Efforts to promote standards in IT service management received a boost recently with the official launch of the Singapore Chapter of the IT Service Management Forum (itSMF). ItSMF is an independent and internationally recognized body set up to promote and set best practices in IT service management.
Speaking at the launch, the president of the Singapore Chapter Ng Kim Hung, who is also IT director of Exel, outlined the four objectives of itSMF, which are: to develop and promote best practices in IT service management, to engender professionalism among ITSM personnel, to provide a vehicle which will help members improve service performance, and to provide a relevant forum for the exchange of information and sharing of experiences.
"As an IT practitioner, I am aware of the demand for good IT services. IT has always been regarded as a cost, but the time has come to change that. No doubt
IT costs money, but it can also enable the company to provide good service that can win the company business."
Ng pointed out that Singapore is base for 6,000 multinational corporations, a large percentage of which have their regional headquarters here. "Whenever they set up their headquarters here, there will be a demand for IT services. Nowadays, people demand quality, state-of-the-art IT services," he said.
And part of its drive towards state-of-the-art services, itSMF has developed a formal certification scheme that allows enterprises to be audited against the BS15000 IT service management standard by independent third-party organizations.
According to Ng, from a user organization"s perspective, standards are important as they provide a common basis to gauge different service providers.
"Once you establish the standards within your organization, you will want to work with companies that have those standards themselves," he said.
Education is a very important part of the process. "Both organizations and individuals have to be equipped. It is a journey we have to take," he said.
The Singapore Chapter of itSMF is currently open for membership. The different types of membership are Individual, Corporate, Vendor and Global.
From Ng"s perspective, IT service management can help Singapore take a leap forward in the infocomm arena. "Technology can be copied. Singapore should offer technology plus the support. If we can provide good service management, we can differentiate ourselves. We have to try to change the mindset to view IT as service providers, and not just as boiler room people."
The itSMF is at http://www.itsmf.org.sg.
About BS15000
BS15000, which was developed by the British Standards Institute, is based on the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework which provides a common vocabulary and common service metrics for managing infrastructure. It provides formal accreditation for IT service management based on best practices, and will also be the foundation for a future ISO (International Standards Organisation) IT service management standard, which is expected to be ratified by 2006.
"BS15000 suggests that we run IT like a business within our business, and our customers can be internal, or they can be external," said Joel Pereira, managing director of The Centre for IT Service Management and a founder member of the itSMF Singapore Chapter.