5
1. How is it pronounced?
Let’s get the important stuff out the way first and let's not have the “itIL” / “Eye-till” saga all over again. I have already heard it pronounced “Very-ISM”. Stop that! It’s “verism” like in “consumerism” which is actually a nice match-up as the consumer is placed, as you would expect, at the heart of the VeriSM model.
2. Where has it come from?
The material was created by the International Foundation for Digital Competences (IFDC). IFDC is a non-profit foundation together with an international team of over 70 experts led by Claire Agutter (Winner ITSMF UK Thought Leadership Award 2017).
3. What is it?
It describes itself as an approach to Service Management for the digital age. What does that mean? To answer that question, first we have to agree what we mean by “digital age”
4. OK. What do we mean by digital age?
To answer that question, first we have to agree what we mean by “digital service” (Sorry – but this is really important to understanding the reason for VeriSM). Simply put, a digital service is one that is dependent on technology. Actually, that’s too simple. Digital services are transforming the ways in which businesses reach, communicate and transact with their customers. This is the digital age – the age of Uber, Airbnb, Amazon, Facebook. The generation born to these times are known as digital natives.
Not so very long ago, for example, if I had wanted to buy some car insurance, I would have had to visit or telephone an insurance broker to be lead through the process by the sales agent.
Compare that to today’s versions of events. Online search, pick a broker, click-through, put in the information, get the quote, confirm order. Boom!
5. But why does that mean we need a new approach to service management? Why VeriSM, why now?
Let’s think again about my insurance company example. In the old version, the reach of the IT Service supporting the insurance sales process would have been to the desktop on the sales agent’s desk – the sales agent took care of the rest. It was appropriate for responsibility for the IT service to sit with the IT department and this is the traditional model of IT Service Management; IT operating as an internal service provider – effectively as a business within a business – in an arms’ length relationship from all of the other business units.
Today’s version is totally different. For starters, it’s not an IT service anymore – it’s a business service. My search would probably be via a web-comparison site. For the insurance company it is essential that they appear on the first page. I do not know what the current algorithms are that the search engines use, but I suspect it will involve content (which will come from the business) and technology metrics (IT). Within the search results,