What are the issues adopting ITIL

Social/Political

• Changing a business model is difficult, even a new model such as I.T. A culture of how I.T. organizations and staff behave has been well established in most companies so effecting a change can be difficult. Most I.T. departments are established as small development shops with the service delivery departments (operations and help desk) being seen as a lower skilled, paid and status role. As such a switch to a service model may be resisted by the existing culture and have political ramifications as the organization seeks to retain the Status Quo

Intellectual

• A switch from a product to a service model requires a change in perspective. That change requires the capability to see the differences between the two and understand the changes needed both technically and, behaviorally. [It is not the technology but how you use the technology becomes the key]

Technical

• The technical aspects of changing an I.T. business model can become daunting if not address through planning. Many of the processes and support technology to operate as a service have not been installed due to a lack of priority as new functional developments are typically prioritized

Financial

• Converting to a Service Business Model can have significant financial implications both in terms of initial investment as well as ROI and customer satisfaction. The initial financial investment can be chilling if not planned and executed in a rational manner. Stakeholders may not be willing to invest in a large project with returns several years in the future as such staged investments maybe the best approach.

Change Management

• Changing from one business model to another is a significant challenge. Changing business models typically means changes on multiple areas simultaneously; Strategies, Processes, and Behaviors, Financial metrics and technologies or technology usage. Keeping track of these changes and coordinating these from an integrated perspective supporting the overall objective become a critical factor.

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