Avoid Tactical, Narrow Service Management And Automation Strategies

This report outlines Forrester's solution for IT infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders to develop their service management and automation (SMA) strategic plan. This is important as the evolution and deployment of SMA solutions are usually tactical in nature and limited in scope; they're the result of rapid resolution of immediate pains. Over time this leads to a number of issues: processes misaligned with management tools, a multiplicity of tools that become shelfware, and a general difficulty in transforming the I&O organization to cope with constant changes in business services and technology. This is where a strategic plan can help: A strategic plan determines where the organization is going and provides the means to verify whether it will get there or not. This report defines and justifies the need for an SMA strategic plan, identifies the key elements of such a plan, and offers I&O leaders a step-by-step process to build and maintain their strategic plan.