ITSM Tools

Friday, July 30, 2010

APM Group Publishes the OGC ISS (Tool Assessment) Process Criteria

Now that APM Group has published the OGC ISS (tool assessment) criteria, we will now be able to identify the process criteria that are associated with OGC ISS and those that are specifically PinkVERIFY criteria.  We are currently editing the PinkVERIFY 3.1 criteria documents to replace the designated re-worded criteria with the APM Group approved wording as published.  The revised version will be ready for September 1, 2010.  This will not have an impact on any vendors who are in the midst of completing PinkVERIFY 3.1 process criteria documentation as the intent of the questions being replaced will be basically the same.

The PinkVERIFY process will continue as before, with all process criteria being demonstrated for the assessment.  We will continue to score the OGC ISS criteria for functionality, automation and user documentation based on process compliance as defined by APM Group for OGC ISS Process Compliance logos.  Additionally, we will continue to score the OGC ISS criteria as noted and the additional PinkVERIFY criteria based on process compatibility for the PinkVERIFY process logos.

The Official OGC ITIL website also notes that the scoring for the published OGC ISS criteria will be changed from 70% to 100% on September 1, 2010.  This is under discussion in the OGC ISS CAB meetings and any changes to this will be announced accordingly.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

ITIL Process Activities vs Roles Trap

I have read, with interest and puzzlement at times, the continuing saga and dialogues on ITIL process activities and how some activities should be in two processes for example root cause analysis should be in Incident Management as well as Problem Management; or moved from one process to another or maybe to the extreme, eliminated.  Now I know that the ITIL processes are not 100% perfect and there are some inconsistencies and flaws to work out; but it would seem we would rather dig deep to find and criticize all the inconsistencies and flaws rather than look at the general “assembly line” process activity workflow approach from a higher level, business perspective.  It is a proven fact in business and life in general that applying a tested process or set of related activities consistently and persistently is the foundation of success.

So rather than rock the “process” boat and duplicate activities in processes and make changes to activities, consider this – that it is a question of the roles we take on in the various processes and not to which process the activity “should” belong.  The ITIL process workflows are logical and “make sense” (the work instructions (or the how) might need a bit of work but that is up to the IT organization) but quite often in the planning and development of the processes, the roles and responsibilities are ignored or not seen as important.  I would like to think we are not one dimensional beings with one role to play in life and in our career / job; but rather we are multi-dimensional beings with many roles. We may have one “functional” role at work, but we have many “process” roles.  The activity we are engaged in would point to the process role – not the other way around.  As a Service Desk agent they don’t just have an “Incident Analyst” role in opening incident records and fixing users; they also may have roles in Problem Management e.g. basic quick and dirty root cause analysis with a flash of brilliance resulting in a “possible” workaround; in Change Management e.g. opening an RFC for a required workaround; in Configuration Management e.g. updating a CI record; Knowledge Management e.g. entering or updating a knowledge record; etc – need I go on?

So my two cents worth is we get trapped into a process tunnel or a technology tunnel and don’t consider the importance and power of understanding and integrating process, people and technology into the full service management solution.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Going for Gold!  Preparing for OGC ISS Gold and Silver Process Compliance Badges

For vendors and service providers who are planning on engaging in the PinkVERIFY Service to have their ITSM technology solution (tool) assessed for a PinkVERIFY V3.1 logo and for an OGC ISS Gold or Silver Process Compliance Badge or Logo, think about starting now to gather customer documentation.

A PinkVERIFY 3.1 tool assessment qualifies the vendor, the tool version and the assessed processes for a PinkVERIFY 3.1 logo and for an OGC ISS logo – the Bronze, Silver or Gold level is chosen by the vendor or service provider based on the following requirements.

OGC Bronze:  The ITSM tool and processes have passed the assessment, but have not been purchased by 3 or more customers
•  Requirements for the OGC ISS Bronze level logo are simply pass the assessment.

