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Abstract:
Most companies today depend on the normal functioning of various IT services and IT-dependent services. Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) has the main role in this process. The foundations of ITSM lie in Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices. By applying ITIL methodology incorporated in ITSM, the company tries to provide up-to-date services accessible to clients at the lowest production cost possible.
The paper discusses the ITSM model at the conceptual level. Since there are numerous software applications based on ITIL methodology and ITSM generic model, the paper focuses on the Hewlett-Packard's HP ITSM Reference Model. Service Operations component, one of the five key components of HP ITSM Reference Model, is discussed in more detail. The paper also analyses fundamental processes of Incident Management and explains the usual functions of the Service Desk. It takes a closer look at the Service Desk structure and functioning of the Help Desk.
The paper ends with the case study based on ITSM implementation in the Croatian oil company INA.
Keywords: ITIL, ITSM, Service Desk, Help Desk
Introduction
Most companies today rely on IT. This means that the core business process and the mere existence of the company depend on the normal functioning of various IT services, and IT-dependent services. In other words, the focus of most business activities is on services and service management. A successfully delivered service is a result of good organisational skills and synergy of the following three elements: people, processes, and technology.
Looking back to the past, the function of IT management has changed over time (Salle, 2004; Hewlett-Packard HP IT Service Management, 2003). In the very beginning of IT application, IT was understood as a company's technology provider, and from the managerial point of view, its role was to serve the IT infrastructure. IT management had to provide necessary IT resources and control technical compliance and functionality. Over the course of time however, IT has affected all segments and business functions of the company such as finance, procurement, production, sales and HR.
Nowadays, the new role of IT is primarily the role of service provider, and this has led to the development of IT Service Management or ITSM, with IT Infrastructure Management as its key component.. The focus of...