SMCG Press Release
- SMCG Press Release
Since 2008, SMCG has been working with the APM Group, official OGC Accreditor for the ITIL Product Compliance Scheme to define, refine and test the Scheme. SMCG has been an official Licensed Assessor for the Scheme since January of 2009 and has worked together with the APMG to pilot the assessment practice and the scheme’s criteria.
Sharon Taylor, President of Aspect Group Inc. (AGI), and Ken Turbitt, CEO of Service Management Consultancy (SMCG) and Managing Director of IT Services Consultancy (ITSC) officially launch their services this week after a year of pilot testing and approval of the full Scheme by the APMG.
“The ITIL Software Endorsement Scheme will be operated by APM Group Limited. The ITIL scheme will differ from the existing Project Management scheme in that compliance assessments will be undertaken by licensed assessors, including Service Management Consultancy (SMCG) Ltd with APM Group responsible for the required standards.” Richard Pharro, Managing Director, APM Group
The OGC announced the ITIL Product Compliance Scheme back in April 2009 and indicated an initial period of pilot testing, which has been underway using SMCG Assessment Services. To date, a number of the major ITSM product vendors have participated with SMCG in the pilot phase and a total of 14 assessments have taken
place. Pilot participants include BMC, CA, IBM and Intasoft with a range of their ITSM products and at all three levels of compliance.
Compliance Level 1: Bronze (The product, user documentation and processes are compliant to the standard)
Compliance Level 2: Silver (Bronze + the vendor proves 3+ successful “in production” implementations of the product)
Compliance Level 3: Gold (Silver + The vendor has 3+ clients that have provided references)
Feedback from pilot participants indicate that the assessment is rigorous, challenging and thorough often highlighting areas for improvement from an end customer perspective in particular within the User Documentation.
“As IT complexity continues to increase, the need for IT management best practices is more critical than ever. As the pilot vendor organization who contributed to the development of the new ITIL assessment and the first company certified under this program, BMC is pleased that customers now have an objective and OGC-backed program to help them make informed choices about the software they use to adopt ITIL best practices.” Paul Avenant BMC’s VP, Products, Enterprise Service Management
“CA found SMCG’s ITIL Product Compliance assessment to be thorough, professionally done and rigorous. SMCG assessors were very knowledgeable and provided a challenging test for our products. The opportunity to participate in the assessment pilot was welcomed by CA and has provided us with greater confidence that the industry is moving the bar higher and allowing organizations like CA to officially demonstrate their innovation and compliance to an accepted standard. ” Robert Sterbens, Sr. Director Product Marketing, CA Inc.
"At last an official OGC approved and APMG managed ITIL assessment scheme for our software, something our customers have been asking for and now we can deliver. I can't praise the SMCG team enough, summing it up I would say a first class service performed by professionals who displayed a thorough understanding of ITIL and were focussed not only on ensuring that we understood the assessment process but also, that the assessment itself was conducted in the most , in-depth, courteous and respectful way possible.” Tony Collins, MD, Intasoft Ltd
“One of the missing links in the OGC/ITIL portfolio has been the lack of an official stamp of approval for ITSM tools, we have certification for people so why not for tools; well thanks for Service Management Consultancy (SMCG) Ltd and their Software Endorsement Scheme this void has now been filled. I love the concept that endorsement is not just for the tool or application but also for the Documentation and processes, this is a real differentiator, all 3 areas will be rated against the respective ITIL processes. Just think of it as ITIL-compliant trademark for tools this could be a very significant step forward” Malcolm Fry, Industry Luminary.
"IBM clients have always placed value in our products supporting industry standards and employing best practices", said Chris O'Connor, IBM Tivoli's Vice President Strategy and Product Management. "By achieving Gold certification, we have again demonstrated IBM's commitment to delivering open, industry leading service management solutions. By successfully completing the certification process, we continue to execute on our focus to deliver products that support our clients' endeavors to automate their ITIL processes and support their business requirements."