OGC Silver: The ITSM tool version and processes have been purchased and deployed (“in production”) by at least 3 Customers.
•  Requirements for the OGC Silver level logo include “proof” of order of the assessed tool version and processes by 3 customers.  The “proof” is required on the customer’s electronic or paper letter-head stating the tool, version and processes have been deployed in production (values can be removed). The vendor provides a copy of this documentation to the Licensed Software Assessor (LSA) who contacts the vendor’s customers to confirm their submitted documentation.

OGC Gold: The ITSM tool version and processes have at least three “in production” customers that have implemented and are using the tool and are “happy to reference that they are using the tool to automate the assessed process in accordance with ITIL”. 
•  Requirements for the OGC Gold level logo include “proof” of implementation of the assessed tool version and processes by 3 customers.  The “proof” is required on the customer’s electronic or paper letter head stating their use of the tool version to automate the processes in accordance with ITIL along with at least one piece of evidence for each process (screenshot or report). The vendor provides a copy of this documentation to the LSA who contacts the vendor’s customers to confirm their submitted documentation.

Vendors might consider including the activities to gather the required documentation into the tool implementation process, which include:
•  Asking customers for their permission to provide information for “proof” of their purchase, deployment and use of the tool and processes in accordance with ITIL
•  Informing the Customer the information will be provided to Pink Elephant and APM Group only - for ISS OGC Swirl certification and will be kept confidential and not shared
•  Providing customers with a template to be completed on their “letterhead” for the required information and produce screenshot / report examples for Gold and the vendor contact information to whom the documentation should be emailed / sent
•  Informing the customer that Pink Elephant will contact them via email to confirm the submitted information as required by OGC and APM Group

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

The ITM10 Sponsor and First Time Exhibitor list keeps growing

Welcome to BMC, IBM, newScale, Numara Software who have signed up to be Gold sponsors; and Axios Systems, EMC, Staff and Line (EasyVista), and Stroma Consulting Services who have signed up to be Silver sponsors at Pink Elephant’s 14th Annual International IT Service Management Conference & Exhibition February 21 - 24, 2010 at the Bellagio, Las Vegas. 

Welcome to first time exhibitors Biomni, Fruition Group, Hagrid Solutions, Inforonics, Kovair, and Tec Access.

Platinum sponsor 
• Service-now.com.

Gold Sponsors
• BMC
• Booz Allen
• CA, Inc (previously Oblicore)
• FrontRange
• Hornbill
• IBM
• newScale
• Numara Software

Silver Sponsors
• APM Group
• Axios Systems
• Cherwell Software
• CollegeNET Inc
• CA, Inc
• ComSci, LLC
• Consulting Portal
• EMC
• EXIN USA
• Loyalist
• Monitor 24-7
• Staff and Line (EasyVista)
• Stroma Consulting Services

First Time Exhibitors
• Avocent LANDesk
• Biomni
• Fruition Group
• Hagrid Solutions
• Inforonics
• KACE Networks
• Kovair
• Matrix42 USA, Inc
• OTRS Inc
• Tec Access

Pink Elephant’s 14th Annual International IT Service Management Conference & Exhibition promises to be another successful information and entertainment packed event.  We would like to recognize the sponsor and exhibitor community for their important role in the success of this event and thank them for their support and participation in our conference. 

If anyone is interested in finding out more about being a sponsor at the ITM10 Service Management Conference or one of our PinkPERSPECTIVES, please call Lisa Lyons, Client Relations Manager at 1 888 273-7465 ext 228

Thursday, January 07, 2010

TIPs for TATs (Tool AssessmenTs)

The top 10 tips for vendor’s preparing for a PinkVERIFY IT Service Management Tool Assessment:

1 ITIL Training.  If the vendor strategy is to have an IT Service Management software solution start with the basics and provide ITIL V3 Foundations training for developers and product managers.  An understanding of the terminology and how the technology can support and automate the ITIL processes and activities will make the discussions and demos run more smoothly and efficiently.

