Service Catalog Community and Blog

ITIL Service Catalogs are hot stuff in Singapore! Says David From Pink Elephant

RodrigoFlores — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:52:39 -0700

This super funny and yet useful. It seems my fried Troy and David of Pink Elephant had a good time in Singapore.

Great Discussions Worth Revisiting. ITIL and other Service Catalogs

RodrigoFlores — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:14:00 -0700

Here's a summary of recent, really good conversations from our catalog community. Start with... Does anyone have a GARTNER or FORRESTER article showing the ROI for implementing a Service Catalog? Which lead to a good discussion of ROI. Btw, Gartner just published something new on the topic "IT Service Portfolio Management and IT Service Catalog Tools" By: Debra Curtis; Kris...

1000 people have registered! ITIL v3 Service Catalogue Certification

RodrigoFlores — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:41:52 -0700

Don't forget to register for this monday's seminar!! We have 1000 people registered to find out about ITIL v3 Service Catalogue Certification. This is the official ITIL v3 Certification for Service Catalogue Webinar with APMG, Pink Elephant, and newScale. And the first time ITIL practitioners will be able to find out what's new! With your help can we get to...

Cloud computing hype? Remember the web?

RodrigoFlores — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:21:30 -0700

I've been working on our new cloud computing and virtualization products. And some of the feedback is that cloud is overhyped and just not going to happen because of all kinds of issues, like security, privacy, lack of controls, etc. The comments remind me of 1996 and the emergence of the web into the public consciousness. Back then, there were...

Stop Playing Service WhackAMole. Learning About Demand Failure #ITIL

RodrigoFlores — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:05:00 -0700

I've written extensively about service catalog adoption being the most important success metric. And I've been talking about Service WhackAMole, not a tasty treat, but a stupid game companies play. This is when IT responsiveness was so bad, that the business units hired extra contractors to coordinate IT. When a crappy web self-service generates more calls plus the maintenance costs....

Service Level Managers, Pay Attention: The 10 Laws of Cloudonomics

RodrigoFlores — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:21:00 -0700

How do we build capacity plans? Look at last year add a reasonable growth pattern. This works fine until a black swan arrives. Our current recession is black swan: theoretically possible, but nobody planned for it. So as a new economic reality settles in, the ability to provision IT services is as important as the ability to DEPROVISION them on...

Video: Build trust in IT with a service catalog. #ITIL

RodrigoFlores — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:16:49 -0700

This is cool. Jason Hiner of Tech Repuublic created a video version of my Build trust in IT with a service catalog. Very nice job. For those of you who prefer text over video, you can click the “Transcript” link underneath the video or you can read the original article from Rodrigo Fernando Flores that this episode was based on:...

A Cautionary Tale: Will Provision for Food?

RodrigoFlores — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:27:16 -0700

Steve loves servers. He hugs them. He talks to them. He says they talk back in their strange whirring language. He patches their ouchies. He keeps them cool and feeds them only the cleanest electricity money can buy. Then changes started. The CIO said, "People, our customers want us to be as easy to do business as that Amazon cloud...

ITIL v3 Service Catalogue Certification

RodrigoFlores — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:44:13 -0700

ITIL v3 Service Catalogue Certification. Official ITIL v3 Certification for Service Catalogue Webinar with APMG, Pink Elephant, and newScale APMG, Pink Elephant and newScale recently announced the new ITIL v3 Service Catalogue training qualification - approved with independent review by itSMF International. What does this new qualification mean for you? How will this help you attain ITIL v3 credits and...

No Catalog, No Cloud

RodrigoFlores — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:46:55 -0700

Cloud computing is an operational model built on top of virtualization. This operational models depends on: 1) Standardization of configurations 2) Clear offerings for environments 3) Clear resource and workload definitions 4) A self-service configuration system for customers 5) Lifecycle management by customers (what's on, what needs to go off, change, etc) 6) Basic resource accounting and charge back 7)...

Employees: The Direct Route to Customers' Hearts - ITIL

RodrigoFlores — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:46:48 -0700

I call this the mirror effect. Or the business version of the golden rule. Treat your service people right and they'll treat your customers right. But specifically it says this: Research involving more than 30,000 customer service employees conducted earlier this year by the Corporate Executive Board indicates that there is a close connection between employees' work experience and customer...

