ITIL benefits and challenges

Jean Ritala, IT support services manager at Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minn., and president of the I.T. Service Management Forum USA (itSMF), a not-for-profit membership organization, is an advocate for ITIL. She spoke with Baseline magazine this summer and offered some ITIL implementation tips. First off, she notes that it is important to name one person who takes on the role of change agent, spearheading and driving the implementation process, while fully understanding how the change will affect the bottom line. This person will help the company and IT department make a baseline assessment, which enables executives to know to measure success. In terms of why companies are interested in implementing ITIL: It streamlines and centralizes ways of doing things that bring process efficiency." There's less chaos when everyone's on the same page doing things," she says. When asked about the limitations, Ritala says: "It takes time. Again, there is no silver bullet."

To read more about Ritala's ITIL implementation:
- see the article in Baseline