2 Criteria Documentation. Provide a brief description of how the tool handles each criterion.  Screen shots are only a suggestion.  If there is a basic, “built-in” module and an enhanced module, provide a reference to this in the criteria description as applicable. Also include a reference to other modules, systems or tools which are required to enable the functionality.  These descriptions will assist the vendor in preparing the demo and will assist the assessor in understanding the tool’s architecture, functionality and workflows.

3 General Platform Criteria.  The first section of each process criteria document is the General Platform Criteria which is the same for all process criteria.  This section needs to be completed only once and can be copied into the other process criteria documents to be assessed or referenced in the other process criteria documents, i.e. which process criteria document the descriptions can be found. The general platform criteria can also be demonstrated once, usually at the beginning of the assessment session and then referenced for specific requirements which may be part of a process’ core criteria.

4 Core Criteria.  ITIL V3 is all about Service and Business relationships and integration.  Build in a Business Service example or two into the Service – System – Component structure, e.g. Payroll, Accounts Payable.  References to Services in the process criteria includes Business and IT technical services.

5 Integration Criteria.  The intent of the “Integration Criteria” section is to demonstrate the integration capability with other processes, systems and tools in order for the IT Service Management tool to gather / import data and to update / export data to fulfil the functionality requirement.  If an integration question refers to a process / module which is not being assessed, the response to the criteria question and the demonstration should focus on how the integration is handled or performed. 

6 Criteria Demonstration. The assessor will be scoring the demonstration of each criteria question (available or not available), the level of automation of applicable criteria (not applicable, not automated, partial automation, automated); and the availability of help description / instruction documentation for each criteria (no documentation, incomplete documentation, complete documentation).  With reference to the documentation the actual content is not tested / assessed.

7 Be Prepared.   Provide the person or persons who will be conducting the demo with a copy of the criteria and responses well in advance of the scheduled demo date so that they are prepared to demonstrate how the tool handles each process criteria / requirement, the level of automation (if applicable) and the help information documentation. 

8 Be Prepared. The demonstration must be on the commercially-available tool and its out-of-the-box functionality.  The assessment is on the tool’s ability to enable and support ITIL processes as described in the criteria.  It is not an assessment of the tool’s ease of configuration and capability to be configured to meet the criteria.

9 Be Prepared. The demonstration must be on the tool’s commercially-available and out-of-the-box set-up and functionality.  Again, the assessment is on the tool’s ability to enable and support ITIL processes.  It is not an assessment of a “generic” tool set up to address customer requirements that might not be aligned with ITIL. The strategy should be that the customer can configure the ITIL-based tool to meet their “unique” or non-ITIL requirements; not the other way around, i.e. configure a generic tool to meet their ITIL requirements.

10 Be Prepared and Enjoy the Process.   You will be spending a day or more going through the demonstration process so, if possible, arrange for a couple of people to lead the demonstration to help ease the workload. Have plenty of fluids available and call for breaks as required.  Above all enjoy the process.

Monday, January 04, 2010

HP Awarded OGC Gold Swirl for 4 ITIL Processes

Congratulations to HP!  HP’s Service Manager V7.1 has successfully completed all the requirements to qualify for the OGC Gold Swirl for Incident Management, Problem Management, Change Management and Service Asset & Configuration Management processes.  HP is the first vendor to complete four processes in the ITIL Software Scheme.  Despite holiday season delays, the final trademark agreements have been completed and HP is now listed on the OGC Official ITIL Website

Pink Elephant’s updated PinkVERIFY website now includes an “ITIL Software Scheme Toolsets” section which will host HP’s accomplishments.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Introducing Our Sponsors and New Exhibitors to ITM 10 Service Management Conference

Exin USA has signed up to be Silver sponsor at Pink Elephant’s 14th Annual International IT Service Management Conference & Exhibition February 21 - 24, 2010 at the Bellagio, Las Vegas. 

Welcome to Exin USA – Silver Sponsor who joins the illustrious sponsor community below.

Platinum sponsor: 
• Service-now.com.