Emergent Consensus: Private Cloud Needs a Front Office Part 1

RodrigoFlores — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:56:49 -0700

Last week I attended Structure 09, one of the better cloud computing conferences. Everyone I could hear the echo of the need for a service catalog; often it was implicit. For example, everyone spoke about the need for standardization and multi-tenancy, about the need to abstract computing resources from the application to enable moving workloads as needed. Which in my...

Federal CIO: "Make IT 'Storefront' A Reality With Service Catalogs" ITIL

RodrigoFlores — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:50:00 -0700

Federal CIO totally gets it. For large enterprises, the procurement of IT hardware, software, and services is in desperate need of an overhaul. Federal CIO Vivek Kundra would like to see the GSA provide a central location for ordering these services, and eventually to move its IT procurement processes away from schedules and toward what he calls a "storefront" model....

Show me the ROI! Show.Me.The.ROI!! ITIL Service Catalog Payback Exposed

RodrigoFlores — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:02:00 -0700

I get this question a lot: what is the ROI on a service catalog. Recently, Manny and Chip asked it on our community group. Here's an excerpt from my answer. There's absolutely ROI from implementing a service catalog tool set which always includes process automation I have less insight about the paper kind. In my business, we often have to...

Service Catalog 101: Introducing a New Blog From my Colleagues at newScale

RodrigoFlores — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 06:14:00 -0700

At newScale, if may toot our horn for a bit, we've forgotten more about service catalogs that most other companies can put together. Those are BIG words, and I am going to back them up! Except, I'm not doing it alone. There are many talented people at newScale who know more than I do. And we now have their voices...

10 best practices for the service request catalog. No. 9

RodrigoFlores — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:43:52 -0700

It's Thursday, Martes, Donnerstag, 木曜日, Четверг -- ready for...

Troy's update: Extra Extra Official ITIL Certification for Service Catalog

RodrigoFlores — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:38:38 -0700

“The Service Catalog - Cornerstone of IT Service Management” Having just landed from our 3 week PinkPERSPECTIVE tour (and boy my arms are tired) I would like to comment about the exciting news on the ITIL education front that broke on Monday of this week. Since the launch of the ITIL v3 certification model two years ago we have heard...

10 best practices for the service request catalog. No. 10

RodrigoFlores — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 03:29:00 -0700

And here is the final one! Next week we are back to our regular postings. For the next two weeks, we are going to publish our 10 best practices for the service catalog request portal every single day. Then they'll disappear for a two months (why? because our book publisher is not entirely comfortable with giving away valuable articles.) My...

10 best practices for the service request catalog. No. 7

RodrigoFlores — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:29:00 -0700

Back to our regular programming. Have a nice Tuesday!, Marte...

APM Group Announcement of ITIL Service Catalog Certification

RodrigoFlores — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:01:13 -0700

Here's the official link and an excerpt quoting yours truly. Service Catalogue is a new qualification that looks at new ways to control demand, publish and track service pricing and cost, and automate service request management and fulfilment. Service Catalogue also looks at ways to help reduce cycle time. Implementing workflow can reduce the time it takes to fulfil services,...

10 best practices for the service request catalog. No. 8

RodrigoFlores — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:29:00 -0700

Here's number 8. For the next two weeks, we are going to publish our 10 best practices for the service catalog request portal every single day. Then they'll disappear for a two months (why? because our book publisher is not entirely comfortable with giving away valuable articles.) My recommendation? Subscribe to this blog with this icon and you won't miss...

10 best practices for the service request catalog. No. 6

RodrigoFlores — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:29:00 -0700

It's a holiday in the U.S. -- Labor Day. But here is part 6. For the next two weeks, I am going to publish our 10 best practices for the service catalog request portal every single day. Then they'll disappear for a two months (why? because our book publisher is not entirely comfortable with giving away valuable articles.) My recommendation?...

Official ITIL Certification for Service Catalog Education Launched Today

RodrigoFlores — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:18:22 -0700

Today, APM Group, with the support of newScale, Pink Elephant and endorsed by the International Qualifications Committee of itSMF® International (itSMFI), are announcing the development of a new, stand-alone certification for IT practitioners interested in the creation and maintenance of a best practice Service Catalog. This will become a new international certification based on IP from newScale and Pink Elephant....

What's the Cost of Building a Whole IT Front Office Suite?

RodrigoFlores — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:14:00 -0700

Buid your own service catalog toolset or acquire one? Hmm... Let's look at the cost, with HUMOR!! All kidding aside, either the menu is a piece of paper or it's an operating model... Which one do you think it is?

