Travelling back up the M6 on the final leg of my return trip from ITSM24 in Reading I was listening to an “Essentials” mix from a favourite band of mine, James. Most of you will know their iconic track “Sit Down”. One of the lyrics reads “If I hadn’t seen such riches, I could live with being poor”. I’ve always interpreted that as the idea that experiencing something extraordinary or incredible can make it harder to accept anything less. That was very much my feeling on leaving Reading after a truly wonderful two days.
First and foremost, ITSM24 was a people event
I’ve been to more conferences than you can shake a stick at over the years. ITSM24 was almost entirely people and learning orientated. I’d compare and contrast it with another big IT service management event held annually – SITS in London. itSMF UK conferences are people-focused family gatherings with a bit of sales around the side. SITS is tooling and sales speed dating with education on the side. Don’t get me wrong, they are both enjoyable and uber-successful at what they do but respective commercial models dictate the focus. ITSM24 offered so much opportunity to talk and share ideas with fellow practitioners it was truly exhausting – the mix of social and education was spot on.
The future is bright
It struck me that the average age of presenters this year felt so much lower. Significantly, that did not diminish the quality, sage advice or guidance that was offered. Of course, the Young ITSM Professional award at Monday evening’s PSMA dinner showcases the industry’s future. I’m pleased and proud that CGI’s own Rhys Elis Jones got the highly commended award. Congratulations to the other finalists and recognising how proud BT must be to have the winner, Shannon Stronge, amongst their ranks. We will watch their futures with particular interest.
Maybe the most ground-breaking development for the future will have been missed by many. During Sandra Whittleston’s Tuesday morning presentation on experiential learning in higher education former itSMF UK Chair, Karen Brusch, shared that itSMF UK have made official representation to get service management included in the curriculum for GCSE Computer Studies. Yes, yes, yes, yes, a million times – YES!!
Diversity of themes
The final two talks on Tuesday’s Track 3 highlighted to me that ITSM24 offers something for everybody. First, the unique talent that is Jaro Tomik of CDW offered a number of perspectives on AI Ops and Machine Learning helping to improve your Mean Time to Recover (MTTR). The audience were appreciative of Jaro’s honest and often brutal assessment of tools and approaches to this emerging topic. Our audience chuckled in agreement when I (tongue-in-cheek) suggested that he could publish ‘Jaro’s Magic Quadrant’ as a refreshing alternative to other more established brands.
Jaro was followed by CGI’s own Roisin Weaver. Her massively thought-provoking session centred on the premise that we do our best work when our mind is at rest and we ‘feel good’. Roisin invited us to think of a time that we felt how we’d like to feel all the time and to use that as our baseline! For any Star Trek geeks amongst our number – I’m one – think Star Trek: Generations and the Nexus! Of particular interest was her assertion that our minds probably already have everything we need to be successful, but we often are slow at recognising it.
Those two sessions were poles apart in focus and topic but next-door neighbours in relevance to ITSM professionals in 2024.
Remembering where we came from
I cannot express how happy I was to see Daniel Breston receive the Paul Rappaport Award for outstanding and career-long contribution to ITSM. Humble, thoughtful, pragmatic, inspiring – just some of the words I could use to describe itSMF UK’s very own Texan! Daniel tells us he’s retired now but his support for itSMF UK through LinkedIn appears to be his new full-time role! Don’t ever change, Sir. Ever.
Interesting parallels
Without doubt, the award for interesting parallel went to Birmingham University’s Andy Ferguson. His presentation focused on the line he drew between their implementation of IT Service Continuity and the passing of his stepfather in early 2024. It may sound a bit gruesome and macabre, but his points were spot on and reminded me of my experiences when my father passed in 2022. The key takeaways were “Have a Plan” and “Keep it up to date”. Thanks, Andy. I really enjoyed your talk.
Best answer to a question at itSMF ever – and I mean it!
I love and I’m proud of our NHS and the people in it. In addition to the irrepressible Sally Bogg, NHS England introduced us to two more of their stars giving their very first talk at itSMF UK. Between 11:50 and 12:35 on Tuesday, Helen Thatcher and Michelle Fiedler spoke eloquently, honestly, passionately and knowledgeably about their journey to Federated IT Change Enablement in their product environment. A debut with so much promise! With just two minutes before lunch, as track chair, I got to ask them one question. “You mentioned that one of your KPIs was percentage of successful changes. How do you define success?” Their answer was “Every change has impacts on clinical outcomes for patients. That is our key success driver.” Mic drop, BOOM! Knowing that our National Insurance contributions are going to IT people with that focus in the NHS is so uplifting. For the very first time in an itSMF UK talk, I gave the speakers a “six out of five” score and simply wrote “WOW” in the comments. A special, special talk.
A humbling thank you
itSMF regulars will know I like writing a blog or two. Is my grammar perfect? No. Is it particularly cerebral? No. I like to think I write with passion, a little (appropriate) humour and hopefully pragmatism. To be awarded the itSMF UK Content of the Year award for my “Golden Guidelines of Practice Ownership” was both a humbling and proud moment in equal measure. Thanks to those who voted for me and congratulations to the other dozen or so who reached the vote stage. The standard of articles that reach the itSMF UK website and house magazine (Service Talk) is truly phenomenal. To all past, present and future contributors… never stop.
So onwards towards ITSM25 which will change location to Stadium MK in Milton Keynes. ITSM24 will truly be a hard act to follow but I have not doubt that we will. To those of you who may never have been to an itSMF UK conference: before experiencing the “riches” of the event you may very well be happy with where you are in your ITSM journey. Once you find out what your missing, you’ll never return to that simpler life. Next year… come to ITSM25 and sit down next to me.
Barry Corless
Barry Corless is Director Consulting Expert at CGI and a former Chair of itSMF UK.
