Information technology service management: an experimental approach towards IT service prediction

Dissertation presented to obtain a Masters degree in Computer Science

Development of IT Service Management in a Large International Company

The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to examine the IT Service Management (ITSM) capabilities of a large international company and develop a design for the IT Service Management of the company. The thesis consists of two parts: a literature review and a case study. The first part is the literature review. It examines different aspects of IT Service Management. The purpose of the literature review is to increase the credibility of the case study. In the case study, the IT Service Management of a large industrial company is assessed, and an improved design for IT Service Management is created. The services are limited to common IT services, and management is limited to operative management. To assess and develop the case company’s IT Service Management, the IT organization and its ITSM capabilities are analyzed, and on the basis of the analyses, an improved IT Service Management model is created. As a result of the analyses, it was found out that the management of the IT organization is function-oriented. Therefore, the organization needs a management model that breaks the functional borders and brings services to the center of management. The designed model aspires to achieve this by defining IT services and modeling management processes from the service perspective.

IT service catalog : a case study of the implementation need in a Pan-Nordic Insurance Company

IT service catalog is an increasingly important issue as many IT organizations have been realizing it as a central communication and visualization tool to bridge the gap between IT and the business. This study reviews relevant literature on IT service catalog and related issues on IT services delivery. Furthermore, the study shows how IT service catalog can enhance IT effectiveness as well as provide more benefits when integrating with Configuration Management Database. In order to analyze whether IT service catalog is needed to be implemented in a Pan-Nordic Insurance Company, this study also investigates the current IT services delivery of a case study. The findings of the study show the problems in the current situation of IT services delivery in the case. The characteristics of IT service catalog are recommended in order to help with the mentioned flaws.

A Framework for IT Service Management Integration

The objective of this Master’s Thesis is to find out best practices for IT service management integration. Integration in this context means process integration between an IT organization and an integration partner. For observing the objective, two different perspectives are assigned: process and technology. The thesis consists of theory, framework, implementation, and analysis parts. The first part introduces common methodology of IT service management and enterprise integration. The second part presents an integration framework for ITSM integration. The third part illustrates how the framework is used and the last part analyses the framework. The major results of this thesis were the framework architecture, the framework tools, the implementation model, the testing model, and the deployment model for ITSM integration. As a fundamental best practice, the framework contained a four-division structure between architecture, process, data, and technology. This architecture provides a baseline for ITSM integration design, implementation and testing.

New capabilities:can IT service providers leverage crowdsourcing?

Technological advancements enable new sourcing models in software development such as cloud computing, software-as-a-service, and crowdsourcing. While the first two are perceived as a re-emergence of older models (e.g., ASP), crowdsourcing is a new model that creates an opportunity for a global workforce to compete with established service providers. Organizations engaging in crowdsourcing need to develop the capabilities to successfully utilize this sourcing model in delivering services to their clients. To explore these capabilities we collected qualitative data from focus groups with crowdsourcing leaders at a large technology organization. New capabilities we identified stem from the need of the traditional service provider to assume a "client" role in the crowdsourcing context, while still acting as a "vendor" in providing services to the end client. This paper expands the research on vendor capabilities and IS outsourcing as well as offers important insights to organizations that are experimenting with, or considering, crowdsourcing.

Primary vendor capabilities in a mediated outsourcing model:can IT service providers leverage crowdsourcing?

Crowdsourcing platforms that attract a large pool of potential workforce allow organizations to reduce permanent staff levels. However managing this "human cloud" requires new management models and skills. Therefore, Information Technology (IT) service providers engaging in crowdsourcing need to develop new capabilities to successfully utilize crowdsourcing in delivering services to their clients. To explore these capabilities we collected qualitative data from focus groups with crowdsourcing leaders at a large multinational technology organization. New capabilities we identified stem from the need of the traditional service provider to assume a "client" role in the crowdsourcing context, while still acting as a "vendor" in providing services to the end-client. This paper expands the research on vendor capabilities and IT outsourcing as well as offers important insights to organizations that are experimenting with, or considering, crowdsourcing. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessing Cybersecurity service quality in corporate environments

This study assess the quality of Cybersecurity as a service provided by IT department in corporate network and provides analysis about the service quality impact on the user, seen as a consumer of the service, and on the organization as well. In order to evaluate the quality of this service, multi-item instrument “SERVQUAL” was used for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. To provide insights about Cybersecurity service quality impact, DeLone and McLean information systems success model was used. To test this approach, data was collected from over one hundred users from different industries and partial least square (PLS) was used to estimate the research model. This study found that SERVQUAL is adequate to assess Cybersecurity service quality and also found that Cybersecurity service quality positively influences the Cybersecurity use and individual impact in Cybersecurity.