When it Comes to Service Portfolio Management, I'll Have What She is Having.

RodrigoFlores — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:10:00 -0700

My product managers are having way too much fun.... Check it out

10 best practices for the service request catalog. No. 5

RodrigoFlores — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:28:00 -0700

For the next two weeks, we are going to publish our 10 best practices for the service catalog request portal every single day. Then they'll disappear for a two months (why? because our book publisher is not entirely comfortable with giving away valuable articles.) My recommendation? Subscribe to this blog with this icon and you won't miss a thing. 5....

10 best practices for the service request catalog. Number 4

RodrigoFlores — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:28:00 -0700

10 best practices for the service request catalog. No. 3

RodrigoFlores — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:28:00 -0700

10 best practices for the service request catalog. Number 2

RodrigoFlores — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:28:00 -0700

World Exclusive Interview - Blog - ServiceSphere

RodrigoFlores — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:08:01 -0700

World Exclusive Interview - Blog - ServiceSphere. The IT Skeptic sits down with ServiceSphere to talk, rant and inform on IT Service Management!

10 best practices for the service request catalog. Number 1

RodrigoFlores — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:28:00 -0700

For the next two weeks, we are going to re-publish our 10 best practices for the service catalog request portal every single day. My recommendation? Subscribe to this blog with this icon and you won't miss a thing. 1. Make it easy to find! The Service Catalog is not effective unless the requesters actually use it – otherwise, they will...

Any Wino Theory: If We Are Really a Team, How Come We Never Practice? (Part 1)

RodrigoFlores — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:31:06 -0700

Lots of people in ITIL talk about the importance of team work. Too me, too often, it gets very none actionable and touchy feely. Well my friend David Ward has been leading technology teams since before CPM tribes roamed the earth, and he has a very interesting and amusing perspective on his blog: ANY WINO theory. The theory states: Half...

SF Business Tech Examiner: IT service catalogs—IT’s hidden secret

RodrigoFlores — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:33:29 -0700

Even my local evening paper is now following service catalogues and name checking me. How cool is that? SF Business Tech Examiner: IT service catalogs—IT’s hidden secret. What are IT service catalogs? A service catalog is simply defined as a list of services or products that an organization provides to its customers. In a sense, service catalogs are an ordering...

newScale and Pink Elephant selected by South African Airways for IT transformation initiative

RodrigoFlores — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:35:17 -0700

ITWeb :Pink Elephant selected by South African Airways for IT transformation initiative. South African Airways selected Pink Elephant from a rigorous tender process, with the company focusing on the provision of clear, practical, service-oriented solutions and education, as well as introducing the “best of breed” newScale Service Catalogue as an accelerator. The newScale Service Catalogue software was proposed for its...

Cisco: Service Catalog is Critical to Private Cloud Strategy

RodrigoFlores — Sun, 31 May 2009 14:48:29 -0700

Last I attended a very interesting live webcast with John Manville, VP of IT networks and data center services for Cisco, on their implementation of a private cloud, CITIES--Cisco IT Elastic Infrastructure Services. (The webcast is not available but the slides are.) There are two things I took away: Cisco has similar challenges to other large IT shops. The IT...

Service Catalog Imposters: 7 Things You Need to Know

RodrigoFlores — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:41:17 -0700

My marketing colleagues at newScale are preparing one wicked-useful and provocative webinar. It promises eye-opening, pragmatic-advice you can use today, and it may be even funny. The webinar is entitled: Service Catalog Imposters: 7 Things You Need to Know. It's a much needed topic. Service catalog is hot in 2009. So a bunch of vendors painted lipstick on their pig...

New blog and community

RodrigoFlores — Tue, 26 May 2009 12:13:59 -0700

Today I'm launching a new blog dedicated to the intersection of cloud computing, ITSM, and IT business strategy. As I've written before, I think virtualization and cloud are a sea change for the IT infrastructure groups. And therefore a big opportunity and threat for IT groups, ITIL practitioners and how IT aligns with the business. If you follow this blog,...

Citrix | Virtualization Information

RodrigoFlores — Mon, 25 May 2009 13:00:33 -0700

Citrix | Virtualization Information. Citrix is taking the approach with applications that they can be subscribed to by end users from any device from anywhere and still have a secure connection. According to Citrix, Dazzle is: * A self-service “Application Store” for corporate employees * A simple store front for applications published by Citrix XenApp * A familiar interface for...

