The Forum - 05/08/2008 (Plain Text Version)
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Growing Strong: National Capital LIG and ITIL®
By Kirk Holmes, President, National Capital LIG
National Capital LIG Leadership Team, with guest speakers, at the April 10 “You are the nucleus of knowledge and growth – not only for itSMF but for ITIL®,” remarked Sharon Taylor, Chair of the Information Technology Service Management Forum International (itSMF-International), in her opening remarks to a 177-person audience of the National Capital Area Local Interest Group (LIG) on April 10, 2008. Sharon, along with itSMF USA President David Cannon, worked with LIG leaders to create an enticing program for the nation’s largest LIG. An audience comprised of private and public sector IT leaders from Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia, was thrilled to hear two of the world’s top ITIL® and itSMF visionaries. At least one attendee travelled all the way from New York City just to hear the presentation. Sharon presented “The Whole Story of ITIL® v3” and led the audience through a journey of what has happened since the v3 launch in June 2007. She discussed how v3 is the convergence of strategy, governance and management practices for IT services and how it is no longer solely focused on operations. “Disciplines like enterprise architecture and application development have nowhere to hide now,” Sharon said. The CIO community is now paying attention to ITIL®, she explained, and awareness is a big objective of itSMF at the national and international levels. Because a common success factor of ITIL® is management acceptance and endorsement, the fact that CIOs are now taking notice bodes well for companies and agencies adopting ITIL®. Although we’re still in the monitoring and measuring phase of v3 adoption, early feedback from itSMF members and focus groups shows that organizations are showing strong results. Several areas, such as Service Portfolio Management, Governance, Service Catalog, and Business Case Development or ROI, in particular, are gaining particular attention, Sharon explained. This trend was proven during a celebratory breakfast earlier in the day for Sharon, David, LIG volunteers and invited VIP guests. One of the guests was a Chief Enterprise Architect and head of the Association of Enterprise Architects. With the lively discussion over coffee and pastries the discussion demonstrated how the family of ITIL® has grown well beyond the walls of traditional IT Operations. During her presentation at the main LIG meeting, Sharon concluded her remarks with a discussion of the complementary portfolio that supports v3 and she whetted the audience’s appetite with new materials being released now (i.e., Key Elements Guides, Study Aids and white papers). She also explained the new qualifications and certification process. “What is significant is that this is a body of knowledge being developed by the itSMF community,” Sharon remarked, and encouraged LIG members to get involved and contribute. Getting involved in itSMF USA® and the LIG was a key theme in David Cannon’s opening remarks. He provided an upbeat update of the organization’s mission and goals, stating that 2008 has been a “great year” so far. David reinforced the three-year goals of: 1) Brand Awareness; 2) Commitment to Excellence; and 3) Exceptional Membership Service, motivating the audience to get involved through the LIG. ITIL® v3 is based on the experience of more than 500 companies and thousands of practitioners, David said, and itSMF was a major development force. With more than 8,800 itSMF USA members, and 600 of those from the National Capital LIG, we can certainly shape the future of Information Technology, David concluded. And the time to get involved is now! Acknowledgements: The meeting was hosted by the gracious and generous Lockheed Martin Center for Leadership Excellence, a leading provider of IT services and ITIL® support. We thank Lockheed Martin for use of the beautiful facilities, for the extensive support of staff members planning the event and working the day of the event and for feeding nearly 200 hungry guests. Thanks to the event volunteers: Randy Crumpler (Event Coordinator), Bob Pierce (Event co-coordinator), Tom Kraly (host coordinator), Rose Holshouser (host coordinator), Erin Benbennick, Connie Creech, Lori Samolyk, Hope Station, Arun Simha, Tanisha E. Lockett and Jennifer Black. And thanks to the LIG officers who always put in extra time: Kirk Holmes, Jim Copio, Frank Spasaro, Tina Duy, and Tom Chester.
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