Gold Sponsors:
• Booz Allen
• FrontRange
• Hornbill
• Oblicore

Silver Sponsors:
• APMG
• Cherwell
• CollegeNET Inc
• Computer Associates
• ComSci, LLC
• Consulting Portal
• Exin USA
• Loyalist
• Monitor 24-7

New Exhibitors:
• KACE Networks
• Matrix42 USA, Inc
• OTRS

Pink Elephant’s 14th Annual International IT Service Management Conference & Exhibition promises to be another successful information and entertainment packed event.  We would like to recognize the sponsor community for their important role in the success of this event and thank them for their support and participation in our conference. 

If anyone is interested in finding out more about being a sponsor at the ITM10 Service Management Conference or one of our PinkPERSPECTIVES, please call Lisa Lyons, Client Relations Manager at 1 888 273-7465 ext 228

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

More ITM10 Service Management Conference Exhibitors and Sponsors

Three new, first-time exhibitors and two new sponsors have signed up for Pink Elephant’s 14th Annual International IT Service Management Conference & Exhibition February 21 - 24, 2010 at the Bellagio, Las Vegas. 

We welcome new exhibitors KACE Networks, Matrix42 USA, Inc and OTRS; Gold Sponsor Booz Allen; and, Silver Sponsor Monitor 24-7 to our illustrious vendor community list.

Platinum sponsor: 
• Service-now.com.

Gold Sponsors:
• Booz Allen
• FrontRange
• Hornbill
• Oblicore

Silver Sponsors:
• APMG
• Cherwell
• CollegeNET Inc
• Computer Associates
• ComSci, LLC
• Consulting Portal
• Loyalist
• Monitor 24-7

New Exhibitors:
• KACE Networks
• Matrix42 USA, Inc
• OTRS

Pink Elephant’s 14th Annual International IT Service Management Conference & Exhibition promises to be another successful information and entertainment packed event.  We would like to recognize the sponsor community for their important role in the success of this event and thank them for their support and participation in our conference. 

If anyone is interested in finding out more about being a sponsor at the ITM10 Service Management Conference or one of our PinkPERSPECTIVES, please call Lisa Lyons, Client Relations Manager at 1 888 273-7465 ext 228

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Introducing Two New Sponsors to ITM 10 Service Management Conference

Two more vendors have signed up to be sponsors at the Pink Elephant’s 14th Annual International IT Service Management Conference & Exhibition February 21 - 24, 2010 at the Bellagio, Las Vegas. 

Welcome to FrontRange – Gold Sponsor and to Cherwell – Silver Sponsor who are joining the illustrious sponsor community below.

Platinum sponsor: 
• Service-now.com.

Gold Sponsors:
• FrontRange
• Hornbill
• Oblicore

Silver Sponsors:
• APMG
• Cherwell
• CollegeNET Inc
• Computer Associates
• ComSci, LLC
• Consulting Portal
• Loyalist

Pink Elephant’s 14th Annual International IT Service Management Conference & Exhibition promises to be another successful information and entertainment packed event.  We would like to recognize the sponsor community for their important role in the success of this event and thank them for their support and participation in our conference. 

If anyone is interested in finding out more about being a sponsor at the ITM10 Service Management Conference or one of our PinkPERSPECTIVES, please call Lisa Lyons, Client Relations Manager at 1 888 273-7465 ext 228

Friday, September 25, 2009

PE O LSA

Since we work, talk and text in a world of acronyms what better way to announce that Pink Elephant is Officially a Licensed Software Assessor!  (Not that we weren’t a software assessor before, because we were; we just weren’t licensed, but then there wasn’t an official license and now there is and here we are - the licensing requirements have been fulfilled!)

The Licensed Software Scheme was publicly announced by APM Group at itSMF Fusion on Monday September 21, along with the introduction of SMCG and Pink Elephant as Licensed Software Assessors. 

However, before we, Pink Elephant, can launch the version of PinkVERIFY that assesses tools against both the PinkVERIFY and the ITIL® Software Scheme criteria, all the PinkVERIFY process assessment criteria are being updated to include any APM Group standard approved criteria that are missing. 

