Why Social Media is important for ITIL and ITSM practitioners November 9, 2009
Posted by ivankamenken in cloud computing, itil, itsm.Tags: change management, customer, economy, IT Service Management, itil, technology, the art of service
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Life will never be the same again! I remember the day in the last century when I purchased my first mobile phone so I could continue the conversations with my clients while I was stuck in one of many traffic jams in The Netherlands. I also remember that most of my consultancy clients didn’t have email addresses, although there was inter-company electronic mail and those big yellow internal mail envelopes for paper memos etc. To connect with clients you used the phone or fax.
fast forward to 2009:
Our current clients have email addresses, a skypeID, google chat, twitter accounts, a facebook or myspace page, a google Wave account and everybody always talks on their mobile computer (isn’t it amazing that the Apple iPhone has this cool apps that you can download so you can even make phone calls with it?)
So what did I do? Over the past few months I have been more and more active with social media for The Art of Service. For one reason: we want to continue to create long-lasting relationship with our clients and course participants.
For me this is natural and logical: Our clients discuss important and urgent issues on twitter and facebook (as well as the not so important but still urgent), so where are there to answer their questions and to engage in the conversation.
So how has the interaction changed?
- I have my own twitter account http://www.twitter.com/ivankamenken . I use this account to share my research findings, ideas, comments and general communication around IT Service Management, ITIL, Cloud Computing, Business Management and personal ’stuff’
- Because not everybody is interested in my thoughts and rants, I also create a corporate twitter account to discuss our events, programs, products and generic information. http://www.twitter.com/taos_events
- I started promoting my mobile phone number on my business card and email signature again to encourage clients to speak with me directly, rather than going through my PA.
- I have a personal SkypeID, and the company has a corporate SkypeID so nobody has to feel they can’t connect with a client at the other end of the world
- The Art of Service has a corporate blog, posts ideas and links on posterous
- We encourage people to send in their questions and requests for help via the forms on our websites
- and of course there are the multiple of RSS feeds, Digg and delicious bookmarks, the hyves and Linkedin profiles
So when I look back at my first years as an ITIL and ITSM practitioner and compare it with the current situation – I would say that social media is a must for every ITIL and ITSM consultant or practitioner who wants to stay connected with the industry, their clients, peers and colleagues.
The way we did business 20 or 30 years ago doesn’t work (as well) anymore, we can’t stop growing… if you don’t use social media yet… change, and embrace it!
In times of recession – how does ITIL Service Management help to keep your good employees? April 14, 2009
Posted by ivankamenken in business, itil, itsm.Tags: certification, crisis, customer service, economy, IT Service Management, itil, itsm, recession, service, service management, the art of service, value
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Today I was interviewed by somebody from the itSMF about trends in the ITSM education and training industry. Inevitably the questions go the the current economic climate and the position of education in all this.
To me this is really easy – but then again: I run an education company so I am slightly biased – ITSM education really helps organisations to make a difference. Note that I don’t say ‘training’ as I don’t have a lot of positive things to say about organisations who only focus on the training aspect.. teaching monkeys tricks… Of course there is a training aspect in each educational program but there is so much more to it! Being an educator means that you know your subject as well as have the ability to make people understand what this new theory means for them – in their working environment. You need to understand that it is NOT about you but about the students. Educating is more than presenting, it is about focusing on the needs and requirements of the students… constantly.
Anyway, stepping down from my soap box for a second here, I strongly feel that ITSM education can make the difference between an IT organisation that is subject to outsourcing or an IT group that adds value to the overall corporate goals. ITSM education make the difference to the individual wanting to get that new job, and helps to get passed by when the redundancies are handed out.
