Survey: IT on target, but not on time

IT directors could improve their performance and relationships with internal customers by adopting service-management best practices in areas such as change management and helpdesk support, according to consulting firm DMR Consulting, which carried out the research.

In the survey of 70 IT managers worldwide, 49 percent said they were perceived by their business customers as being accurate but not timely in change management. Only 18 percent thought they were considered to be both accurate and timely, while 17 percent said they had a reputation for being timely but inaccurate; 16 percent said their performance was poor overall.

When it came to business-led changes, 67 percent of respondents admitted they did not feel sufficiently involved in the decision-making process. IT departments would be able to improve their general standing by adopting best-practice procedures for carrying out change, said Dave Bingham, consulting director at DMR.

"(The problems are) actually the fault of both IT and the business," he said. "Business people may not be involving IT soon enough, but they would claim that IT is too quick to throw up obstacles because it is afraid of disrupting critical services."

Bingham said it was essential for IT staff to become more involved in decision making at an early stage and to advise business managers to invest in applications that are compatible with existing platforms to reduce delays and unnecessary expense.

DMR found a strong link between use of best-practice procedures and higher customer satisfaction. For example, helpdesks that regularly analyzed recurring problems--a common best-practice procedure--were able to solve common problems at their root and reduce the number of helpdesk calls. Recurrent faults accounted for between one-third and half of all calls to the helpdesk, according to 41 percent of respondents, yet the bulk of IT managers­-69 percent--said they rarely kept tabs on them.

Ivor MacFarlane, an independent trainer and consultant specializing in IT service management, said companies must run IT services in a way that supports the business rather than as an end in itself. "Adopting best-practice guidelines addresses what is at the heart of getting real benefit from IT," he said. "In other words, matching its delivery to the business needs."