Jun 08

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Editor's Corner

On 28th March 2008, our 4th Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held and a newly elected council was put in place. Most of the members were asking why there was another AGM when the previous AGM was held on 17 August 2007. Due to the recent change in our constitution, the Singapore Registrar of Society has mandated itSMF Singapore to organize its Annual General Meeting no later than 31st March every calendar year.

The AGM started with the opening address of our President, Umar Chandran. Umar shared his thoughts on the achievements of the out-going council. After Umar's opening address, each council member provided a short introduction and an annual report of their respective portfolios. The AGM took an interesting turn during the election of new office bearers. Due to fact that the previous AGM was held only 6 months prior to this current AGM, the members felt that the term was too short for the previous council holders and made a resolution to retain each council member on their respective portfolios. Additional council member positions were created and they were filled with new office bearers.

In this issue, each council member will share their respective mission and objective for the up-coming year. This is an exciting times ahead and we look forward to more activities by the itSMF Singapore chapter.

We welcome questions, feedback and your input. If there is anything you want to see covered in the next issue, please feel free to email to us at newsletter@itsmf.org.sg

Yours sincerely,
Cindy Ling, Ho Eu Jin & Chan Hwee Hiong

Message from the President

1. How fast time flies. For those who did not attend the itSMF AGM on 28 Mar 08, here is a quick update:
   1. Most of the previous Council members were re-elected with 3 new additions, namely Linda Campbell who is leading in Events portfolio, Harold Petersen in the Intellectual Capital portfolio and Chen Bin in the Web Services portfolio. The Publications portfolio is still not filled, despite lots of coaxing for volunteers during the AGM. Meanwhile, Sushil Chatterji and JC Sekar have stepped down from their Council appointments.
   2. All the proposed constitutional changes were unanimously endorsed at the AGM. In addition, it was also agreed that the membership applications and renewals will be confirmed only upon receipt of payment of subscriptions. Also, if the subscriptions due remain unpaid for 3 months or more from the due date, all membership rights (even for renewals) will be revoked and the membership converted to "non-member" status. New applications will be required to reinstate the membership status.
   3. Following the successful itSMF Asia Summit last year, the various itSMF Chapters in the region will be centrally conducting the first ever regional survey on the adoption of ITSM and best practices within our sister itSMF organisations and countries. Our Secretary, Peter Edwards has kindly agreed to take the lead in coordinating setting up the framework for the various Chapter representatives to come together and conduct this important survey. The survey will most likely become an annual feature and will greatly contribute to the awareness of and adoption of ITSM in our regional proximities. It is also intended to provide newcomers adopting ITSM practices guidance on the first steps and issues that need to be tackled as they embark on their journey. We look towards the active participation of all in the ITSM community to participate in the survey proceedings.
   4. As informed during our Aug 07 AGM, we have partnered with Terrapin to organize our annual itSMF Singapore Annual Conferences under the itSMF Asia Summit banner. Our next annual event is in Oct O8 and were are already into the planning for this key event. Read all about it on our website.
   5. Meanwhile, following our Nov 07 annual conference, our bank balance is healthy and we are looking towards fully funding our Mini-Events so as to enable both our Vendor and User Members to come together more frequently to share and learn about ITSM best practices and activities within their environment.
2. The Mini-Events is of great concern to itSMF Singapore. Despite our invitations to the community, there seems to be general lack of interest amongst us in wanting to come together to share and learn. Over the past few months, Linda (our Events Member), has had great difficulties getting both vendor members and the user community to offer themselves as speakers. I too have written to all Vendor Members to come forward but got only 1 (ONE) response in return.
3. Is funding an issue? The AGM and Council have already agreed to fund the Mini-Events in full, to remove this from the equation. What then is lacking? My personal opinion is, unlike a very few of us in the community, there seems to be a general apathy to sharing. It appears that some are keen only to sell their products, but not themselves or their expertise. Others seem to be there just for the ride.
4. Let me share with you my personal experience and my intent in joining the itSMF Singapore Chapter in 2005.
5. As a newbie to ITSM, my task was to identify potential suitors, needs and capabilities in the market to embark on a major IT outsourcing project for my organisation. However, I was not a newbie to service management proper, having served previously in the RSAF with the Military Air Traffic Control organisation, where the demands in service management were much more stringent and in which I exacted strict standards in character, processes and professionalism.
6. But what I saw in the IT arena was an eye-opener. Though many books have been written in the IT industry, I soon realised that these were the least read by the very people these were meant for. Most of whom I had met were only familiar with their own marketing literature, but unable to articulate anything beyond or what else the market was able to offer.
7. The only few who had a heart for ITSM were those who were serving in itSMF Singapore Council, and most are still there since Day 1! It's through frequent engagements with them, and others who have passed through, I was slowly able to formulate the needs and requirements for my organisation, but with great difficulty. To do this I even joined the Council to understand the nuances within the itSMF organisation and where the whole ITSM direction was heading to.
8. That said I have had the privilege of previous service management experience in which I could relate IT best practices to what I already knew.
9. But what about the real newbies to the ITSM arena? They, most likely, would not have had previous experiences to lean on. Who then will preach, guide or show them what's available on the market and the dos and don'ts? How do they too become enlightened and go forth to push their respective organisations towards best practices and better service management in IT? Should they too again rely on the old soldiers in the Forum?
10. No, it's from YOU - both from the Vendor and User community. We need YOU to come together and LEAD. And, we look towards YOU for your active participation in the Mini-Events.