Follow me on Twitter

RodrigoFlores — Tue, 19 May 2009 21:40:26 -0700

If you'd like to follow the conversation on twitter, find me as RFFlores

It'Deja Vu Again: (IT) Why Can't You Be More Like Amazon (Cloud)?

RodrigoFlores — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:40:12 -0700

When I first came up with the concept of a service catalog to drive fulfillment process back in 1999 (Yep. 10 years ago. Time flies when you are having fun.) it was obvious that internal shared services like IT needed to emulate the likes of Amazon. Well, here we are in 2009 and the wheel of time has brought us...

New Catalog Methodology

RodrigoFlores — Thu, 14 May 2009 09:12:20 -0700

Yesterday I sat through a very cool demo from our professional services group. This was not a product demo, rather it was the latest update to their newScale FrontOffice Methodology, implemented as a collaboration portal. The goals of this methodology are to make customers successful and independent fast. The newScale FrontOffice Methodology is designed to guide customer through the three...

Troy says: "When Defining IT Service Start From A Top Down Perspective"

RodrigoFlores — Wed, 13 May 2009 01:28:00 -0700

My colleague and co-author, Troy DuMoulin of Pink Elephant just posted a super useful blog post. Knowing where to start is half the battle and when it comes to defining IT services it is even more important. One of the frequently asked questions I hear when talking to people about defining IT Services in preparation for a service catalog project...

Service Catalog Practitioners are Needed to Build Private Clouds

RodrigoFlores — Sun, 10 May 2009 16:29:34 -0700

This article by Michael Vizard is interesting. It validates that you, my dear reader, have a very important role to play in the building of private clouds. Michael is getting at the heart of the challenge an enterprise faces when it decides to build a private cloud. One of the biggest strategic challenges facing IT organizations today is remaining competitive...

The (Ongoing) Evolution of the ITIL Request

RodrigoFlores — Tue, 05 May 2009 11:59:12 -0700

Rob has a great article on the importance of Service Request. Recommended The (Ongoing) Evolution of the ITIL Request. Now ITIL v3 elevates the Service Request to equal billing with the Incident. In fact, if importance can be measured by number of pages then Service Requests get slightly more of the “Peas Book” (Service Transition) than Incidents do. This is...

Question: ow do I map a service at the service catalog if the same service can be delivered in different manners to different clients ?

RodrigoFlores — Sun, 03 May 2009 13:30:00 -0700

Another useful thread that I think lots of people will find useful. The conversation was started by Paolo with a great question: How do I map a service at the service catalog if the same service can be delivered in different manners to different clients ? Do I map instances of the same service or I map the differences at...

Service Catalogue Practitioners Don't Fear The Cloud

RodrigoFlores — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:19:00 -0700

Thomas Bittman, a Gartner Group analyst, writes in Private Cloud Computing is Real – Get Over It. There’s an argument over whether the term “cloud” can be used to describe the changes taking place in internal IT architectures. How silly! Regardless of the term, there is a major trend playing out over the next few years where internal IT providers...

Killing us softly

RodrigoFlores — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:18:21 -0700

There's skepticism about cloud computing and the virtual data center. There ought to be. But it does remind me of the proverbial frog in the boiling water - getting killed softly. So when I read this post I was reminded of one of my favorite songs. And I loved the original but this is the one that gets me: Lauryn...

We are riding donkeys!

RodrigoFlores — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 10:03:53 -0700

My latest poll says 33% of service catalogs (so far) projects are riding donkeys; that is, have suffered slow downs due to cuts, but are still going in some shape. But 22% of project have gotten the Martian Death Ray -- canceled, obliterated, up in smoke. What am I talking about? This poll. See the results so far and you...

Case study time: How to Cut IT Costs and Govern Virtualization

RodrigoFlores — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 05:05:00 -0700

Siemens Business Services uses newScale Service Catalog technology - for both end user and data center services - to increase IT efficiency and reduce costs. They use an IT Service Catalog with their managed service customers for two functions: For self-service request management, to avoid service desk calls and improve end user satisfaction; To drive virtualization and green IT initiatives,...

Using Cloud Computing to Build Your Technical Service Catalog

RodrigoFlores — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 02:33:00 -0700

Cloud computing can be extremely useful to help build your technical service catalog. I read this short but very illuminating blog post by Gary Orenstein, The Enterprise Impact of Cloud Computing that supports this viewpoint. Cloud computing brings two major aspect of a service catalog to light: Price transparency and how our customers will interact with our Data Center services....