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Integrating ITIL and ISO 19770

 
  
Software Asset Management - integrating ISO 19770-1 and ITIL V3

Ian Preskett MIET C.Eng. MBCS CITP    (ian.preskett@ipassociatesltd.co.uk)

IP Associates Limited                                              (www.ipassociatesltd.co.uk)                          

                                                                                                        

Since the introduction of the ITIL V3 Service Lifecycle an IT department introducing a service would only do so after addressing the Strategy, Design and Implementation stages.

Software Asset Management (SAM) is closely aligned to ITIL V3 and requires a similar approach; however it is very evident that companies are largely ignoring Strategy, Design and Implementation stages when addressing SAM.
The compliance process (see Fig 1) is often a manual task based on data acquired from numerous functions, which provides a license position accurate only at the time of creation. It is an operation process being performed by specialist SAM.

The the recorded data is accurate stage 1 certification to the enhanced ISO19770-1 standard is possible. 

Acquisition is often performed by SAM specialists who are the only people who can make approval decisions on software requests. They are making strategic decisions on all applications over and over as part of an operational process and not having the time to improve the real issues.

 
ITIL V3 defines the Operational functions as; ‘people and automated measures that execute a defined process, activity or combination of processes or activities’ so Operations should not make decisions but take actions based on decision criteria established earlier in the service lifecycle. A new SAM solution is required.  
 

                                                                                                                                               Fig 1 – Typical SAM solution

To achieve certification to stage 2 of the enhanced ISO 19770-1 standard, a SAM solution that confirms to ITIL V3 could be implemented and would look like Fig 2

 

                                                                                          

 

        

Fig 2 – ITIL  V3 compliant SAM solution

In this solution requests for assets are handled by operations as an ITIL V3 Request Fulfilment process. Approval decisions are based on criteria held in catalogues and user profiles which have previously been defined by the SAM specialists.

The responsibility for non-standard software approvals can be performed as service strategy and design and conducted by nominated application owners and support groups.

Configuration management (CMS) should be controlled by well defined processes and largely automated, leaving SAM specialists to manage the license position reports and mitigation issues.

If formally documented and the SAM plan and SAM organisation are also properly addressed certification to additional stages of the ISO 19770-1 standard are highly achievable.

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