Proyecto de dirección de sistemas de información : Open Service Center

El objetivo de este proyecto, Open Service Center, ha consistido en la definición de la arquitectura para una plataforma integrada de herramientas de Software Libre que den soporte a la gestión de servicios TI de diferentes áreas de negocio.

Service Management for Service Desk

Palvelunhallinnan kehittäminen Service Desk ympäristöön johtaa parempaan työnkulun hallintaan. Service Deskin päätehtävänä on toimia ainoana yhteyspisteenä asiakkaalta tietohallinto-osastolle. Jokainen yhteydenottopitää kirjata ja se pitäisi olla jäljitettävissä. Tapahtumien eli insidenttien kirjaaminen tapahtuu pääasiassa Service Desk -funktiossa, joka omistaa niistä jokaisen. Tapahtumien hallintaprosessin tehtävänä on etsiä loppukäyttäjän tai IT-infrastruktuurin monitorointityökalun ilmoittamalle insidentille mahdollisimman nopea ratkaisu. Insidentit saattavat johtaa ongelmiin, jotka käsitellään erillisessä prosessissa. Ongelmien hallintaprosessi yrittää etsiä vikatilanteen pohjimmaisen syyn. Kun pohjimmaisin syy on löytynyt, prosessi lähettää muutospyynnön muutosten hallintaprosessille. Jotta päästään mahdollisimman hyvään tehokkuuteen, pitää määrittää asiakasrajapinta sekä mittarit. ITIL-malli tarjoaa prosessit IT-palvelunhallinnan kehittämiselle. Kansainvälisesti tunnettuna 'de factO' standardina sitä voidaan soveltaa globaaleissa yrityksissä. Tässä työssä keskitytään erään lääkkeiden jakelussa toimivan yrityksen tietohallinto-osaston Help Deskin nykytilan määrittämiseen. Työssä myös kuvataan tietohallinto-osaston tavoitetila, jossa keskitytään Service Deskin IT palvelunhallinnan kehittämiseen. Muut prosessit ja mittarit on kuvattu niiltä osin, jotka tulee huomioida Service Deskin seuraamisen ja ohjaamisen kannalta.

LVI- ja sähköurakoinnin raportoinnin kehittäminen IT-palveluyrityksessä

Työn tavoitteena oli kehittää LVI- ja sähköurakointitoimialan asiakkaille tarjottavaa raportointia IT-palveluyrityksessä. Raportoinnin tulisi soveltua paremmin yrityksen ohjaamiseen ja sen avulla yrityksen tulisi tietää kannattavuutensa, rahoitustilanteensa ja liiketoimintansa kehityssuunnat. Tarkoituksena oli suunnitella raportointimalli, joka soveltuu toimialan pienten ja keskisuurten yritysten käyttöön. Tutkimus toteutettiin konstruktiivisena eli tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli luoda uusi ratkaisumalli käytännön ongelmaan. Konstruktion rakentamiseksi työssä selvitettiin LVI- ja sähköurakoinnin erityispiirteitä, yrityksen ohjaukseen vaikuttavia tekijöitä ja menetelmiä sekä raportoinnin periaatteellista ja teknistä toteuttamista. Näiden osa-alueiden avulla luotiin raportointimallille vaatimukset, jotka sen tulisi täyttää. Tämän jälkeen kuvattiin raportoinnin nykyinen tekninen toteutustapa ja sen sisältämät osa-alueet. Selvitettyjen vaatimusten ja nykyisen raportoinnin ongelmien perusteella luotiin alustava raportointimalli, jonka käytännön merkitys selvitettiin haastattelemalla 11 LVI- ja sähköurakointiyrityksen vastuunalaista johtajaa. Haastatteluista saatiin selville, että kahdeksan johtajaa olisi ollut valmis käyttämään konstruktiota. Alustavan raportointimallin ja haastatteluista saadun palautteen perusteella luotiin ehdotus raportointimallista toimialalla. Lisäksi IT-palveluyrityksen nykyiselle raportointimallille luotiin kolmivaiheinen kehityssuunnitelma, jolla raportointia voidaan kehittää luodun raportointimallin mukaiseksi.

IT-palvelunhallinnan parhaiden käytäntöjen implementointi

Tässä tutkimuksessa vastataan kysymykseen ”Kuinka IT-palvelunhallinnan parhaita käytäntöjä voidaan implementoida osaksi kohdeorganisaation toimintaa?”. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys muodostetaan parhaiden käytäntöjen siirron, tietojohtamisen ja tiedon siirron tieteellisistä keskusteluista. Tutkimuksen empiirinen osuus suoritetaan kvalitatiivisena tapaustutkimuksena. Tutkimuksen teoreettisessa osuudessa muodostetaan integroiva malli aiemmista tieteellisistä keskusteluista, joista tutkimuksen viitekehys rakentuu. Tutkimuksen empiirisessä osuudessa tutkitaan kohdeorganisaation edellytyksiä parhaiden käytäntöjen käyttöönottoon sekä toimintatapoja ja tukijärjestelmiä, joilla käyttöönottoa voidaan tukea. Keskeisimpinä kohdeorganisaatiolle suositeltavina toimenpiteinä esitetään yksikön sisäisen viestinnän tehostamista, tiedonhallintakäytäntöjen määrittelyä ja formalisointia, kannustavuuden lisäystä ja toiminnan mitoittamista resursseihin sopivaksi.

