"What do you do, again?”  The classic cocktail party question every ITSM professional gets asked.  

“So, you fix computers?”… “Not exactly!”

“You’re an engineer?”… “No, I used to be an engineer, but now I…”

“So, you’re a project manager?”… “Well, you know how you hate your IT department? I fix that!”

“You're a psychologist?” … “I’m a miracle worker! Want another drink?”

And this is why ITSM events throw the best parties. Let’s face it, ITSM is a paradox to most businesses. To be fair to our business partners, though, ITSM has become a bit of an enigma within IT.

The Evolution of ITSM

If we look back at the professional evolution, it is clear to see why IT has become essential to business success, yet is not critical to business strategy.

  • 1980s — IT is about technology. IT is a segmented group of staff, focused on these technology areas: mainframe, networking, phone operations.
  • 1990s — IT is about systems. Systems engineers, application admins, database admins, desktop admins, telecomm.
  • 2000s — IT is about the service. Data center services, network services, help desk services, end user services.
  • 2010s — IT is about the experience. MarTech (Marketing Technology), FinTech (Financial Technology), HRIS, etc.

We have seen budgets shift from the CIO’s reign of control, to the CMO’s, the COO’s, and the Line of Business GM’s, who would rather source their technology directly from vendors than have to navigate the politics and confusion of IT BRM, PMO, SMO, WTH (What the Heck) departments. 

  • Over time, business expectations for technology provisioning and responsiveness have accelerated to what IT believes are unrealistic demands.
  • In 1996, if IT took four weeks to stand up an SQL Server, it was fine. Today, you can spin up an SQL Docker container under half a second.
  • If it took two weeks to get an application deployed to your PC, it now takes 15 minutes with a credit card and Cloud provider.

As a result, the term “Shadow IT” has been coined. Do you know who calls “Shadow IT”, Shadow IT? IT people. The business just calls it “getting things done.” The brutal reality is that IT is so focused on delivering IT services that they have missed the bigger picture.

So when a CEO is evaluating digital transformation strategy, wanting to drive new revenue streams, and create new customer experiences, will they seek out the CIO who is focused on controlling costs, IT operational excellence, and implementing new security policies? Not likely! CIOs have missed the opportunity to create digital transformation within their own ranks. Look at the common self-service portal… not exactly a shining example of exceptional user experience. How about the order to cash process (internally called request fulfillment for IT asset management), again usually a pathetically manual—and in a lot of cases—paper-based process.

Ivanti at FUSION 17

This year at FUSION 2017 (#SMFUSION), the largest non-profit ITSM summit in the US, I will be presenting two timely discussions to help IT rethink communication and execution strategies that can truly position them within their organizations as a digital transformation leader.

Can ITSM Lead Digital Transformation?

  • Wednesday, November 1 at 3:00 p.m. ET: Session 301

In this session, I will review the history of ITSM, its focus on governance, and how it has created a friction between IT Strategy and Business Strategy. I will then demonstrate practical ways to “re-sell” this governance edge back to the business as a key value proposition for being a key play in the transformation initiatives. I then present a model that can be used to drive increased value, positioning ITSM leaders at the head of digital transformation initiatives.

Work to the Left, Expectations to the Right

  • Thursday, November 2 at 11:15 a.m. ET: Session 507

Walking through the IT industries pace of change, I will share case studies and examples of the changing expectation for a software-defined world, and how IT must embrace automation and digital transformation strategies to keep up with the rising business expectations.  Providing practical tips on communication, approach and organizational structures, we will look at present pressure for IT to unify and automate their processes.  I will then present a model for the future Request/Fulfillment processes in delivering IT infrastructure.

If you had not planned on coming to FUSION this year, I hope you will reconsider. This event will be a tremendous opportunity to increase perspective, up-skill communications, and meet some of the great minds in the industry who can help you reach the next level of your career goals.

Ivanti is proud and excited to be a sponsor again at FUSION 17. This will be the first FUSION under our combined brand of Landesk and HEAT. We encourage you to come visit our booth #707 to learn more about Ivanti.

Click here to see how Ivanti is taking the fear out of ITSM.

Also, be sure to check out Industry Author: Kevin J. Smith Thursday, November 2nd, 2:30pm Expo Hall Theater:

A Glimpse at the Future of IT — By Industry Author Kevin J. Smith

  • Thursday, November 2 at 2:30 p.m. ET: Expo Hall Theater

After which, all attendees will be given a free copy of Kevin’s book: The Practical Guide to World-Class IT Service Management.

I am looking forward to seeing you at FUSION this year! If you can’t attend, but are keen to learn more about how to increase the executive sponsorship for your ITSM initiatives, you can send me a message on twitter @VigilantGuy.

Also, check out these ITSM solutions on Ivanti.com:

automation and optimization halloween graphic for ivanti and fusion