Like I said to the interviewer today; I am constantly looking for new staff. We filled 2 vacancies in March and are currently advertising for 2 additional vacancies. So I see my fair share of applications and resumes across my desk. In comparison to 12 months ago, we receive about 10x the amount of applicants but I can’t say that the overall quality of the applicants has risen. Mind you, there are still gems out there – and they stand out! But what I expected to see as a result of all these job cuts and redundancies was that a lot of highly skilled people with fantastic experience and backgrounds would be applying for jobs.. and I don’t see that at the moment. Not in Australia that is…
Why do I say this? Well, for highly competent – qualified and experienced ITSM staff members the jobs are still out there and it is easy to stand out among the other candidates. So adding ITSM certification to your resume could be a good thing for individual IT professionals.
On the other side – IT organisations can use ITSM education as a differentiator to maintain their high performing employees. Offering educational opportunities to them will make them highly productive in the work place – making sure the IT group can cope with the new requirements and added work pressures – but also happier employees as they know they are valued and continue to improve their skills and qualifications. This seems to be a way to retain your good employees. High performers want to be challenged, and constantly learning new things or improving current processes. ITSM education gives them the opportunity to do this. This ultimately saves you money through retention of your high performers and not having to look for new staff as well as an improved IT Service delivery mechanism.
Benefits no matter where you look! So, what’s keeping you from educating your staff?!
Starting from scratch in 2009 – new chances for ITIL, ITSM and Cloud Computing… January 1, 2009
Posted by ivankamenken in business, cloud computing, itil, itsm.Tags: business, cloud computing, economy, management, recession, service management, technology
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It is 7am on the 1st of January 2009 – always a special moment the start of a new year. We have a tradition that on the 31st of December we grab a little notebook that we hide during the year and look back at our goals and ambitions that we wrote down on the 31st of December of last year. It is great fun to look back at all the goals and targets we achieved (tick) and missed (crosses). Even our 7 year old joins in with his goals and targets for the next year…
And now 2009 is here… we look at an empty calendar and consider all the things we want to do and achieve this year.
What will it bring for our ITIL Service Management certification programs? With the current economic situation, recession even in some countries, organisations need this more than ever…
Service Management gives visibility of IT Services, gives better management controls on the IT group, it helps with making strategic decisions due to the improved quality (and quantity) of information available to support these decisions. BUT… will their leaders have the insight and the guts to continue to hire educational services? To educate and grow the knowledge kept within their IT groups about IT Service Management, IT governance and standards compliancy… Honestly, I don’t know…
And what about Cloud computing? Again… this is such a great opportunity for many organizations to continue to deliver the IT services to its clients with more storage and more processing power… for a fraction of the price! That must be good news to most CIO’s . But it is also a fairly new concept and I am questioning if CIO’s will dare to choose Cloud Computing as a viable option for their IT Service Delivery.
No matter how you look at it, 2009 is a clean slate; we start from scratch and there are many new chances and opportunities to help IT organizations (and therefore companies at large) in achieving their goals by utilizing ITIL, IT Service Management and Cloud Computing.
I am very excited about this idea and can’t wait to get back to the office again to start talking to our clients again…
only 4 more sleeps!
2 Most important things to stay in business while times are tough November 15, 2008
Posted by ivankamenken in business.Tags: business, crisis, economy, fitness, flu, newspaper, success
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This is a very short post as I promised only 2 things… so here is comes:
1. STOP READING THE PAPERS AND FOCUS ON YOUR BUSINESS
I love this one as it is soooo true! The more time we spend on reading the articles in the paper with all the ‘doom & gloom’ stories, the more we are going to believe it. You become the bunny trapped in the headlights of oncoming traffic.
Also – the more time you spend reading the papers; both physical papers and all the news channels you subscribe to online… the less time you have to work on the business. And these are times to have laser vision focus!
2. JOIN THE GYM
Or at least start a program to stay fit! Your business needs you, more than ever. This week I spent 3 days at home with an amazing head-cold. I can’t remember the last time I was this sick and it involved every part of my body from the shoulders up. My brain didn’t function, my concentration was fuzzy at best, I couldn’t make decisions… it really affected my work.
So don’t give viruses and other germ a chance to grab hold of you: start a training program as if you’re preparing to run a marathon. You need stamina and a high level of overall fitness to run a business. When you’re tired and feeling run-down, that is when they will get to you. So start moving!
