ITIL Software

[simmian]

Any recommended software for implementing ITIL within a medium sized organisation. At present we use Heat. Just wondering if any experienced ITIL practitioners could recommend an "out of the box" quality ITIL solution. I apologise if this is not the correct place to ask this and I hope I dont get loads of sales people on my case.

[UKVIKING]

ITIL is not a software product so you cant go out and by ITIL in a box.

Well you can when you order the books because they come in a box

ITIL is the processes that you do in order to operate IT environments

dealing with incidents, problems, changes etc

as to a tool, heat is as good as any of the other tools that are out there. never used it.

the question is

are your processes documented w/o reference to the tool or does yoru processes documentation merely show you how to use the tool

the tool should be based on your processes and shoudl complement them and follow the flow within your environment's processes

if you have to change yr processes to fit the tool's way of doing things, then you have the wrong tool or the wrong impleemtnation of the tool
_________________
John Hardesty
ITSM Manager's Certificate (Red Badge)

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

[UrgentJensen]

Hi simmian,

Do the foundation course first, if you try and implement by just buying the software then you'll fall flat on your face. You need to get to grips with the concepts first, they're fairly simple, but forget about implementing because it ticks some director's box.

Check other parts of this site for info that'll set you out on the right course.

Good luck (it's worth it, by the way!)

UJ
_________________
Did I just say that out loud?

(Beige badge)

[simmian]

Thanks for your help I realise that its all hard work and I appreciate your comments I was just after some recommendations for s/w to run alongside an ITIL implementation Im not expecting it to do it all and I would imagine its a generic process

[asrilrm]

Ouch!
Don't ever think you can implement ITIL at once, you will fail.
My suggestion is to do the implementation in stages.
You can find a lot of articles about this on the internet

And welcome to the wonderful world of ITIL

[Doober]

simmian,

In latin they say "caveat emptor" - "Let the buyer beware". This is more true in our industry than many others. Every vendor out there (especially the big players) are going to tell you with a straight face "yes, our solution is ITIL". Those of us who've been around realize what a ridiculous statement this is, but it hasn't changed the dynamic.

Slightly scarier, these big players love sending in consultants to help you set up ITIL processes to which you can add to the tool they sell you. Half the time these guys have no understanding of your business needs, nor do they care. What they are there to do is tow their company line on what ITIL should look like.

The first thing your organization needs is an internal ITIL champion. As the champion builds a culture for ITIL processes, then you start worrying about a tool.

What you want to look for in a tool is FLEXIBILITY. Don't don't DON'T buy into the pervasive bullshit that "our tool comes fully ITIL compliant in modules X, Y, and Z". What they're really telling you is that their tool is inflexible and your world view should conform to theirs.

A good FLEXIBLE tool will allow you to decide on the processes that drive your business and implement them to your benefit.