skeptic's blog

How to tell whether your IT vendor is a product vendor or a consultant

Submitted by skeptic on Mon, 2007-07-16 22:21

In the new world of ITIL Version 3, skills in business and IT consulting become preeminent and the technology even more secondary. People who buy technology solutions to process problems will even more likely get what they deserve (a failure), and vendors who are boxed-product peddlers disguised as sellers of IP will cause even more havoc. So how to tell the box-droppers from the consulting firms who include technology in solutions? Here's a simple check:

A superb piece of IT Skepticism

Submitted by skeptic on Thu, 2007-07-12 22:01

I just read a superb piece of IT Skepticism, 10 "New Rules" for IT by Steve Andriole. I am not worthy...

Is ITIL V3 Foundations designed to suit the needs of the students or the trainers?

Submitted by skeptic on Thu, 2007-07-12 21:23

[Updated] ITIL V3 Foundations is clearly designed to meet business requirements of those who will be selling it. Does it also meet the needs of those paying good money to attend? Let the debate begin.

ITIL on eBay: an IT Skeptic Special Report

Submitted by skeptic on Wed, 2007-07-11 09:30

Here was I worrying about whether I had enough ®s on my ITILs, while out there on eBay there are people perpetrating the most appalling copyright violations and abuses of trademark. Here are a couple of examples. To the two thousand or so of you who bought stuff from these guys: SHAME!

The Sheep from the Goats: ITIL vendors and Version 3

Submitted by skeptic on Mon, 2007-07-09 08:19

ITIL Version 3 makes a big ask of the ITSM industry. It will be fascinating to watch how it shakes out. The scope of ITIL is an order of magnitude wider now: how many individuals and organisations will have the knowledge and skills to step up to the new requirements?

Let us start with an interesting quote:

Technology does not fix process problems, but that's still what people want to see

Submitted by skeptic on Tue, 2007-07-03 21:52

A lovely example of the "Someone screwed up. What are you going to buy to fix it?" mentality that plagues this industry:

The IT Skeptic's first impressions of the ITIL Version 3 core books

Submitted by skeptic on Mon, 2007-07-02 22:28

It will take years to fully read and understand the five core ITIL Version 3 books, so this is very much a superficial first impression. But first impressions count, right? [In this dumbed down world cynics might argue they are everything]. It may come as a surprise to some readers that I am capable of such a thing, but I like these books.

Wow, now itSMF USA has TWO presidents.

Submitted by skeptic on Wed, 2007-06-27 22:11

Congratulations to Rob Stroud on his apparent elevation to itSMF USA President!! Well, at least according to CA Hong Kong anyway, who bill Rob's keynote at their upcoming CA Expo as

The Current and Future States of ITIL – Mr Robert Stroud, President, itSMF, USA and Director, BSO, CA

How to subscribe

Submitted by skeptic on Wed, 2007-06-27 08:28

I've had several questions about how to subscribe to notification emails from the blog, so obviously it is not intuitive.

You need to register and log in. Once you are logged in, you can click on the link below each blog post that says "subscribe blog" and you'll get notified of new posts by me. If you click on "subscribe post" you'll get notified of new comments on that post only. You get auto-subscribed to anything you comment on.

Where to officially report ITIL book errors: "behind a locked door marked BEWARE OF THE LEOPARD"

Submitted by skeptic on Mon, 2007-06-25 21:39

ITSM View has drawn our attention to the official "Change Control System" for ITIL (and presumably other) documentation on the Best Practice site owned by OGC, APM Group, the Best Practice User Group, itSMF and TSO. He has done a great public service by doing so, because nobody else has, least of all the ITIL books themselves.

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