In IT, organisations grapple with a host of common challenges. These hurdles span from managing complex infrastructures to addressing workforce skills gaps, and from navigating digital transformation to ensuring sustainability. As technology evolves, so do these operational obstacles, necessitating innovative strategies and proactive approaches.
Some common IT operational challenges that our IT Services Management team have encountered include:
A typical IT operations improvement journey involves a set of common steps with the end goal of achieving improved outcomes.
Our key strengths and resources for designing, building, and delivering services are listed below.
The list is not exhaustive and can be tailored as per requirements.
KPMG Powered Enterprise is an outcome driven, functional transformation solution that combines deep industry knowledge, global delivery capability, and market leading cloud technologies. It helps drive sustainable change, rising performance and lasting value for our clients.
It’s built on years of KPMG’s leading practice knowledge of business processes, delivery methodologies, operating models, and deep industry experience, together with a deep understanding of the leading technology platforms. It contains 3 main elements.
What is it?
IT Strategy and Transformation as an IT Service Management (ITSM) offering involves the development and execution of strategic initiatives to align IT services with business objectives and drive organisational change. It encompasses a range of activities, including defining IT goals, assessing current applications, processes, capabilities, implementing improvements, and leveraging technology to achieve business outcomes.
Why is it needed?
By developing a clear IT strategy aligned with business objectives, organisations can ensure that IT investments and initiatives contribute directly to business success. The focus is on enhancing the quality of IT services & aligning them with customer needs, resulting in improved IT operations and customer satisfaction.
Who needs it?
Strategic alignment
Strategic alignment ensures IT initiatives are in sync with business objectives, optimising resource allocation and fostering cohesion. It breaks down silos between IT and other departments, promoting collaboration and shared goals.
Innovation & agility
Innovation and agility drive organisations to adapt quickly to changes, identify new opportunities, and respond to challenges. By fostering a culture of innovation, companies stay ahead of the competition and create value for the organisation.
Operational efficiency
Operational efficiency streamlines processes, eliminates waste, and optimises resource utilisation across IT operations. It enables organisations to deliver services effectively, respond faster to customer needs, and drive innovation.
Risk management
Effective risk management involves identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks to protect assets, reputation, and continuity of operations. By implementing proactive measures like cybersecurity defenses and incident response planning, organisations minimise the impact of adverse events and maintain stakeholder trust.
Enhanced customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is vital for business success, driving loyalty, referrals, and revenue growth. IT plays a critical role by delivering high-quality products, services, and experiences tailored to customer needs and preferences.
What is it?
Tool agnostic review and implementation as an IT Service Management (ITSM) offering involves the evaluation, selection, and implementation of ITSM tools without bias towards any specific vendor or product. It focuses on identifying the best-fit solutions based on the unique needs and requirements of the organisation, ensuring compatibility, scalability, and long-term value.
Why is it needed?
It allows organisations to choose ITSM tools that best align with their specific requirements, workflows, and budget constraints, rather than being restricted to a single vendor’s offerings. It enables organisations to evaluate a wider range of options and negotiate better pricing, reducing the total cost of ownership and maximising return on investment.
Who needs it?
Flexibility
This approach provides organisations with the flexibility to choose ITSM tools that align closely with their unique requirements, processes, and business objectives. It allows them to select best-of-breed solution catering different aspects of ITSM.
Scalable solution
Scalability ensures organisations can effectively manage increased workloads, user demands, and service complexities. The agnostic selection would allow organisations to opt for a tool that would enhance their ITSM capabilities as operations grow.
Cost-effectiveness
By evaluating a wide range of ITSM tools and vendors, organisations can identify solutions that offer the best value for money in terms of functionality, performance, and total cost of ownership. This approach enables organisations to negotiate better pricing, licensing terms, and support agreements.
Innovation
Organisations benefit from access to the latest technologies and best practices, enabling them to stay ahead of the curve, adapt to changing market dynamics, and drive continuous improvement. It would enhance IT service delivery and optimise processes, and meet the evolving needs of both business and IT stakeholders.
Vendor independence
This approach reduces dependency on a single vendor, mitigating the risks associated with vendor lock-in, such as price hikes, or changes in strategic direction. Organisations maintain control over their ITSM strategies and roadmaps, free from external constraints imposed by proprietary systems or vendor-specific limitations.
What is it?
An IT Service Catalogue is a comprehensive list of IT services provided by an organisation to its users.It serves as a central repository of information about available services, including their organisation owners, descriptions, features, service levels, changes and any dependencies or requirements. The Catalog helps users understand what services are available, how to request them, and what to expect in terms of delivery and support.
Why is it needed?
An IT Service Catalogue provides users with clear and transparent information about the IT services offered by the organisation. It facilitates effective service management by providing a centralised and standardised repository of service information, it helps to streamline ITSM processes, improving efficiency and reducing turnaround times.
Who needs it?
Clarity & transparency
The catalogue provides clear and transparent information about available IT services, including descriptions, features, and service levels, reducing confusion and misunderstandings among users. This clarity enhances user satisfaction and trust in IT services.
Scalable solution
Scalability ensures organisations can effectively manage increased workloads, user demands, and service complexities. The agnostic selection would allow organisations to opt for a tool that would enhance their ITSM capabilities as operations grow.
Cost-effectiveness
By evaluating a wide range of ITSM tools and vendors, organisations can identify solutions that offer the best value for money in terms of functionality, performance, and total cost of ownership. This approach enables organisations to negotiate better pricing, licensing terms, and support agreements.
