1919E-7

Unleashing the Power of Integrated Service Delivery

Harris Kern's Enterprise Computing Institute Solutions for IT Professionals

Delighting IT customers: the real-world, start-to-finish guide

IT Services is the first 100% customer-focused guide to satisfying the consumers of your company's IT services — and building the loyalty your IT organization needs. In this book, three leading IT professionals present a fully integrated, comprehensive approach to service delivery in today's global, distributed environments.

You'll discover how to establish processes, service and cost models, performance measurements, and "stretch" goals that achieve clear business benefits-and then transform those goals into reality.

• Proven results, benchmarks, and case studies — not just theory!

• Linking goal-setting, process development, and metrics to the goals of the enterprise — step-by-step

• Gaining buy-in from management, internal customers, and external suppliers

• Building stable, predictable and cost-effective application support infrastructures

• Structuring support services for maximum effectiveness

Applicable to both in-house and outsourced operations, IT Services offers a total roadmap for executives building enterprise-wide operations centers; practical help for managers seeking to deliver cost-effective support; and invaluable insight for IT "customers" who need to know what they can expect from their technology professionals.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 11 Ratings

Focus is on the critical production support processes - 2000-12-29
Reviewer Rating:
This book is one of, if not the, best guides to developing, implementing and managing a mature production support organization.

The value of this book is that it takes a business-centric approach to service delivery, and augments material on service level management (such as Foundations of Service Level Management - another excellent book).

Specifically, this book contains sorely needed body of knowledge in a profession that has lost its way. What I mean by this bold statement is the production support function in many IS/IT departments has devolved from service delivery to infrastructure management. IT Services brings the focus back to where it belongs: supporting the business.

What I like most about this book is it not only shows what is wrong with most production support organizations, but it provides a clear roadmap to how to restructure production support from an infrastructure management focus to a service delivery paradigm.

I highly recommend this book to anyone in production support, consultants and IT/IS executive management. It would also be useful to ISPs and ASPs because most of the material can be applied to internal or external customers.

Excellent reading if you deal with IT data centers. - 2001-09-28
Reviewer Rating:
This is a book that many IT managers have to read, it's a quick meal though, no details but a balanced dose of good ideas and a window on Service delivery where IT data centers is no longer a "cost center". The only thing I did not like is to center the data center around SUN and Oracle or a brand in general, although it is clear the book reflects the authors experience in SUN/Oracle environment.
I advise anyone who has anything with today's data centers (no matter his or her technical level) to read this book.

Great concepts but lacks examples - 2002-04-01
Reviewer Rating:
I bought it with the objective of having it as a reference for managing data center operations. The ideas and concepts were very interesting, and I totally agree that the starting point should include determining linkages with the core business and getting management support. Most useful to me are the following chapters:

Processes and Procedures - gives a framework on processes such as customer communication, internal communication, and change control.

Resource and cost model - helps determine the types and amount of resources (material, human, etc.) that are needed to efficiently serve requirements.

Measuring Success - discusses service levels and their measurement and coming up with service level agreements (SLAs)

The Appendices on job descriptions and sample SLA is also a great help.

The reason why I'm only giving 3 stars is that the authors could have given more examples as they explain the concepts. A line in the back cover page says "proven results, benchmarks and case studies--not just theory!" Sad to say, except for the sample SLA, this was not really delivered. It would help if the authors came up with even a fictitious company and apply the concepts to it.

Again, the ideas and concepts are great, but the authors could have given more examples to help explain them. So if the authors come up with a new edition or a sequel that addresses this, I'd be most interested in buying it!

It confusing Services? - 2004-02-06
Reviewer Rating:
This book is very formal approach to IT services. Please don't give it to your customers/clients it will scare them. If you need humor or analogies to make things clear consider another book.The book is very hard to read with wordy sentences. Simplicity is much better, and this book makes some things even more confusing.

An adequate review of the topic - 2001-09-19
Reviewer Rating:
a small, concise exploration of the topic; some good ideas and good thoughts on a rare topic. Probably would have benefited from a broader view of its topic. Not a bad book though.

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