G2G3 at Service Desk Show, London

By Linda King, G2G3

Only a week to go now until the Service Desk and IT Support show next week at Earls Court! For the first time, G2G3 will have a stand there - we're be there at stand 716, so please come by to say hi and check out some of of our latest innovations - including Phoenix, our Business Continuity simulation and the IBM Virtual Service Management simulation.

We're also going to be running the simulation session for itSMF on day 2 (29th) - come along and take part in this accelerated simulation taster session, being facilitated by our Head of Business Development, Henry Strouts at 12.45. If you've ever wondered if ITIL simulation could provide benefit to you and your organization, then this will be the ideal session for you.

Also, don't miss our on-stand competition - enter to win an iPhone!

Look forward to seeing you there!!

Windows - Life Without Walls. Er… whats holding the roof up?

By Derek Watson, Creative Director, G2G3

The recent Microsoft 'Life Without Walls' campaign seems a bit odd to me..... I am not sure if I would like to remove the walls in our house, we like some privacy! Does this new marketing slogan instead reflect how open PCs are to hackers, viruses and spyware? If I am not mistaken, does a window not hold you back as much as a wall? I can’t throw a photobook through any of our windows without opening it and we have doors in our walls which allow me to do the same thing. And no walls, means no 'Windows', doesn't it?

Also, whilst watching the latest of Microsoft’s ‘You find it, we’ll buy it’ ad campaign, which has actors pretending to spend Microsoft’s money on a PC which isn’t a ‘pretty but expensive’ Mac, a few thoughts occurred (I can hear the groans).

If Microsoft were to say to me, ‘here is $1500, buy a computer, I am pretty sure I would spend as close to $1500 as I could (and probably still get the MacBook we have at home or the iMac.) I certainly wouldn't but the cheapest I could find at the predefined spec.

Apple have always projected the image of quality, ease of use and a sense of rebellion against the world of the standard PC, to those who like to ‘think different’, to whom price is secondary. Microsoft’s ‘Apple Tax’ is an odd sales pitch as it is saying ‘you know you really want a Mac but are too poor’… you would like an Aston Martin but get a Mazda (no offence to Mazda, they are excellent cars as I am driving our second Mazda 6 these days, but the Aston showroom is next door to the local Mazda dealer and I am pinning my hopes on Ernie the Premium Bond Computer! Is he a PC? There goes my DB9 then!)

The PC industry is obsessed with Netbooks at the moment but these are derided in the ads also, seen as too small as the shoppers go for big screens (which seem to be the same, if not lower resolution, as the the stunning ‘small’ MacBook LED screens).

The ads seems to back up Apple’s Macs are better than PCs campaign, but PCs are cheaper (unless you match the specifications), and that Macs are aspirational.

Sorry, blog-rant over, back to designing our new simulation...

What Ted said

By Linda King, G2G3

I was very recently called up by an over-eager sales professional (lets call him Ted to protect his real identity) who had made his goal in life (or for those 10 minutes anyway) persuading me to sign G2G3 up to participate in a brand new Service Management Virtual exhibition.

I have to admit, it did sound interesting to start with - his reasoning was sound, citing the economic climate, vendors attending less events due cost restrictions, travel bans etc. Oh - and itSMF were apparently supporting this event. And then he told me the cost. This completely unknown virtual event would cost us 8 times more than the largest face-to-face event in the year that we attend!

My shock was apparent - and his surprise at my shock even more so. I suggested this was too expensive for a small vendor like us, and asked him if there was a tiered costing system - as we certainly don't have the large marketing budget that many of the bigger vendors do. "No Madam (blood boiling by this point, I hate being called Madam), this unique event will create a level playing field for all vendors". Meaning the big vendors would pay exactly the same as us little ones. How ridiculous. We're not on a level playing field, so why make the smaller vendors pay the price? And thanks to policies like these, some virtual events may be over-representing the major vendors and not giving the smaller vendors an opportunity to showcase at all.

Ted then proceeded to give me an impromptu IT service management lecture, throwing lines at me such as "Do you appreciate the importance of IT service management in this economic climate Madam? (ggrrr)". Ok, I'm a Marketeer, but I'm also an ISO 20000 consultant with many years experience in this industry - so please don't insult me. He then put the icing on the cake with a short marketing lecture which included "Oh come on, you have to speculate to accumulate".

I'd like to say I was speechless, but I managed to find the right words.

So we won't be at that virtual event. And I don't think Ted will be calling me back in the near future....

Have your ITIL learning outcomes been positive?

By Linda King, G2G3

I've been reading some Gartner research and predictions with respect to the future of corporate learning - no real surprises there - increased focus on e-learning due to travel restrictions, inclusion of social networking tools, mobile learning etc etc. Safe, predictable predictions.

But what about the learning outcomes? It's assumed, for example, that the (rather massive) ITIL training market will simply continue a paradigm shift towards e-learning as opposed to face-to-face, thanks largely to the economic climate we find ourselves in. But even in e-learning format, is it really necessary to put countless numbers of people through this (time consuming, expensive and sometimes tedious) online training, as many organizations do? What's the learning outcome from doing this? (and I don't mean a nice certificate or addition to your CV!)

Shouldn't learning outcomes focus more on what the learner actually needs to know in their specific role? The key challenge shouldn't be exhaustive over-explanation of all ITIL processes - but instead should be how best to bring the learning as close as possible to the point of use of the learner. Learning should be immediate, relevant and enjoyable - creating a thirst for more knowledge and a desire to put what has been learnt into practice.

Have your ITIL learning outcomes been positive?