Good luck and have fun running a successful, focused business!
In times of economic and political insecurity.. ITIL TO THE RESCUE! November 4, 2008
Posted by ivankamenken in business, itil.Tags: economy, insecurity, itil, itsm, melbourne cup, recession, service management
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I am on my way to Singapore and on the way over to the airport I was listening to the radio. As today is November 4th there is a lot of talk about the US elections but also about the economic situation in Australia. Now here is the thing: (rant coming…) The federal bank of Australia is probably going to lower the official interest rates because Australia is heading into a recession… and guess what?! Today is also Melbourne cup day; and so far Australia has thrown AUS$ 17.7 Million dollars away… gambled on a horse race!
I am not saying that the current economic climate isn’t volatile but I can’t get over the fact that in a year where there is talk about recession and economic insecurity that people spend their money on gambling on horses!
Many people are about to lose their jobs, and the IT industry is not immune for the effects of what is going on in the international arena. So – how can ITIL Service Management come to the rescue?
Well….. I have my ideas:
- In times of turmoil it is important to be more of a generalist – it’s easier to get a job again when you’re not too much cornered into a specialist niche. So an ITIL qualification is important for the individual IT Professional who might be looking for another job in the not too distant future.
- ITIL Service Management is all about delivering services to the business that the business needs, now and in the future, at a level that the business requires and is willing to pay for. Amazing stuff when you think about it as this will keep the IT organisation ‘in a job’ … when you no longer deliver what the business needs – why should they continue to pay for it?
- ITIL Service Management is about delivering value to the business – either by taking away constraints or adding to the business opportunities. In other words: take away risks or add to the revenue generation possibilities. In times when continuity in revenue generation is just as important as risk mitigation you can’t go wrong with ITIL Service Management.
- Technologies change, delivery methods change (think cloud computing and virtualization) but management of activities in an effective manner with a sound focus on the delivery of value to the customer will always stay the same! So no matter what happens, when you understand the capabilities of the technology and have the ability to manage the ‘tools’ in such a way that they are perceived to be valuable… you’re on a winning team!
Just some food for thought… although I don’t really know how ITIL will help with political insecurity – but give me some time, I’ll come up with something!
Update: see this article in the Daily Telegraph, Australia spends $168 Million on Melbourne Cup
What to do in times of recession and economic downturn? October 28, 2008
Posted by ivankamenken in business.Tags: business, economy, profit, recession, service
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You start a business!
Yes – you read that correctly… this is the ideal time to start up a new business. Many people are feeling less secure about employment and Seek.com published their survey results this week that 14% of people are worried about losing their job.
My husband and I started The Art of Service in Australia in 2000. We had no idea that this was a really bad timing!!! Most organisations had already spent their entire IT budget for the year and everybody was very stressed about the GST that was just coming into effect that year.
But because we were a new company and basically had a very low cost base, coupled with a unique selling point we soon became a successful company that started employing additional staff members.
So when you are thinking about starting a business what would it be? What are the requirements, and the things you need to consider?
- Depending on where you are your decision may be different. Currently the Australian Dollar is really low against the US dollar so starting an import business is probably NOT a good idea at the moment. Exporting on the other hand is very profitable, and it is relatively simple to achieve a competitive advantage due to the generous exchange rate.
When you live in the US at the moment you may wish to look into importing… - What do people need/want in times of duress?
- PIZZA and other (cheap) comfort food
- ways to forget that they are depressed or in a difficult financial situation
- More cost effective solutions to health issues
- LEGAL addictions, like coffee, chocolate, beer, lottery tickets (assuming it is legal where you live!!)
- stress relieve (massages, fitness groups, counseling)
… I am sure you can think of other things that people really need in this environment.
Now, take that idea and think of ideas to do it better/smarter/faster/cheaper and focus on SERVICE. Without service you are nowhere… people can get bad service anywhere at the moment, why would they go to you?
Give people a smile (it’s FREE) and good service as well as a product that they want and need and you’re up and running!!!
