ITIL® Software Scheme Goes Live at itSMF Fusion in Dallas
21st September 2009, itsmf Fusion, Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Centre, Dallas……..The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and its Accreditor The APM Group have confirmed the ITIL Software scheme is now live.
Speaking at itSMF Fusion, Richard Pharro, CEO, APM Group said: "We are delighted to launch the ITIL® software scheme while we are here in Dallas. We can now confirm that we have a second contracted software assessor so the vendor community has choice in having their products assessed. This means we are able to formally launch the scheme as we have met our requirements for a competitive and open market in the delivery of the assessment services."
The new ITIL software endorsement scheme allows software tool vendors to submit their ITIL based software tools for assessment to a Licensed Software Assessor. Successful recommendations entitle tool vendors to use the official Process Compliant ITIL Swirl logo.
Richard confirmed the following vendors have been approved under the scheme CA, BMC, IBM and Intasoft. The confirmed Assessors are: SMCG and Pink Elephant.
"We would like to thank CA, IBM, BMC, Intasoft and SMCG for going through the pilot process and welcome Pink Elephant on board as our second licensed software assessor," Richard said.
Gathering together at itSMF Fusion, the first vendors accredited under the scheme also gave their comments:
Robert Sterbens, Sr. Director Product Marketing, CA Inc, said: "CA found SMCG's ITIL Product Compliance assessment to be thorough, professionally done and rigorous. SMCG assessors were very knowledgeable and provided a challenging test for our products. The opportunity to participate in the assessment pilot was welcomed by CA and has provided us with greater confidence that the industry is moving the bar higher and allowing organizations like CA to officially demonstrate their innovation and compliance to an accepted standard."
Paul Avenant, Vice President, Products, Enterprise Service Management, BMC, said: "As IT complexity continues to increase, the need for IT management best practices is more critical than ever. As the pilot vendor organization who contributed to the development of the new ITIL assessment and the first company certified under this program, BMC is pleased that customers now have an objective and OGC-backed program to help them make informed choices about the software they use to adopt ITIL best practices."
Tony Collins, Managing Director, Intasoft Ltd, said "At last an official OGC approved and APMG managed ITIL assessment scheme for our software, something our customers have been asking for and now we can deliver. I can't praise the SMCG team enough, summing it up I would say a first class service performed by professionals who displayed a thorough understanding of ITIL and were focussed not only on ensuring that we understood the assessment process but also, that the assessment itself was conducted in the most, in-depth, courteous and respectful way possible."
Chris O'Connor, Tivoli Vice President, IBM, said: "IBM clients have always placed value in our products supporting industry standards and employing best practices…By achieving Gold certification, we have again demonstrated IBM's commitment to delivering open, industry leading service management solutions. By successfully completing the certification process, we continue to execute on our focus to deliver products that support our clients' endeavors to automate their ITIL processes and support their business requirements."
Peter Brooks (FISM) Independent Consultant reviewed the ITIL Software Scheme. He said: "The potential marketing advantage to Vendors is reasonably clear. At a minimum, if a piece of software is certified to offer ITIL Process X, somebody completing an RFP can include this information in the knowledge that, so long as all the people and process work is done according to ITIL, the tool will provide the necessary support.
"An organisation wishing to set up as a Licensed Software Assessor has the opportunity to add on important value to the core scheme itself, such as providing ranking between tools, implementation guidance, capacity and availability information about the tool and so forth," Peter said.
For further information on the ITIL Software scheme visit:
http://www.itil-officialsite.com/SoftwareScheme/ITILSoftwareScheme.asp;
OGC
The UK government recognized very early on the significance of best practice and created initiatives to identify efficient, successful and reliable approaches to various management disciplines. The Office of Government Commerce, as an office of the HM Treasury, has played a vital role in developing methodologies, processes and frameworks, and establishing these as best practice. These include ITIL, which is now the most widely accepted approach to service management in the world, PRINCE2®, a world leading project management methodology, Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®) and Management of Risk (M_o_R®). Best Management Practice Partnership.
To support its Best Practice guidance, OGC created an innovative and successful partnering arrangement with TSO (as official publisher) and APM Group (as official accreditor). This provides Best Practice users with high quality publications, training, qualification schemes and consultancy services. Through the provision of official accreditation and publishing services, the partners can ensure that quality assured products and services are readily available and easily identified in the ever-expanding best practice marketplace.
For more information visit: www.best-management-practice.com
TSO
TSO (The Stationery Office) has 200 years experience of providing publishing and information solutions to the public sector. It specialises in the creation, production and distribution of information in print, online and electronic formats. TSO is Britain's largest publisher by output, publishing 15,000 printed and electronic products each year.
TSO has a long history of working with OGC and is the only Official publisher of its Best Practice Guidance, managing various refresh projects on behalf of OGC.
For further information visit: www.tso.co.uk
APMG
The APM Group (APMG) is a global business providing accreditation and certification services. Through its international network of Accredited Consultancy and Training Organizations APMG helps end users develop their professional skills and organizations improve their processes through the adoption of worldwide best practice.
APMG works closely withthe UK Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and TSO, their official publisher, in running global accreditation schemes in ITIL, PRINCE2, MSP (Managing Successful Programmes), and M_o_R (Management of Risk)
For further details about APMG's qualification and accreditation schemes visit: www.apmg-uk.com
For further information contact
Kate Winter
PR Manager
The APM Group
T + 44 (0) 20 8549 5110
E kate.winter@apmgroup.co.uk
