WHAT IS AN ITIL SERVICE CATALOG?
An ITIL Service Catalog lists all of the IT services that your business provides to its customers. It gathers a huge amount of information regarding these services. This includes everything from adding a network printer to resetting a password. Understanding the contents of an ITIL Service Catalog and its benefits to your business could help your organization get even more from its IT services.
Content
The content of an ITIL service catalog may vary. Typically,
the document will include information on deliverables, pricing, touchpoints,
ordering and requesting processes. This information is often produced in the
form of a simple spreadsheet, but it can be presented in a variety of different
formats. What exact information it contains and in what format depends on how
the organization will use it.
For the IT department, you can use a spreadsheet format that
lists all current and potential services. They will also include information
such as critical components and required training. Customers generally prefer a
brochure format. If publicly available, a brochure-style service catalog can
also serve as a marketing medium, showcasing your IT services to potential
clients.
Definition of a service catalog
Although there are no hard and fast rules about what an ITIL
Service Catalog should include, most catalogs contain a number of data
elements. These include:
·
Service name
·
Description of the service
·
Availability
·
Target availability
·
Backup
·
Service owner
·
Service representative
Criticality of the service
Many of these data elements are simple and straightforward,
but defining them correctly has many advantages. This helps to avoid confusion,
makes IT departments more focused, and ensures the document is 100% relevant to
the service provider and the company they work with. Define each item in the
service catalog correctly. The more detailed the service catalog, the more
useful and reliable the service catalog will be.
Visit Also: ITIL
Foundation
Standard service definitions
An ITIL service catalog should also cover standard service
definitions. The document should describe mission essential services, business
essential services, business operational services, and administrative services.
Mission Critical Services vs Business Critical Services
All services vary according to importance and urgency.
Mission essential services require continuous availability. Interruptions to
these services are intolerable and cause immediate damage to a business.
Critical business services also need to be available 24/7. That said,
disruptions in critical business services are not as catastrophic for the
day-to-day operation of the business. So your client's ecommerce website can be
mission critical as downtime would cause immediate damage. During this time,
the loss of a payment method can only be business critical if customers can use
alternatives during downtime.
Business operational departments help the business run
smoothly, but are outside the direct line of customer service. Administrative
services relate to the office productivity tools necessary for the operation of
a company. Failures are not desirable, but will have no impact on customers and
can be tolerated by the business.
Understanding the ins and outs of your ITIL service catalog
will help your business become familiar with its IT services and get help
quickly if something goes wrong.
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