Good luck and enjoy!
Revenue is great, but cash is king! October 10, 2008
Posted by ivankamenken in business.Tags: business, Cash, creditor, crisis, economy, management, money, Sales
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For the past 18 months or so I have been trying to have ‘cash’ as our quarterly theme but for whatever reason, it didn’t really work. And to be honest, you don’t want staff members to be only money driven… so we came up with another solution! We didn’t start the business purely for the money, and clients would feel the shift in core values when the company turns to purely a money making machine…
To give you a bit of background: The Art of Service works with the ‘Rockefeller habits’ methodology and we try to have a Quarterly theme to help improve how the business is running. The last few quarterly themes were around internal processes (customer service and client relation) and teamwork. But really, when I look inside, as the owner of the business I know that at the end of the day it is really important to have enough cash in the bank to stay in business.
So a few months ago we started thinking about a cash based quarterly theme. You can’t ask people to just focus on money as that is NOT what we are about… we want to be the Framework educator of choice for IT Professionals. In order to do that we have a strong focus on customer service, on helping people to understand the frameworks and standards so they can grow professionally. The money is a result of this, but NOT the main focus!
So how do you increase cash without being in business for money alone? You look at your cash cycle (taken from the Rockefeller habits):
- How long does it take to close sales? And, how much money is involved in the sales process (COS – Cost of Sales)
- How long does it take to develop the product or deliver the service that was sold?
- How long does it take to receive the money AFTER you delivered the service (as most product sales will be Cash on delivery or pre-payment)
- The sales team is coming up with creative solutions to improve the conversion % and due to our improved relationship with the clients we better understand their procurement processes. We may not quote as early in the process so when we do, the conversion happens a lot quicker. We also looked at different sales channels that may improve the time it takes for people to buy/purchase.
- Our time to market is getting better and better! Being an expert in your field (and recognized as such) really helps with the ability to customize our product and service offerings to our clients in a really short time-frame. We also use different development tools and techniques to improve the overall time to market (think cloud computing, SaaS and web-presence)
- Accounts receivable and debt collection is not just a job for the finance department. Everybody is involved with coming up with ways to shorten the time it takes to get the cash in our bank. Current improvement projects are: correct invoicing, creative payment options, online sales (credit card payment), stricter follow up after payment terms have been exceeded.
In times of economic crisis… don’t stick your head in the sand but HEAD FOR THE CLOUD! October 2, 2008
Posted by ivankamenken in cloud computing.Tags: business, Cash, cloud computing, economy, money, SaaS
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It has become apparent to me that Australia is still very much the lucky country. Yes we like to complain about the economic situation and the fact that the interest rates are around the 8% at the moment but overall I think we’re still going strong!
Why am I saying this? Well, I have spent the last 4 days in Hawaii and have experienced firsthand that the situation in the US is much worse than what is happening in Australia. And it is not getting better either… it will get much worse!
The resorts on the Big Island are at approx. 15% capacity, where 60% is needed to break even; many restaurants, bars and resorts have already shut their doors and the big story on the news this week is that most of the commercial rents will double – if not triple- in the next few months. This will have a major impact on the overall economy of the state, after all: it’s main source of income is tourism…
Australia is fairly sheltered, we have a lot of resources in the ground and there is always somebody who finds it… last week in the BRW young rich list the number 1 person is 32 years of age, came from nowhere and has now accumulated approx. 440 million dollars in personal wealth in the last 12-18 months. How? By finding coal (I think it was coal, but really – it could have been anything) and selling it to China… nice little ‘backyard operation’ which will result in a nice income tax bill no doubt… which means more money in the government account to support the country etc.
So, what does this have to do with Cloud Computing? Well, not a lot at first glance and everything when you think about it.
I run my business with my husband and this morning over breakfast (CEO council ) we were discussing how to prepare the company for things to come; the importance of cash in the bank at the moment and the ability to change gears and directions very quickly. It also brought to light the importance of a ‘lean’ business model: outsourcing your non-core activities and avoid purchasing assets that don’t actively create revenue (example: IT systems and solutions). When we focus on the IT solutions: we still want it to be scalable and have the ability to support the company’s business processes – no matter where the business will take us!
