It Service Management: An Introduction

This has been invaluable as a tool for learning about and teaching about ITIL. I have shared it with, and recommended it to, many colleagues and clients. I hope the authors are preparing an update for ITIL v3

The Office of Government Commerce's official ITIL books are great, and absolutely essential for anyone who does IT service management for a living, but the basic library will run you over $1000 in print, and the complete library on CD-ROM costs nearly $2000 (all prices in USD.) If what you need is a good, serviceable introduction to ITIL that will give you excellent preparation for passing the ITIL Foundations exam, look no further than this book. It can be hard to get hold of, as it's understandably a very popular title right now, but it's worth tracking down and getting your hands on it; the price is certainly right, and the "just the basic facts" presentation makes for quick reading and good comprehension. I do business process improvement work for a living; I have taken formal ITIL and CMMI training, and have also read a lot of books in this field. If you're looking for the best introductory ITIL book on the market, this is absolutely it.

This is a milestone in IT service management literature because as stated by others it makes the ITIL/iSMF approach available to a wider audience that it has previously reached. What I like about this book is the way each service support and service delivery process is carefully diagrammed using flow charts, and thoroughly described. Using this book alone you can develop processes and procedures that are consistent with both the ITIL and iSMF. That, to me, makes this book worth many times its price because it shows what service management is and how to implement it. If you're a consultant who specializes in IT service management this book is essential. If you're an IT manager or CIO who is exploring the best way to implement service management this book gives best and proven practices, and provides a framework for each process area. This book is also ideal for anyone involved in IT organization or reengineering, and in my opinion should be read by all IT professionals.

This is an important book for a number of reasons. First, it introduces the key concepts of the ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) at a cost that is dramatically less than ITIL publications. Second, it provides a highly structured framework for both service support and service delivery that is consistent with the IT Service Management Forum (itSMF), which is an international organization that supports and promotes service management as a profession and discipline.Highlights of this book include the clear definition and key elements of both service support (incident, problem, configuration, change and release management, and service desk operations), and service delivery (service level management, IT services cost management, capacity, availability, security and service continuity management operations). What I like is the fact that this book breaks free of the ITIL document pricing structure, which in my opinion has hampered promoting and disseminating the excellent knowledge and techniques embodied in the ITIL. It also gives service support and delivery professionals a common vocabulary, defined definitions and an internationally proven approach.This book is among the best I've read in 2002, and certainly among the most important books published this year for IT operations and infrastructure professionals.