Building a SOC: just bricks and mortar, right?

Val Wilson explains what’s required to create an effective Security Operations Centre for customers.
Join us as we launch our NEW ‘Women in ITSM’ Community of Practice!

We are delighted to announce the launch of our ‘Women in ITSM’ Community of Practice (CoP).
Why do service design?

Service design is one of the most underestimated but essential stages of service management. Chevonne Hobbs explains why.
Announcing the 2024 itSMF UK Challenge Cup – enter your team today!

The itSMF UK Challenge Cup is back for 2024 – open to all member organisations and FREE to enter!
Design thinking and customer experience

There are many aspects to consider when designing a new service for customers, but what are the most important? The choice of technology? Lowest price? Design considerations? Or is it the quality of customer service? Human-centred design and design thinking focus on creating solutions (products, services and processes) that meet the needs of users, on the basis that customers will respond more positively to services that :are useful to them, satisfy their needs and provide a positive experience.
Securing IT information: the critical role of ISO 27001

Organisations can now create a robust framework by implementing ISO 27001 alongside ISO 20000-1, delivering efficient IT services, safeguarding the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive data, and providing good governance around cybersecurity and privacy protection. The relationship between ISO management systems has never been so well aligned. Bob Gettings of BSI explains the relationship.
Seeing clearly: the lens of objectives in ITSM

In today’s ever-evolving business landscape, success is no longer measured in terms of profit alone. As organisations strive to thrive in an interconnected world, a new paradigm emerges – one that encompasses not only financial sustainability but also the well-being of people, the health of our planet, and the strength of partnerships with customers. That all sounds very grand. But it’s also abstract. How do we as IT professionals make this real?
Business transformation at Bletchley

Simon Rolley shares his experience of an itSMF UK business simulation at the National Computing Museum in Bletchley Park.
Three green avenues to sustainable ITSM

When it comes to organisational or personal ‘values’ – i.e. the principles that guide our work – how do ITIL and ITSM respond to the ‘value’ versus ‘values’ debate? Whereas most organisations would list sustainability as a core value, ITSM doesn’t play a predefined role in delivering value for a more sustainable business. This lack of definition can, indeed, be an advantage for IT. We can help define, deliver, and empower sustainable transformation within our businesses.
The cream and jam of information security

Information security can be a pain at times. I think most people understand that the controls are there ultimately to help us, through keeping our data safe. But how are they viewed, and how willingly do people go along with them? Or to put it another way, even if our security controls make it easier to do things right than wrong, we probably have considerable power to cause harm to our organisations by misusing data. This is where it is not just what technical controls we use that matter, but also how we educate people.
Where’s the value in value if your consumers don’t see it?

Perception is reality. and if your consumers don’t recognise value from what you do, they certainly will recognise cost. In the current economic climate where competitors will claim they can do what you do ‘faster, better, cheaper’, this isn’t a good place to be. Ian MacDonald offers some pointers for demonstrating value.
Seven types of service support automation and seven steps to get you started

In this article we explore the different types of automation in a service support context. We focus on internal user support (IT, HR, Finance, Facilities, etc) but most aspects could equally be applied to external customer facing support.