The Service Portfolio will become even more critical for EU-based enterprises and organizations in 2023 and 2024 because of the newly decided NIS2. I will return to this matter in another blog.
Both in terms of implementation and optimizing ITSM, the Service Portfolio and Service Catalog becomes difficult for many.
Why is this service catalog so tricky to understand (or build)? Also, after reading tons of blogs and books, many compare the service concept with other areas – like hotel services, ATMs, etc.
So not even ITSM experts can create a short definition that everybody understands and can work on without starting to compare to other areas – often consumer-oriented examples.
The theoretical definitions of services can be found in several frameworks, where the two most used frameworks in Europe are ITIL and FitSM.
The ITIL-based definition:
A means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve, but without the ownership of specific costs and risks.
FitSM definition:
Way to provide value to customers through bringing about results that they want to achieve.
Conclusion
Highly complex explanation of the most central things in a modern IT organization.
Of course, this is my subjective option. Still, after working as both advisor/consultant and finally as head of strategy/road-map of our ITSM360 tool, I find it difficult to explain and use in real life.
I hope that the expert group behind ITIL, FitSM, will make this Service Concept easier for us “normal” ITSM practitioners.