What causes your unplanned downtime?

Donna Scott of Gartner Inc. stated in a Gartner Security Conference presentation in May 2002 that up to 80% of unplanned downtime is due to failure caused by people and processes.  The other 20% makes up the hardware, software, and facilities.

With 80% of the “pain” that IT experiences is due to people and process, implementing service management best practices can greatly enhance performance and reduce costs in IT.  Often the “people” part of this equation deals with forgetting or skipping critical steps in the desire to complete a set of tasks, not following up on errors, and not following an outlined procedure.  The “process” part considers a lack of documented process flows, lack of sound service monitoring and control, poor proactive problem management, and little risk management discipline.

Most IT operations groups are stretched thin in dealing with internal and external customers constantly demanding new services.  Agility has become key in order to maintain desired service levels.  One of the goals of the MOF approach to service management is the “IT to Business” relationship.  With mature processes in place, operations groups can better position themselves to avoid the unplanned downtime and still meet ever changing business needs quickly and efficiently.

Why not start to assess your organization’s capabilities.  Take the MOF self-assessment here.