ITSM is a set of well-marked services that are built to address the needs of managing IT infrastructure, applications, business components, and related processes. Industry specialists recommend multiple practices to come up with the best ITSM services. The processes encompassed by these services are called frameworks. Based on the services provided, these frameworks provide a disciplined approach to service management.
What Is ITSM Framework?
As we have discussed, ITSM frameworks include all the processes and practices required to support and manage Information Technology services. Those processes widely range from networks and applications up to pure business services. To illustrate, there are various ITSM frameworks and standards like ITIL, IT4IT, TOGAF, eTOM, MOF, and COBIT.
Here we will give a brief overview of every ITSM framework.
Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)
First, ITIL stands for IT Infrastructure Library. It is an IT service management framework that defines the best practices for providing IT services. ITIL provides a systematic approach to IT services management to enable businesses to manage risk, enhance customer relations, introduce cost-efficient practices, and maintain the stability of the IT environment. Consequently, scale, resilience, change, and growth are enabled.
Throughout its history, ITIL has gone across numerous revisions to end up covering five books. Each book entails various processes and phases of the IT service lifecycle. You can find there the recommendations that enable organizations to standardize the processes of their service management.
The implementation of ITIL enables organizations to build predictable IT environments. As a result, you can deliver optimal customer service. So, we can say that ITIL is mainly tailored to integrate IT into the business, stimulate processes, identify opportunities, and enhance efficiency.
The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF)
TOGAF is another important ITSM framework that enables organizations to delineate business goals and align them with their architectural objectives. It helps them put down pre-project planning and accelerate processes with the least errors. Simply put, TOGAF adopts an agile approach to ease up applying your organization’s specific needs. What’s more, TOGAF is a free-for-all architectural framework.
TOGAF framework is divided into two essential groups: the fundamental content and extended guidance. The fundamental content encompasses all essential practices that formulate the foundation for TOGAF. And the extended guidance encompasses the guidelines for agile methods and business, data, and information architectures. Because of this, the extended guidance is expected to evolve more over time than fundamental content. So, we recommend all organizations bring TOGAF into their business operations.
IT4IT
IT4IT is a standard reference architecture and operating model for managing the business of IT. It utilizes a value-chain approach to design a model of the functions and operations that IT accomplishes to create a product and guarantee business competitiveness. The value chain is the main focus of IT4IT to make sure that value is added in each phase of the IT process. In other words, IT4IT is considered complementary to the ITIL framework.
Moreover, IT4IT describes the process of designing, procuring, and implementing necessary IT functions. There are many other benefits for IT4IT.
- Give the structure needed to organize IT management.
- Empower digital enterprises.
- Minimize IT management costs.
- Mitigate the risk of errors.
- Integrate efficiently with other frameworks.
- Accelerate software deployment.
Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT)
The COBIT framework is designed to help businesses implement, monitor, and improve IT management practices. ISACA developed the COBIT framework to bridge the gap between technical issues, business risks, and control requirements. Consequently, any organization, regardless of industry, can use COBIT to ensure the quality, control, and reliability of its information systems.
The COBIT framework helps IT professionals, business executives, and compliance auditors communicate using a common language. With the COBIT framework, they can communicate controls, objectives, and outcomes. Further, the auditors will be aware of the reasons and conditions for creating specific controls.
We can summarize the primary goals of the COBIT framework as follows:
- Enable organizations to accomplish their objectives for IT governance and management.
- Give an inclusive range of the best practices for IT governance and management.
- Enhance aligning IT objectives with business goals.
Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF)
MOF includes a set of 23 documents that define the processes of designing, implementing, and managing IT services. It incorporates the guidelines that guarantee to achieve full system reliability and availability of Microsoft technologies.
MOF can be divided into four quadrants of operational procedures. These quadrants are called service management functions (SMFs).
Changing Quadrant
This quadrant contains the functions that define, review, and approve changes in the managed IT environment. The changes can be applied to hardware, software, roles & privileges, and documentation.
Operating Quadrant
The operating quadrant entails the SMFs demanded to daily monitor, manage, and control service solutions. With pre-determined parameters, they help maintain service levels.
Supporting Quadrant
The supporting quadrant incorporates the SMFs needed to specify, assign, track, analyze, and resolve issues. The issues can be incidents, problems, and requests included in the service level agreement.
Optimizing Quadrant
The optimizing quadrant contains SMFs that facilitate aligning IT with business. It mainly focuses on minimizing IT costs while optimizing service levels. It also includes the process of reviewing outages and incidents, examining cost structures, staff assessments, performance analysis, and capacity forecasting.
Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM)
eTOM is a framework designed specifically for enterprise operations in the industry of telecommunications. The framework involves all the processes, best practices, models, and standards to be organized within three primary levels.
Look at the hierarchy of the three major areas:
- Designing strategy, infrastructure, and product.
- Stimulating operations and activities.
- Facilitating enterprise management.
With each of these areas, you will get various values and guidelines that range from supporting customers to managing business operations. It also standardizes the definitions so that employees and teams can communicate better. With each of these areas, you will get various values and guidelines that range from supporting customers to managing business operations. It also standardizes the definitions so that employees and teams can communicate better.
Final Words on ITSM Frameworks
All ITSM frameworks revolve around the activities, processes, and policies that organizations need to deliver and drive their IT environment. They also entail practices that guarantee smooth interaction between IT officials and business executives. Using Alnafitha IT’s team of experts and consultation services, you can ensure a flexible and resilient environment by implementing the ITSM framework.
