New Research Reveals Fresh IT Challenges

- Amita Abraham, Group Product Marketing Manager of Serena Software, says:

We recently announced the results of a new survey of 200 IT professionals that focused on the current state of IT Service Management (ITSM), with a particular focus on what ITIL calls Service Transition.

In an environment where nearly every business has become application-driven, the survey reveals that IT is struggling to keep up with the resulting pace of service demand. In addition, the survey shows the majority of those polled (92 percent) agreed business groups do not perceive IT as a true partner and in some cases report that IT actually impedes their success.

Further, Development (Dev) and Operations (Ops) blame each other. Three quarters cited operations as a roadblock to agile development, and 72 percent cite development as not supporting the goals of operations. The research shows a clear divide between Development and Operations, helping to explain the aspirational popularity of DevOps this past year.

There is massive interest in DevOps within enterprises today, as there should be. What our survey revealed, however, is the distance that IT organizations need to evolve to realize the promise of DevOps. This data was telling in that we were able to learn about today’s key ITSM issues, in particular, the need to improve Service Transition, the ITIL set of processes that cover the juncture of Development and Operations.”

The Serena survey was conducted at it SMF’s popular FUSION 12 Conference last month, where enterprise IT professionals from around the globe joined to discuss current and best in IT service management practices. Respondents were polled from a variety of industries, including financial services, government, healthcare, online services, manufacturing and more. The sampling of participants included general attendees and speakers.

Key findings include:

Disconnected processes limit Development and Operations’ success. 72 percent revealed that operational change and release management, which are central to the Service Transition prescribed by ITILv3, were the most disconnected.

Rudimentary communication practices lead to limited visibility into planned changes. 60 percent cited they had “little to no” visibility into planned changes. Survey data showed antiquated communication practices such as email, spreadsheets, and word of mouth are still relied upon for sharing critical and time-sensitive information about planned development of operational changes.

Poor reporting leads to inaccurate status updates to the business. Only six percent reported having shared release calendars across development and operations. Shared calendars add transparency to development changes, helping to ensure they are not missed.

To download Serena’s “IT Service Management Trends 2012: The State of the Dev-Ops Union” report, which includes Serena’s top recommendations for streamlining Development and Operations, go to: http://www.serena.com/itsmtrends2012. An infographic is also available at: http://ser.so/WTG4z3