Advantages of Problem Manager being at client location

[GCLOONY]

All,

We are a global company and we have outsourced our ITIL processess. Now we are thinking to get the Problem Manager onshore. Can anyone tell me would there be any advantages/benefits getting a Problem Manager onshore? We think that he will be helpful for all our coms to Business. However, need your ides.


Regards,
GC

[ChasingSleep]

What the hell is to outsource ITIL processes???

[thechosenone69]

GC,

Well it can be beneficial to put a PM onshore to witness problems in the infrastructure as they occur.

Chasing,

He's probably saying that everything is outsourced now a days, they even out source **** movies to S. America its all ITIL mate
_________________
Ali Makahleh
Configuration Management(Blue Badge),
ITILV2 Service Manager(Red Badge),
ITILV3 Expert(Lilac Badge) Certified.

“If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing." W. Edwards Deming.

[swansong]

I think individuals on this forum can give 100's of reasons for the benefits and costs of insourcing / outsourcing PM. However every organisation has its own risks and issues which are unique to that particualr organisation, therefore any advice we offer may not be relevant in the conext of your organisation.

I would suggest looking closer to home. Clearly someone thought the PM function should be outsourced....and now empirical evidence suggests that this would be better insourced. I would look at that evidence, and then look at the risks / issues and associated controls associated with insourcing / outsourcing to come to a conclusion.

However if you want to supply further details why your organisation thinks PM is better done in house, you may get a more specific / relevant response.

[UKVIKING]

first issue

Outsourcing

A company does not outsource ITIL processes. It outsources IT services. period. This may be service or help desk services - which would cover Incident mgmt processes, service request mgmt, monitoring etc

If the system support is outsourced, then not only IM is outsourced, but change, configuration and release is outsourced

PM is most likely outsourced when you outsource the system support (wintel, unix, network teams); however, the outsource PM is minimalistic as there is limited cost / benefit in the outsource company to do so. The expense of having a support team dedicated to PM is a waste of money from the service provider (the outsource company)

and now to PM

If you outsource a service, you are also, IMNSHO, declaring that PM is of no concern because you want to have the service available. You, the service consumer (the company that outsourced), only are concerned that the service is provided in accordance with the contract

So PM is moot to be honest for the following reasons

1 - IM takes priority and precedence.
2 - the Service must be available - in accordance with SLA

What is really needed is that you have a Outsource Service manager who deals with all the issues - to include PM issues as they occur
_________________
John Hardesty
ITSM Manager's Certificate (Red Badge)

Change Management is POWER & CONTROL. /....evil laughter

[Diarmid]

The Viking has it. Well ... to be honest, ChasingSleep has it.

To me ITIL processes are:

1.reading the ITIL books
2. partaking of ITIL training - trainer
2a. partaking of ITIL training - trainee
3. Doing ITIL exams (examiners,exam designers, examinees etc.)
4. Discussing ITIL in places like this
5. Applying the ideas etc. in ITIL to considerations on how to design or improve service management processes.

But of course 'ITIL based/derived processes' was intended. Well these are likely to be IT service management processes. Now, generally, Problem Management is a process internal to IT service management and not a customer/user facing process (which Incident Management is).

So you might want incident managers in situ, but surely not problem managers. They might, of course, visit in the course of managing a problem, but if they stayed remote from the service management their effectiveness could well be impaired.
_________________
"Method goes far to prevent trouble in business: for it makes the task easy, hinders confusion, saves abundance of time, and instructs those that have business depending, both what to do and what to hope."
William Penn 1644-1718

[GCLOONY]

Guys, Thanks for all of your thoughts.

However, to be clear, it is still outsourced but some of the guys think that the PM should be sitting onshore than sitting somewhere and doing stuff.
So what we thought is getting our outsourced PM onshore

GC

[swansong]

[GCLOONY]

Becoz most of our problem SPOCs are sitting onshore including service management. we thought it would be easy.

So MY intial ques it what you asked what are the other benefits?

[swansong]

[Diarmid]

Gcloony,

there is absolutely no way to answer your question without reference to your service management system. If you publish your procedures, SLAs, contracts, organizational structure and capabilities and some other stuff, we could probably make useful statements in answer to your question.

As it is we could offer a few generalizations, theories and hypotheses, but even if they sound good, they are not to be trusted (becuase you do not know who we are or what we know).

Far better to brainstorm within your organization than ask a bunch of strangers for uninformed opinions.

Finally, if, with your greater insight into the situation, you cannot already see the glimmer of benefits, it might be because there are none.
_________________
"Method goes far to prevent trouble in business: for it makes the task easy, hinders confusion, saves abundance of time, and instructs those that have business depending, both what to do and what to hope."
William Penn 1644-1718