32.6% of IT executives rank improvements to infrastructure or increasing productivity as their top business priorities, finds IDC
Announcement posted by IDC 22 Jul 2004
While (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) ITIL is not the only IT Service management (ITSM) related framework, it has by far the longest track record and the largest following globally. But does it have Executive 'mind-share' within Australian and New Zealand organisations today? A recent IDC study set out to understand the level of awareness of the ITIL standard and the key barriers or driving forces behind its adoption.
This study was conducted as part of IDC's end-user research to understand how Australian companies are adopting frameworks to improve operational efficiencies, in particular ITIL. Interviews were conducted with some of Australia and New Zealand's largest company CIOs and IT executives.
The IDC report, "Frameworks for a Picture-Perfect IT Organisation " discusses a specific issue: how the adoption of a formalised framework, ITIL in particular, can help a company manage its assets better with the ultimate objective of creating visible value for users and business customers.
The study found, that only 27.2% of respondents were aware of ITIL and it's benefits in enabling organisations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their IT operations. This same study also identified that 32.6% of IT Executives rank improvements to infrastructure or increasing productivity as their top business priority. Hence, this need to improve operational efficiencies should drive an increase in the adoption of standard methodologies and frameworks such as ITIL.
Of the 27.2% of IT Executives who are aware of ITIL, 47.9% have adopted the framework, with the majority of these being from larger organisations (55.8%). The driving force behind larger organisations adopting the ITIL standard includes improvements in operation efficiency and effectiveness (45.8%); and the ability to raise the maturity level of IT (41.7%).
IDCs End User Research found that the costs to implement were the biggest single inhibitor for larger organisations. Other barriers included lack of available time and or resources to undertake the training and implementation, no upper management buy-in or low awareness. For smaller organisations the biggest inhibitors were insufficient staffing, cost to implement or no business requirement.
This report offers advice on how having a balanced view of frameworks and their capabilities is a key requisite to unlocking their potential value. It also covers success stories on how a number of organisations have embraced specific aspects of the ITIL framework and what benefits they have derived from their activities.
IDC concludes that there are excellent ROI opportunities in the implementation of ITIL and similar frameworks, and furthermore, that these initiatives can play a key role in IT/business alignment. However, this adoption cannot be an isolated action on the part of IT but must reflect a number of contextual issues within the enterprise.
"Cost and resources seem to be the biggest hurdles to adopting the ITIL standard. Although the results of adoption can reduce operational costs, improve efficiency and effectiveness and the governance of IT." Catherin Bennett, Director IDC User Programmes Australia & New Zealand.
"The more automation you put around business processes the cheaper it'll be to run", Catherin Bennett, Director User Programmes Australia & New Zealand.
To purchase this report, please contact Catherin Bennett on Ph: 02-9925 2259 or via email: cbennett@idc.com.
About IDCs ITEyewitness Reports:
ITEyewitness is one component of IDC's Management Portfolio for IT. Designed as a How-to-do-it report series for IT managers and practitioners, ITEyewitness focuses on topic areas that are proving challenging for IT Executives and rank in their top priorities. Each report in the series examines recent statistics from IDC surveys, actions for success, real-life success stories and case studies with clear and concise proven practices.
Additional information can be found at www.idc.com.au/managementportfolio.
This study was conducted as part of IDC's end-user research to understand how Australian companies are adopting frameworks to improve operational efficiencies, in particular ITIL. Interviews were conducted with some of Australia and New Zealand's largest company CIOs and IT executives.
The IDC report, "Frameworks for a Picture-Perfect IT Organisation " discusses a specific issue: how the adoption of a formalised framework, ITIL in particular, can help a company manage its assets better with the ultimate objective of creating visible value for users and business customers.
The study found, that only 27.2% of respondents were aware of ITIL and it's benefits in enabling organisations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their IT operations. This same study also identified that 32.6% of IT Executives rank improvements to infrastructure or increasing productivity as their top business priority. Hence, this need to improve operational efficiencies should drive an increase in the adoption of standard methodologies and frameworks such as ITIL.
Of the 27.2% of IT Executives who are aware of ITIL, 47.9% have adopted the framework, with the majority of these being from larger organisations (55.8%). The driving force behind larger organisations adopting the ITIL standard includes improvements in operation efficiency and effectiveness (45.8%); and the ability to raise the maturity level of IT (41.7%).
IDCs End User Research found that the costs to implement were the biggest single inhibitor for larger organisations. Other barriers included lack of available time and or resources to undertake the training and implementation, no upper management buy-in or low awareness. For smaller organisations the biggest inhibitors were insufficient staffing, cost to implement or no business requirement.
This report offers advice on how having a balanced view of frameworks and their capabilities is a key requisite to unlocking their potential value. It also covers success stories on how a number of organisations have embraced specific aspects of the ITIL framework and what benefits they have derived from their activities.
IDC concludes that there are excellent ROI opportunities in the implementation of ITIL and similar frameworks, and furthermore, that these initiatives can play a key role in IT/business alignment. However, this adoption cannot be an isolated action on the part of IT but must reflect a number of contextual issues within the enterprise.
"Cost and resources seem to be the biggest hurdles to adopting the ITIL standard. Although the results of adoption can reduce operational costs, improve efficiency and effectiveness and the governance of IT." Catherin Bennett, Director IDC User Programmes Australia & New Zealand.
"The more automation you put around business processes the cheaper it'll be to run", Catherin Bennett, Director User Programmes Australia & New Zealand.
To purchase this report, please contact Catherin Bennett on Ph: 02-9925 2259 or via email: cbennett@idc.com.
About IDCs ITEyewitness Reports:
ITEyewitness is one component of IDC's Management Portfolio for IT. Designed as a How-to-do-it report series for IT managers and practitioners, ITEyewitness focuses on topic areas that are proving challenging for IT Executives and rank in their top priorities. Each report in the series examines recent statistics from IDC surveys, actions for success, real-life success stories and case studies with clear and concise proven practices.
Additional information can be found at www.idc.com.au/managementportfolio.