL is:

Business/IT
Alignment

Compliance
15%

5%
Cost Reduction

Outsourcing
10%

45%

25%
Process
Improvement
Source: Gartner 2004 Survey

53% - to improve
quality of service
without adding cost;
21% - to improve
IT's agility to respond
to new organization
requirements
15% - to meet the
growing demands of
Compliance
Source: Gartner 2006 Survey

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ITIL Implementation Approach Generic

How
Howdo
dowe
wekeep
keepthe
the
momentum
going?
momentum going?

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What
Whatisisthe
thevision?
vision?

High-Level
High-LevelObjectives
Objectives

Where
Whereare
arewe
wenow?
now?

Assessments
Assessments

Where
Wheredo
dowe
wewant
wantto
tobe?
be?

Measurable
MeasurableTargets
Targets

How
Howdo
dowe
weget
getto
towhere
where
we
want
to
be?
we want to be?

Process
ProcessImprovements
Improvements

Have
Haveour
ourmilestones
milestonesbeen
been
achieved?
achieved?

Measurements
Measurementsand
and
Metrics
Metrics

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ITIL Reported Benefits small companies

Enhanced/Increased Service Levels
Align IT goals with those of Units supported
As an IT department, your never too small to add value, just make sure you
know what value means to your Customer(s)

Make Excellence in Service a part of culture

Improved quality and reliability of IT services offered
But dont build a Ferrari to do the job of a Chevy.

Optimize resource utilization

Enforces collaboration across silos
Even small companies can divide themselves into silos based on functions,
with the appropriate processes and overarching services, those silos can
achieve efficient collaboration and role sharing.

Move from traditional supply-demand model to

customer oriented processes and service value
creation
The tendency for small companies to force their IT shops into reactionary
models can be overcome if Services are defined and partnerships
established to deliver the service consistently over time.
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ITIL Implementation - CSVs for small companies

Implementation as comprehensive organizational change
program
Even in small companies change needs to be planned and managed

Proactive and visible Executive sponsorship

Communication, training and awareness
Reengineering with proven and detailed process models
Start with baselines, do not over-engineer, monitor, review and improve

Project management discipline and best practices

Strategic foundational efforts with quick wins
Start small, identify opportunities to impact business DO NOT focus on IT
improvements only.

Significant emphasis on metrics

Automation wherever possible to support key processes
Know your size, do not purchase high-dollar solutions to achieve automation for
low-dollar processes or functions

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ITIL Implementation Common Risks for small companies

Building bureaucracy
Following big-bang implementation approaches
Over-defining and over-analyzing = Process
Paralysis
Inappropriate skills to manage change and define process
Inadequate training of IT professionals and disagreement
on terminology and issues facing organization
Inappropriate vision, leadership and expectations
Losing momentum
Poor project management
Resistance to change
Service levels dropping during transition
Tool implementations taking too long
Taking too much on at once one size does not fit
all
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Best Practice vs. Appropriate measures

What really works in small companies with limited
IT staff and limited perceived value from
business.

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Biotechnology Company IT size = 32

Grass roots effort to implement ITIL failed
Business partners were not educated on ITIL, therefore did not understand the overall
value and did not support ITs efforts
ITs initial ITIL Process implementation plan was too aggressive, thus IT became
confused and could not stay the course when combined with the existing work and
resources to much to soon

Second attempt to implement ITIL succeeded

IT sponsored an ITIL Executive Overview session to drive understanding of ITIL value
IT established communication channels and incident reports to directly correlate ITILbased improvements to business objectives
A third-party ITIL expert was engaged to provide leadership, plan out the ITIL
implementation strategy and provide SME knowledge and experience

A balanced approach (best practice vs.

appropriate measures)
After failing with the perceived ITIL best practice approach, IT chose to survey the
customer base and identified tangible improvements.
A phase 1 plan was developed in partnership to bring immediate improvements
which resulted in quick wins that reinforced ITILs value and the commitment of
stakeholders.
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Mid-Market Financial Institution IT size = 24

Additional product segments forced IT
innovation
With the Market slippage on some products as a result of the Home loan funding crisis,
business looked to expand its product segments
IT responded by partnering with the both the existing and new product segment managers
to identify how they could increase capacity with current resources to meet the additional
business demand.
IT looked for leverage points within their IT infrastructure and application portfolio to
identify shared service opportunities while also identifying weak-points in process,
technology and resource capabilities.
ITIL was identified to provide the necessary process improvements on the support side
while resources were re-focused to establish the required functionality and platforms to
support the new product segments.

Top-down and bottom-up collaboration proves

invaluable
With the assistance of a Third-party ITIL expert, an IT Service vision for the required
services was developed in tandem between the business segments and IT
Based on that vision, IT was fundamentally transformed into a value-driven business
segment (service provider)
Funding, Organizational Change, process adoption, adherence, oversight and
communication was provided from the top-down
IT process improvements, automation, service mapping, reporting, communication and
training was driven from the bottom-up

Staying the course requires commitment

There is no Magic Bullet when it come to implementing ITIL
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Cancer Research Laboratory IT size = 37

Resistance to ITIL based on perceived
additional workload
As with many small IT shops, the initial response from IT resources to senior
management was structure and detailed processes will slow us down
Although resistance to change comes in many forms, the perceived loss of IT agility and
intimate customer care is based on theoretical misconceptions.

Training, current-state assessments and

improvement targets break the barriers
In understanding IT resource resistance, IT Senior management brought in a third-party
ITIL expert (Consultant) to reconcile these misconceptions with training
Once trained, resistance began to taper
The current-state assessment brought visibility to the fact that the perceived state of IT
agility was in fact based on a customer care free-for-all approach
The consultant worked with IT to map out a service improvement plan that infused
processes discipline without sacrificing customer touch-points

Small improvements in small steps value

begins to develop
By not making sweeping changes, small success fueled the next improvement
IT bought-in to ITIL and began to develop a common vision for Service Support as a
whole.
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Lessons Learned from the ITIL trenches

What can we learn about implementing

ITIL in small companies
Have a plan for ITIL just because you know what is needed does not mean you
know how to sell it or implement it
Vet the plan and communicate its value in both business and IT terms.
Obtain third-party expertise with a proven track record of successful ITIL efforts.
Chose your path wisely set small goals with quick returns, dont get stuck in
process paralysis.
Be a business partner ensure your improvement strategy targets your
customers pain-points, not just ITs (shared vision)
Think of implementing ITIL as a transition to improving services, not as an
absolute change and upheaval to IT

Dont perceive yourselves as a small IT

shop
Transform your small IT shop into a small company (service provider)
Understand IT resource resistance is based on several factors most have been
working in lean environments with limited structure in reaction mode help them
see the value of ITIL and that process rigor will improve their services.
Foster innovation, customer relationships and reward high-performers
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NAI Contact:
Tim Shepich
Telephone: 1 (619) 507-2363
Facsimile: 1 (415) 267-6127
Email: Tim.Shepich@nouriassociates.com

Thank You for Your Time and Attention!

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