ITIL PROVIDES PROCESS FRAMEWORK FOR INTERNALLY MANAGED OR OUTSOURCED IT, BUT
MANY FACTORS IMPACT ROI, PER EQUATERRA PERSPECTIVE PAPER

(Houston and London, May 24, 2007) – To help IT organizations achieve the cost reduction, improved service level performance and increased efficiency from the implementation of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), EquaTerra today released two perspective papers.  The papers, entitled, “ITIL and its Impact in a Multi-provider Environment” and “ITIL: Measuring the ROI of Internal ITIL Investments” outline many critical points IT departments must consider in order to attain the anticipated ROI from ITIL, whether the processes are delivered by an internal IT organization, by multiple external providers or a variety of internal and external providers.

According to a study conducted by Forrester Research, 40 percent of $1 billion+ companies were expected to implement ITIL by end of 2006.  But many companies that have already implemented ITIL report mixed reviews about how effectively ITIL reduces cost and improves service quality.  In fact, the majority of CFOs and some CIOs with whom EquaTerra has spoken continue to struggle with returns on ITIL investments and dissatisfaction issues.  These issues are further exacerbated in environments in which multiple providers, whether external-only or a mix of internal and external, deliver the IT services.  Given that multi-provider deals are a growing trend – a recent EquaTerra Pulse Survey cited a 25 percent increase in the number of multi-provider deals –managing ITIL becomes an even greater challenge.

Geoff Thirlwall, VP of Services, Unilever Europe IT, asserts that while the economic drivers of ITIL are certainly relevant, the primary drivers should be efficiency and service.  Charles Collier, managing director of EquaTerra’s IT practice, agrees, stating, “With its major shift in approach from procedure to service and business alignment, we believe ITIL version 3.0 will help enable improved deal quality, provide a common language for defining an IT organization’s business objectives and strategy, and a common approach to designing services, which is of particular importance in multi-provider sourcing environments.  We are currently evaluating ITIL v 3.0 in these regards, as well as in tandem usage with governance tools such as EquaTerra’s Governance WorkPlace to help clients achieve the value from service delivery improvement initiatives.”

How Outsourcing Service Providers Leverage ITIL for their Clients

According to EquaTerra, ITIL can certainly help better manage blended and/or multi-provider sourcing environments.  However, the response from service providers is varied and creates challenges for end-user organizations.  Provider response ranges from using ITIL as intended (the open framework) to situations in which the provider has created its own customized ITIL approach described as ITIL compliant.  EquaTerra has also observed providers adopt ITIL as a service management framework embedded in technology, requiring outsourcing buyers to make significant investments to actually implement and use it.

The critical points IT departments must consider when evaluating the feasibility of ITIL, as outlined in the EquaTerra perspective papers, include, among others:

• What success have other organizations had in utilizing ITIL in outsourcing and multi-service provider environments?  Understand their investments, migrations and current operating structures.  Develop a business case for the ITIL framework.  Key points to consider would be impact on the outsourcing governance organization, quality of service and impact on end-user satisfaction.
• Are outsourcing service providers employing ITIL to support outsourcing efforts? If yes, what benefits are they achieving?
• How will ITIL affect the organization’s internal transformation?  Can the organization adapt to the ITIL process changes?
• How will the ITIL transformation be governed?  Does the organization have the critical skills required?

The “ITIL and its Impact in a Multi-provider Environment” and “ITIL: Measuring the ROI of Internal ITIL Investments” perspective papers can be accessed by going to:
http://www.equaterra.com/KR/research/ITIL-and-its-impact-in-a-multi-provider-environment-IT.aspx

http://www.equaterra.com/KR/research/measuring-the-roi-of-internal-ITIL-investments-IT.aspx