Developing A Knowledge Management Process Model for Internal IT Organization, Case: Stora Enso Oyj, Corporate IT

The objectives of this Master’s Thesis were to find out what kind of knowledge management strategy would fit best an IT organization that uses ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) framework for IT Service Management and to create a knowledge management process model to support chosen strategy. The empirical material for this research was collected through qualitative semi-structured interviews of a case organization Stora Enso Corporate IT. The results of the qualitative interviews indicate that codification knowledge management strategy would fit best for the case organization. The knowledge management process model was created based on earlier studies and a literature of knowledge management. The model was evaluated in the interview research and the results showed that the created process model is realistic, useful, and it responds to a real life phenomenon.

IT Financial Management In a Large Industrial Company

IT Service Management plays a key role in many IT organizations today. First IT Service Management principles founded in the early 1980s but the real adaption emerged in the end 2000s. IT Financial Management is one of IT Service Management’s processes. The main purpose of this thesis was study how IT Financial Management approach can be improved in a case company. Budgeting, accounting and charging are IT Financial Management functions. These functions are researched in this thesis. Thesis materials consist of both qualitative and quantitative material. The theoretical part consists mostly of IT Service Management literature while interviews and the case company’s information systems are researched in the empirical part. Thesis also reviews different kind of the systems which supports and automates IT Financial Management functions. The biggest challenge is the cost allocation with the current ERP system in the case company. It is worth to take group based system for allocation in use before there is a holistic system in a market. The case company should also develop its IT service processes forward.

The Finnish it industries in transition. Defining and Measuring the Finnish Software Product and IT Services Industries by Applying Theoretical Frameworks

The starting point of this study is that the prevailing way to consider the Finnish IT industries and industry information often results in a limited and even skewed picture of the sector. The purpose of the study is to contribute and increase knowledge and understanding of the status, structure and evolution of the Finnish IT industries as well as the Finnish IT vendor field and competition. The focus is on software product and IT services industries which form a crucial part of all ICT industries. This study examines the Finnish IT sector from production (supply) as well as market (demand) perspective. The study is based on empirical information from multiple sources. Three research questions were formulated for the study. The first concerns the status of the Finnish IT industries considered by applying theoretical frameworks. The second research question targets at the basis for the future evolution of the Finnish IT industries and, finally, the third at the ability of the available definitions and indicators to describe the Finnish IT industries and IT markets. Major structural changes like technological changes and related innovations, globalization and new business models are drivers of the evolution of the IT industries. The findings of this study emphasize the significant role of IT services in the Finnish IT sector and in connection to that the ability to combine IT service skills, competences and practices with high level software skills also in the future. According to the study the Finnish IT enterprises and their customers have become increasingly dependent on global ecosystems and platforms, applications and IT services provided by global vendors. As a result, more IT decisions are made outside Finland. In addition, IT companies are facing new competition from other than IT industries bringing into market new substitutes. To respond to the new competition, IT firms seek growth by expanding beyond their traditional markets.. The changing global division of labor accentuates the need for accurate information of the IT sector but, at the same time, also makes it increasingly challenging to acquire the information needed. One of the main contributions of this study is to provide frameworks for describing the Finnish IT sector and its evolution. These frameworks help combine empirical information from various sources and make it easier to concretize the structures, volumes, relationships and interaction of both, the production and market side of the Finnish IT industry. Some frameworks provide tools to analyze the vendor field, competition and the basis for the future evolution of the IT industries. The observations of the study support the argument that static industry definitions and related classifications do not serve the information needs in dynamic industries, such as the IT industries. One of the main messages of this study is to emphasize the importance of understanding the definitions and starting points of different information sources. Simultaneously, in the structure and evolution of Finnish IT industries the number of employees has become a more valid and reliable measure than the revenue based indicators.

IT:n ja liiketoiminnan välisen palvelutason hallinta ulkoistetussa IT- palvelumallissa

Knowledge and competence are in important role in today’s demanding business environment where hard competition forces everyone to specialize and concentrate more to core competencies. Companies are outsourcing services, making processes more efficient and utilizing better their staff and available knowledge capital. It requires good strategic planning, process measuring and management and motivated staff, who is willing to continuously learn and absorb new information. This Thesis examines almost total IT service outsourcing to international service provider in situation where company previously had own IT. Work contains problematic situations during the change and suggestions how to improve services and understand the new model in a better way.