Microsoft Operations Framework.-- Service Management Function Overview

The aim of this book is to give the reader key issues to be considered when planning for the implementation of IT service management. The book explains the steps required to implement or improve IT service provision. It provides guidance on alignment of the business needs to IT and enables the reader to assess if IT service provision is meeting the requirements of the business. Where the business requirements are not being met it details the steps necessary to ensure the IT service provision does meet the current and future needs of the business. The aim therefore is to give practical guidance in evaluating the maturity levels of service management and on implementing improvement to the processes. This book is one of a series issued as part of the "IT Infrastructure Library" that documents industry best practice for the support and delivery of IT services. Although this book can be read in isolation, it is recommended that it be used in conjunction with the other ITIL books. Service management is a generic concept and the guidance in the ITIL books is applicable generically. The guidance is also scaleable - applicable to both small and large organizations. It applies to distributed and centralized systems, whether in-house or supplied by third parties. It is neither bureaucratic nor unwieldy if implemented sensibly and in full recognition of the business needs of the organization. Service Delivery covers the service the business requires of the provider to enable adequate support to the business users. This publication is concerned with the delivery of a quality, cost-effective IT service. It advocates establishing Service Level Agreements between an IT directorate and its customers. Guidance is given on setting up and managing the functions which must be in place in order to provide the agreed services. The purpose of Service Delivery is to show the links and the principal relationships between all the Service Management and other Infrastructure Management processes. Topics covered include: - Service Level Management - Financial Management for IT Services - Capacity Management - Availability Management - IT Service Continuity Management Service Support focuses on ensuring that the customer has access to appropriate services to support business functions, and covers the related functions which provide stability and flexibility for IT service provision. It deals with the identification and recording of the IT configuration, day-to-day communication with users and the control and co-ordination of incidents, problems and changes. It expands the necessary interactions between these and other core IT service management disciplines, and updates best practice to reflect recent changes in technology and business practices. Topics covered include: - Service Desk - Incident Management - Problem Management - Configuration Management - Change Management - Release Management This book is one of a series issued as part of the updated IT Infrastructure Library that documents industry best practice for the support and delivery of IT services. Although this book can be read in isolation it is recommended that it be used in conjunction with the other IT Infrastructure Library books. Service management is a generic concept and the guidance in the new IT Infrastructure Library books is applicable generically. The guidance is also applicable to both small and large organisations. It applies to distributed and centralized systems, whether in-house or supplied by third parties. It is neither bureaucratic nor unwieldy if implemented sensibly and in full recognition of the business needs of the organization. This work draws together the advice provided in the five core books by CCTA on service support. It covers: change management; configuration management; help desk management; problem management; software release and rollout; and an explanation of the links between the disciplines. Information is one of the most important assets for businesses. Without it only a few processes are able to perform as intended. The sharing of information with other organizations, which enables quick and automated processing, increases that importance.