Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1315450
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 DECEMBER 2020 12 COMMERCIAL MITA service management – a supporting Matthew Catania Consultant within the Service Management Department TYPICALLY, the early understanding of what some of the primary value-add- ing activities within an IT organization are, include software development, IT administration, and ongoing configu- ration of services amongst many others. Complementing this, when an organi- zation takes the role of service provider, it also needs to ensure that a solid layer of other practices is defined to support the delivery of value to the business. Such practices would span the finan- cial domain, governance, security, gen- eral administration and so on. Of great importance are also practic- es which govern the way infrastructure changes are performed, the approach to execute client requests, and how (in- cluding how fast) software is deployed. Such practices would also include what to do when issues occur and how to eliminate an element which is caus- ing considerable or multiple issues. There is a long list, which comple- ments and supports the technical exper- tise across specialised teams through- out an entire organization. There are endless information re- sources that direct their audience to- wards understanding the importance of this category of practices within an organisation. International standards are also avail- able and help determining the "what" of requirements in order to operate at global quality levels. Such resources highlight the impor- tance of having service management capabilities which support the technical arm by guiding them through the right direction. It doesn't matter if the organization is embracing or heading towards modern principles or modern technology such as for example software-defined-infra- structure or if it is still well served by monolithic applications running on metal servers possibly based on tradi- tional IT Service Management. Having a defined set of practices would allow all organizational elements to steer towards a commonly agreed and beneficial target. It would support collaboration be- tween parties and thus achieving better and faster results. Throughout its thirty years of exist- ence, MITA has thrived in this regard. The service management layer within the Agency is considered as one of the critical pillars sustaining the creation of value in collaboration with other essen- tial stakeholders. This includes ensuring that the entire cycle of a service as well as related as- sets is managed with consistency, effi- ciency and effectiveness. Keeping the end-user and business at the center of its activities and vision, service management effort has over the years solidified the said practices. MITA is in fact a living example which proves the theory often found in service management textbooks. It is an evident example of the applica- tion of several principles, concepts and methodologies into the real world.