He suggested one of these objectives could be optimizing the end-user experience, which can be achieved through focusing on the first book in ITIL: service support. HP Suen, chairman of itSMF's Hong Kong Chapter, agreed that service support is a popular starting point among local enterprises.

"The two major areas that most Hong Kong companies look at in ITIL is service support and service delivery, since these are the areas that each IT shop will have to deal with on a daily basis," he said. "These are also areas that show the most obvious changes and improvement to the business users."

This is where JOS made its first steps. Mok said that the service desk is the first point of contact with its customers, thus making improvements in this area will produce the most prominent and encouraging result. The service desk is also the major point of contact for collecting information and feedback to make continuous improvement, she added.

Getting the tools right

Apart from identifying a starting point, many CIOs also find it intimidating to make the first step in applying ITIL. Many find it too conceptual "as it doesn't offer guidance on how to actually apply the best practice," said BMC's Ng.