Sunday, November 30, 2008

Wise move ISACA?

Note.. the title of this blog is a QUESTION, not a statement.

itSMF has announced a memorandum of understanding signed between itself and ISACA - the traditional owners of the COBIT framework.

While the MOU may be more symbolic than anything it signals an interesting turn of events and begs the question - Why now?

Why now does an MOU come into place between itSMF and ISACA, when both organizations have been around and known each other for years. Please don't tell me: "because the modern day professional needs to see commonality and cooperation between such bodies". That is a cover all statement for taking any action at any point in time.

What has been the trigger that has lead to an agreement now? Let's say that the bodies have been talking about an announcement for 6 months. Who approached who and why?

These are the sort of questions that as a professional body the itSMF should supply to its members, but I wouldn't be holding my breath for a "non-political" response.

Could it be a flagging membership in both organizations?, could it be the itSMF answering a call from the OGC to boost interest levels after v3 has not taken hold as rapidly as they may have liked? - all questions open to interpretation.

What would be interesting is some hard hitting, no nonsense response from the itSMF on such questions. There are people in the organization that have the capability to shoot from the hip (I was speaking to one just a week ago); so let's get their view on this MOU.

Is it real or is it a union of convienence?

Labels: , , ,

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Latest on ITIL v3 takeup

Figures have been published that indicate the global adoption of ITIL v3 - certainly with regard to exams and certification is picking up steam.

January to August 2008 figures look like this:

ITIL Version 2 Examinations Taken
v2 Foundation 81500
v2 Practitioner 7550
v2 Service Managers 7700

ITIL Version 3 Examinations Taken
v3 Foundation 74150
v3 Foundation Bridge 11100
v3 Managers Bridge 1900

We're not reporting here on the pass rate, just the fact that v3 is starting to work it's way into the market, but v2 is still going strong.

v2 is still going strong as it is now understood to be effectively a "fast-track" way to qualify as an ITIL v3 Expert. It is therefore not surprising that v2 Managers exams exceed the number of Practitioner exams taken for this period.

It is almost 18 months since the launch of ITIL v3. Most pundits predicted that the adoption would take 12 to 18 months to catch on and that would seem to be the case.

Regarding the "retirement" of v2 Exams. We are still being told that it there will be 4 to 6 months notice of exams being withdrawn, but a survey will be conducted early next year to guage the interest in ITIL v2.

Here is my tip.... ITIL v2 will stay as long as there is an economically viable reason. It would not be a very good business decision to cut off a revenue stream just because it felt like the right time to do it. v2 and v3 will need to coexist for a lot longer. Why not?

Why not is that Sharon Taylor, Chief Architect, for ITIL v3 made the statement in May 2007, that ITIL v3 is not an UPGRADE it is a REPLACEMENT. So I imagine that Sharon for one is banking on the certification demise of v2 so that her statement can become a reality. For the reality now is that v3 is there for those who want it, but a lot still don't want it and the exam numbers above bear testomony to that fact.

Labels: , , ,