Innovation
Organisations benefit from access to the latest technologies and best practices, enabling them to stay ahead of the curve, adapt to changing market dynamics, and drive continuous improvement. It would enhance IT service delivery and optimise processes and meet the evolving needs of both business and IT stakeholders.
Vendor independence
This approach reduces dependency on a single vendor, mitigating the risks associated with vendor lock-in, such as price hikes, or changes in strategic direction.
Organisations maintain control over their ITSM strategies and roadmaps, free from external constraints imposed by proprietary systems or vendor-specific limitations.
What is it?
A CMDB (Configuration Management DataBase) is a comprehensive repository of all IT assets and their configurations within an organisation. It provides a centralised source of truth, enabling business and support teams in the organisation to understand the relationships and dependencies between various components.
Why is it needed?
CMDB is crucial for effective ITSM because it provides a comprehensive understanding of the organisation’s IT infrastructure. A CMDB offers visibility into the relationships & dependencies between various IT components, helping IT & business teams understand how changes to one component can impact others.
Who needs it?
Improved visibility & control
CMDB offers a holistic view of the IT environment, including hardware, software, and their interdependencies. This visibility enables IT teams to make informed decisions, identify potential risks, and maintain better control over the IT landscape.
Efficient change & incident management
With a well-maintained CMDB, organisations can streamline change management processes by understanding the impact of proposed changes before implementation. Similarly, incident management becomes more efficient as IT teams can quickly identify affected CIs and their relationships, leading to faster resolution times.
Enhanced service delivery
A CMDB serves as the foundation for various ITIL processes, such as service asset and configuration management (SACM). By accurately documenting service components and their relationships, organisations can improve service delivery, minimise service disruptions, and enhance overall customer satisfaction.
Risk mitigation and compliance
By maintaining a comprehensive record of IT assets and configurations, organisations can mitigate risks associated with unauthorised changes, security vulnerabilities, and compliance issues. A well-implemented CMDB helps ensure regulatory compliance and strengthens the organisation’s security posture.
Optimised resource utilisation
With better visibility into IT assets and their utilisation, organisations can optimise resource allocation, reduce unnecessary spending, and improve asset lifecycle management. This leads to cost savings and increased efficiency across the organisation.
What is it?
Service Integration and Management (SIAM) is an approach to managing multiple service providers and integrating their services to deliver seamless end-to-end IT services to the organisation. It involves coordinating and orchestrating services from internal teams and external service providers to ensure they work together effectively to meet business requirements. SIAM focuses on governance, collaboration, and integration to deliver value driven services that align with business objectives.
Why is it needed?
With the increasing complexity of IT environments, organisations often rely on multiple service providers to meet their IT needs. SIAM helps manage this complexity by integrating services from different providers into a cohesive and seamless service delivery model. It promotes collaboration and alignment among service providers, leading to improved service quality, reliability, and performance. It ensures that services meet agreed upon service levels and deliver value to the organisation.
Who needs it?
Improved service quality
SIAM promotes collaboration and alignment among service providers, leading to improved service quality, reliability, and performance. It ensures that services meet agreed-upon service levels and deliver value to the organisation.
Cost optimisation
By rationalising and standardising service delivery processes, SIAM helps optimise costs and maximise return on investment. It enables organisations to leverage economies of scale, negotiate better pricing, and eliminate redundant or overlapping services.
Enhanced agility
SIAM enhances organisational agility by enabling rapid response to changing business needs and market demands. It facilitates the adoption of new technologies, service models, and delivery methods, allowing organisations to stay competitive and innovative.
Risk management
SIAM helps mitigate risks associated with service delivery, such as service disruptions, security breaches, or compliance issues. It establishes clear governance structures, roles, and responsibilities to ensure accountability and transparency.
Improved customer satisfaction
SIAM ensures that IT services are aligned with business objectives and user needs, resulting in higher customer satisfaction and user experience. It enables organisations to deliver seamless and integrated services that meet or exceed user expectations, enhancing overall business value.
What is it?
The KPMG Target Operating Model (TOM) in IT Service Management is a strategic framework designed to guide organisations in optimising their IT service delivery capabilities. It provides a structured approach for defining the desired future state of IT service management and outlining the steps needed to achieve it. The TOM encompasses various aspects such as processes, people, technology, governance, and performance management, aiming to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and value of IT services.
Why is it needed?
The TOM ensures alignment between IT service management initiatives and broader organisational goals and objectives, helping IT departments deliver services that meet business needs. By defining standardised processes and workflows, it enables organisations to streamline all aspects of IT service delivery, reduce operational inefficiencies, and improve service quality.
Who needs it?
Strategic alignment
The TOM ensures that IT service management initiatives are aligned with organisational goals, enabling IT departments to focus on delivering services that contribute to business success.
Process optimisation
By defining standardised processes and workflows, the TOM helps organisations streamline IT service delivery, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. Optimised processes contribute to a more agile and adaptable IT environment, better equipped to address evolving business requirements and technological advancements.
Resource optimisation
It enables organisations to optimise resource allocation by identifying areas for improvement, reallocating resources as needed, and leveraging technology to automate repetitive tasks.
Continuous improvement
The TOM promotes a culture of continuous improvement by establishing mechanisms for monitoring, measuring, and evaluating IT service performance, driving ongoing enhancements and innovation.
Risk management
With better visibility into IT assets and their utilisation, organisations can optimise resource allocation, reduce unnecessary spending, and improve asset lifecycle management. This leads to cost savings and increased efficiency across the organisation.
Are you facing IT operational challenges in your business? We can help. Contact Kieran Fleming for an initial conversation. We'd be delighted to hear from you.