See you soon. Here's to better Service Management.

Umar Chandran
President
itSMF Singapore

itSMF Singapore Chapter Council

Feature Article

Republic Polytechnic's Diploma to fill ITSM skills gap

In today's complex business environments, organisations that actively leverage the use of IT encounter a multitude of challenges and are frequently confronted with the following questions:

• How can businesses improve the quality of services that are provided to their users through their service desk?
• How should a service provider respond to a crisis situation at their client's IT environment?
• Can IT initiatives be aligned so that the benefits that are reaped from these investments are more measurable?

In addition, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore annual survey on infocomm manpower in 2006 indicated that IT Services have one of the highest compound annual growth rates (CAGR) in Singapore - 6.8% in 2007 – 2008. The survey also shows an expectation for IT Services to make up the second largest segment of infocomm manpower in Singapore.

Republic Polytechnic's (RP) School of Infocomm Technology recognises and aims to address these issues through its graduates; it recently launched the Diploma in IT Service Management (DSM) programme together with partners, BMC Software and NCS Pte. Ltd.

This diploma is specially designed to develop students into IT professionals who are equipped with a combination of skills and knowledge in both Information Technology and IT Service Management (ITSM). Besides being technically savvy, students will acquire a blend of skills in both customer and process management based on global best practices such as ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library).

Delivered through RP's unique Problem-Based Learning pedagogy, the diploma extensively uses real-world scenarios to have its students directly experience how IT can be continually managed and coordinated to provide quality services to businesses. For example, students are placed in different support roles and presented with situations that require them to analyse and respond in a professional manner based on good practices prevalent within the industry and emphasized within ITIL.

The first cohort of students will be graduating in March 2009.

For more information on the diploma, please visit: http://www.rp.sg/courses/ict/dsm/index.asp or contact Chin Hong at goh_chin_hong@rp.sg

Agenda:

Welcome Address
Presentation: How will a Service 'Model' help the real people?
Delivered by David Llewellyn Jones, Senior Consultant, Lucid IT Pte Ltd

In this presentation, David will discuss a misalignment between customer requirements and service delivery performance. This is also a problem for many internal service providers. The main part of the presentation will be based on a real life Service Model that was used to provide education and guidance.David will describe the analysis steps required to ultimately align current services to multiple customer requirements; both perceived and contractual and thence guidance for engagement with future customers.
Presentation: Implementing IT Service Management by an IT Managed Services Provider
Delivered by Paul Han Tau Kwang, Country Manager, Quint Wellington Redwood Singapore

Outsourcers reap tremendous scale advantages through the standardization of their people, processes and technologies. Thus, the provider that best achieves standardization flexes significant muscle in the marketplace.In a previous role as an internal consultant within a managed services provider, Paul led an IT Service Management program to standardize practices across a diverse range of customer delivery teams. This diversity defied a cookie-cutter implementation approach and challenged the implementation team to develop creative solutions. Paul will be discussing the challenges his team faced and will also be highlighting the various implementation potholes that attendees should steer clear of.
Question and Answer Session

Light Refreshments will be available at the end of the seminar.

Where: Asia-Pacific Centre for Management Leadership Pte Ltd
100 Orchard Road #04-100
Le Meridien Hotel
Singapore 238840

Time: 6.30pm - 8.30pm
Registration will start at 6.00pm

Category: General / Implementation
· Mercury ITIL Foundation: Mapping ITIL To The Real World
· Ten Steps to Modifying User Behavior and Reducing IT Costs

Category: Service Delivery
· ITIL - The Business Perspective

Category: Service Support
· Problem Management Key Best Practices
· What is Problem Management and how to Implement

Category: Speakers' Notes and Presentations
· Configuration and Asset Management - by IBM and BMC

Category: Intellectual Capital
· Service Level Management - Building a Service Level Agreement in the Data Center
· Service Level Management - The Future of Service Level Management
· Service Level Management - Implementing Service Level Management
· ITSM - Understanding Business Service Management

Category: Service Talk Magazine
· Service Talk Apr 2008 Issue

Category: More Case Studies and White Papers
· Requirements to Consider When Looking at ITSM Tools
· Using Network Behavior Analysis (NBA) and Service Asset and Configuration Management (SACM) to Improve Management Information
· Enable IT to deliver services to the business more efficiently. Help meet business service demands while minimizing costs.
· Service Desk/ Helpdesk Metrics and Reporting : Getting Started
· Six Sigma and ITIL and how they compliment each other
· Six Sigma and Change Management
· Implementing ITIL Using the PMBOK Guide in Four Repeatable Steps

Category: itSMF Asia Summit 2007 (various presentations from the Summit)