Usability Reigns Supreme

By Linda King, G2G3

It’s been a week of technological ‘revelations’. Microsoft have been demonstrating Windows 7 at the 'All Things Digital' conference in San Diego. A day later, Google were showcasing their latest Android technology which will be used to power a new generation of smart phones. Both are following quickly in the footsteps of Apple, with their hugely successful (and interactive) iPhone and iTouch. All are placing significant emphasis on communication, interaction and touch features. It’s good to see that despite the ongoing exponential increase in IT complexity, the technology giants all recognize that ‘humanizing’ our interfaces with technology is key. Technology may have played a fundamental part in creating the information overload we all experience, but now technology is being harnessed to help us manage this. At last, usability reigns supreme.

A laptop faux pas

By Linda King, G2G3


As a technology organization who have (almost) completely made the move over to Macs, we were all highly amused to spot this recent laptop faux pas made by Steve Ballmer, CEO of the Microsoft Corporation. (Image courtesy of paintitblack on Flickr)

Can you count the ITIL V3 processes??

By Linda King, G2G3

Just when I think that nothing else can surprise me in the world of IT Service Management, I spot something else which makes my jaw drop.

Whilst doing my normal round of reading of industry news sites, I noticed today a survey on the popular ITSM Portal site. It's on the right hand side - scroll down, you don't want to miss this one!

The Poll asks... 'How many processes do you see in ITIL V3?'

At the point of writing this, the answers were...

No processes - 8%
Five processes - 12%
Six processes - 4%
15 processes - 12%
27 processes - 24%
28 processes - 12%
29 processes - 12%
40 processes - 16%

Is it just me who is taken aback by the spread of responses to this? Why so much ambiguity? How can nearly one in ten people think there are no processes in ITIL V3?
Any advances on 40 anybody??

An ITIL V3 confusion scandal?

By Linda King, G2G3

The more I read about ITIL V3 across the web, the more annoyed I get. Everywhere I look, vendors, industry sites and white papers, constantly talking about 'transitioning', 'evolving' or 'moving' from ITIL V2 to ITIL V3. But before you book the removal vans, think twice. The fact many seem to forget (or don't seem to realize) is that ITIL V2 is still there within the body of ITIL V3 - it's a logical and welcomed expansion - not a complete replacement. Despite it being a year since the launch of V3, this fact still seems to elude many people. Vendors and other industry contributors have a responsibility to make this clear, instead of trying to leverage commercial gain from the confusion they are creating.

EXIN aiming high for ISO/IEC 20k success

By Linda King, G2G3

I recently received an e-newsletter from EXIN, the international examination body. What caught my attention was an extremely bold statement in the introductory paragraph. "We predict that in the years ahead, ISO/IEC 20000 certification focused on the emerging international ISO/IEC 20000 standard will root for first place in EXIN’s examination top 5". EXIN are quite obviously going all out (and investing significantly) to promote this new ISO/IEC 20000 certification as the next big thing - and who can blame them. But will there be such a paradigm shift that ITIL is knocked off the top spot in the near future?? Only time will tell.