By: Annette T Thomas

Kissimmee, FL-September 2004- As far as screen printing goes market is ever changing, its growth potential is huge, and its audience is anyone, anywhere in world! In order to remain competitive one has to be creative and unique in its approach. ATMA ENTERPRISE, prides itself with ability to be savvy enough to personally design “works of art” that are trendy and now. The perfect example of this is its ‘Hurricane Tees” product line.

Food for thought

"Frankly, I'm desperate - I'm choking" is a phrase I've become familiar with over years. Faced with a daily diet of conflicting business priorities, resistant staff and increasing pressure to reduce costs, many IT Directors and Service Managers bear a striking resemblance these days to someone asked to suck an elephant up a straw. In an attempt to wet appetite, an ITIL menu is rolled out. However, grasping at ITIL as a saviour for all ills without comprehensive forethought, analysis and planning is folly.

What's dish of day?

Chef's special starter offers how ITIL can enable your organisation to adapt rapidly to changing market conditions and service constraints lightly sautéed on a bed of crisp, green cost savings. The dish of day tantalises taste buds with how implementing ITIL can leverage maximum value from your strategic partnerships. For dessert Sir? Madam? Let me tempt you with our double cream, extra thick service continuity `n' high availability gateaux, lightly drizzled with consistency and robustness. "What's house whine (sic)?" "A devilish, fruity little number preferred by most IT staff; Chateaux IT'IL Never Happen If We Resist Enough; 2002, 2003 or 2004 - a superb year for suppliers".

At worst, ITIL can prove to be an expensive set of processes and procedures nobody in your organisation follows. At best, it formalises common sense; adding value to your daily operations, internal and external relationships and, can fully flex in concert with your Corporate Strategy. But, only if you don't choke to death trying to stuff it all in at one sitting.

ITIL's exquisite beauty lies in its simplicity, flexibility and risk management emphasis. In all its implemented glory with internal processes dovetailing into your 3rd party supplier processes, everyone knows who's doing what and when. Indeed, research carried out on behalf of ITSMF shows that of those questioned regarding use and benefits of ITIL, 97% said their organisation had derived benefits; 70% of these describing these benefits as tangible and measurable.

Are you hungry for it?

You wouldn't spend your hard earned cash on a new, expensive car without researching quality and having a test drive unless you had money to burn. However, it's surprising how organisations will begin implementing ITIL before researching some of basics and asking a few simple questions such as; will it save us money? Will it add value to our activities or value chain? Will it enable us to become more agile? Will it improve our customer service and perception?

It can be frustrating being a senior executive, wanting desperately to actually achieve something tangible for organisation but feeling like a flea in a jar - jumping up and down but just hitting your head on lid. Having previously witnessed benefits and opportunities implementing ITIL or some of its components can bring, it's tempting to blindly assume that as it all worked perfectly well before it must work in your current organisation. Think before you jump.

What do you want or need to achieve within context of your current organisation? What is it you think you'll achieve by implementing ITIL? Generally, identification of perhaps 2 or 3 high level, key objectives is an excellent start. A maximum of three objectives focuses mind. Any more than 3 and bar may appear just too high to hurdle. Objectives could be:-