There have been questions about expanding the PinkVERIFY portfolio of V3 processes. Yes, as has been planned for some time, we will continue expanding our portfolio of V3 processes assessment criteria.  These additional PinkVERIFY criteria will be audited by APM Group to ensure that all the approved standard criteria for the OGC ITIL Swirl are included. 

Our target for the official launch of PinkVERIFY with the APM Group ITIL ® Software Scheme’s OGC ITIL Swirl option is mid October.  Following the tried and true Service Management lifecycle phases, and Release and Deployment process, the strategy for the next release of PinkVERIFY is agreed; the design is done; the transition is underway - the next versions of the PinkVERIFY process criteria and documentation are being built, tested, piloted, communicated and will be rolled out to the Pink Elephant website), and the operation phase is planned to start mid October. Continual service improvement has already begun.

Friday, September 04, 2009

Introducing ITM10 Service Management Conference Sponsors

Planning for Pink Elephant’s 14th Annual International IT Service Management Conference & Exhibition February 21 - 24, 2010 at the Bellagio, Las Vegas is well underway and we already have a number of sponsors that I would like to introduce and welcome.  As more vendors sign up to be sponsors I will let all y’all know.

Introducing our Platinum sponsor for ITM10 Service-now.com.

Welcome back to the following returning sponsors:
Gold Sponsors: Hornbill and Oblicore
Silver Sponsors: APMG, CollegeNET Inc, Computer Associates, and Loyalist

And introducing the following new sponsors who have joined the Pink Elephant’s IT Service Management Conference sponsor community:
Silver Sponsors: ComSci, LLC and Consulting Portal

Pink Elephant’s 14th Annual International IT Service Management Conference & Exhibition promises to be another successful information and entertainment packed event.  We would like to recognize the sponsor community for their important role in the success of this event and thank them for their support and participation in our conference. 

If anyone is interested in finding out more about being a sponsor at the ITM10 Service Management Conference or one of our PinkPERSPECTIVES, please call Lisa Lyons, Client Relations Manager at 1 888 273-7465 ext 228.  And of course if you are just interested in finding out more about the conference or attending the conference, we would love to see you there - check back on the home page of our website for more information.

Friday, August 07, 2009

Is There Still A Market For Non-ITIL Compatible Tools?

This is not meant to be a leading question, just one of curiosity and interest about the non-ITIL customer and vendor marketplace.

It was not that long ago that the tools were built with basic “Help Desk” functionality to support and report on calls to the Help Desk.  There was also a “whole lotta customizing going on” to fit customer environments and support processes.  As IT organizations started to adopt ITIL support and delivery processes, the tool world started to shift. 

Some vendors continued to offer their standard non-ITIL product and change fields and workflows to meet customer ITIL requirements; some offered both ITIL and non-ITIL versions to accommodate the customer marketplace of ITIL adoptees and IT shops carrying on as they were. As the ITIL processes have taken on a “standard” type status in the IT Service Management process improvement world, so too have many vendors in developing their tool platforms and modules based on ITIL terminology, workflows and integrations; and with minimal to no need to customize at the line-of-code level. 

Water-cooler speculation would indicate that the majority of IT organizations that might be holding out on transforming to ITIL-based IT Service Management organizations are small and medium size organizations, based on perceived value, cost and return on investment of such an initiative.  (Note: enter the ITIL Borg to assimilate this marketplace ITIL V3 Small-Scale Implementation Book – but that’s another blog).  Consequently, if the non-ITIL tool world is dwindling, they will have very few options to choose from and I expect this would mean weighing the benefit, risks and costs of adapting and configuring an IT Service Management (ITIL) tool to fit into their environment.

So back to my question – Is there still a market for non-ITIL compatible “Help Desk” tools?  Are there still a substantial number of tool vendors that have non-ITIL tools?  Are there still a substantial number of organizations out there that have taken the approach to not adopt ITIL – enough to support the demand for non-ITIL tools?