This led us to discuss cloud computing and Software as a Service solutions. When offered professionally, SaaS solutions are probably the way to go in the near future. They offer IT products on a ‘pay per use’ basis without the upfront expenditure (and depreciation) of purchasing expensive software and IT assets.
However, before doing this you will need understand WHY you need the IT solution in the first place and you need answers to the following questions:
1. What is it supposed to do?
2. Which business process is it supposed to support?
3. How many people use this system and is the subscription per user or per concurrent user?
4. What is the maximum number of users they support?
5. What IT infrastructure is expected to be present in your offices to make the SaaS solution work best?
6. What IT knowledge is expected to be available in your office.
7. What type of support does the provider offer?
8. What happens if the software doesn’t work, or doesn’t do what you expect it to do?
All in all, I don’t think these are difficult questions to answer and it sure beats having a lot of your cash tied up in purchasing the software licenses upfront! You’re much better off spending that type of money at the things that you’re really good at: development of your products and services and making money with them!
Economic downturn? Keep the service coming! September 30, 2008
Posted by ivankamenken in business.Tags: business, cashflow, economy, finance, service
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Even while we are on a family holiday, we keep talking about Service Management ( I know.. occupational hazard I suppose!) as it is very obvious around us… things are changing with the US economy going down. We are in Hawaii at a resort that is famous for its restaurants and service and we were wondering what the impact of the economy would be. Well, the first impressions are:
- The resort is approx. 25% occupied… great for us because it is quite relaxed and not crowded at all! But not so good for a resort as the fixed cost would be HUGE! This would bring a cash flow issue with it – I’m sure of that…
- The resort restaurants have split the work between them: some restaurants are only open for breakfast and lunch, and others only for dinner
- There are not many US people on holiday here.. we mainly hear foreign languages and accents
- The prices have NOT dropped / changed
- Don’t lower your prices – there will always be people who will pay for your services. Lowering prices means lowering service standards (usually) and this is the start of a vicious circle of fewer clients and less cash
- Cut back on the amount of services you offer – do your research to find out where people go and what they do and offer the most popular ones. Close the other offerings temporarily so you can still offer the same level of service and still make money
- Be flexible and have the ability to change quickly. Change the marketing message to link in with what people really find important and are willing to spend money on. Also, change who you are marketing to… there is always a group of people still willing to purchase what you have to offer, you just have to look for them in a different spot, that’s all!
ITIL is dead… long live ITIL! September 25, 2008
Posted by ivankamenken in itil.Tags: economy, itil, itsm, technology, value
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In this last week I read in Rob England’s blog that there are rumours about the fact that the discussion on ITIL V4 has commenced… I must say that it doesn’t surprise me at all, but it goes to show that ITIL is dead. When a framework that is quite generic and ‘vague’ (for lack of a better word) needs to be updated every year, it makes you wonder about the value of it…
Don’t get me wrong: I am not trying to get into a bit mud-fight on the whole ITIL thing but this statement really made it clear to me that a lot or people and organizations go about it completely the wrong way around.
IT IS NOT ABOUT ITIL…. it never was, and never will. ITIL is not important – it is merely a tool / way to achieve Service excellence for the IT organization. And at the end of the day it doesn’t matter whether you use ITIL version 1,2,3 or 524. More important is WHY you even look at implementing a framework like ITIL. WHY do you need more structure and discipline in your IT organization? What are the painpoints that you want to remove? What are the benefits to be gained?
When you take a good long look at these questions and their respective answers, you might find that:
- Our IT organization is too inward focused and has lost contact with its clients
- Our customers have lost faith in the value add of the IT organization
- We struggle with the increasing amount of changes that have to be processed in such a way that it doesn’t deteriorate the service levels to the business
- Our budgets have been slashed severely (thanks to the overall economy) and we need to do more with less $$