Thursday, July 09, 2009

The IT Service Management Triumvirate

Business Management principles were formalized “eons” ago based on the best practices of successful businesses.  The high level guiding principles of a successful business could be viewed as based on People, Process, and Product.  Business Management principles were introduced into the “business units” but somehow IT was either overlooked or not considered an integral part of the success of the business.  But times are a changing and technology has become a vital and integral part of the success of the business – not only enabling and supporting the business processes but also the people, products and services.  The delivery, management and support of stable, reliable and available technology are essential to the success of most businesses.

So late in the 80’s, after the client / server environment had exploded our controlled mainframe environments and IT became a reactive, firefighting, “techie” culture, along came ITIL best practices introducing a formal framework of processes, or rather process improvement, into IT organizations.  Not surprising they followed the principles of business processes – the assembly line approach to creating stable, reliable and available products and services – only in IT language.  But IT organizations struggled with and still struggle with introducing process improvement, and becoming a proactive, customer and service based culture.  Why?  Because the other two very important ingredients are missing from the “success” formula – People and Technology.

Enter ITSM (basically Business Service Management) which incorporates the success triumvirate of People, Process, and Product.  Adopting ITSM will open the door to the corporate boardroom for IT CIOs to be strategic players in the business’ strategic planning and budgeting sessions.  Implementing processes and process improvement using the ITIL framework is only the tip of the iceberg.  ITIL is merely one facet, albeit an important facet, of the equation and can be considered the “process tool”.  IT Organizations also need to adopt a “people tool” or framework for their organizational culture transformation (e.g. J.P. Kotter’s Organizational Transformation framework).  And, equally important, is IT’s Product – the technology that enables and supports the business processes, people and products.  IT also needs to have the “product tools” to automate the delivery, support and measurement of their “business within the business” and their business objectives. The vendors are seeing the merit in this and are rapidly moving from “help desk” and component-focused solutions toward service- and financial-focused enterprise solutions in the form of ERP for IT and Business Service Management architecture. 

Does your IT organization have all the necessary “tools” to become an IT Service Management business?

Thursday, July 02, 2009

ITSM Presentation Tool Kit

A PinkATLAS customer recently submitted an interesting forum question which I would like to share with you along with the suggestions offered by a couple of our consultants. 

Our customer is preparing a one-hour overview of ITIL and ITSM to an audience with limited to no understanding of ITSM. They asked for some non-IT analogies which would make it more exciting and understandable. 

This could be a tall order!    Here is what two of my esteemed colleagues had to offer.

The analogy provided is a car manufacturing example.  Setting the stage that the concept of IT Service Management is all about delivering value to customers; ask your audience to take on the role of the board of directors and to identify what they need to do to successfully market a new, next generation hybrid cross-over vehicle.  Then relate each phase of the service lifecycle to building and selling this new vehicle.  Next ask your audience what they need to consider in order to deliver value to the customer, that is, utility and warranty, as it pertains to vehicles; using Service Strategy, page 17 Value Creation (Utility and Warranty) Figure 2.2 and page 39 Asset Types (Capabilities and Resources) Figure 3.9 as a reference.  Then ask them what they have to do to enable success in this venture; using the 5 aspects of Service Design to relate them back to running this business enterprise.  Then ask them if they would ever consider building thousands of vehicles without first testing to ensure the design delivers what is expected and then testing each individual car as it is produced to ensure it works properly.  Now they are ready to build the cars and sell them. At this point they move into operations and look at the entire vehicle supply chain in an operational context. Ask them how they are going to support the customer experience after the car has been purchased?  Finally, ask them how they will know they are successful; what needs to improve; and, what customers are happy and not happy about.  It is this Continual Service Improvement phase that feeds the experiences of customers and the organization across each phase of the lifecycle to identify and implement service improvement.

A couple of techniques were also provided with the key being to have fun, think outside the box and be creative in how to get your point across.
 
1.  Add a movie or video clips to the presentation.  First you want to find movies that can illustrate the ITIL processes and the framework in an entertaining way. The most popular and useful is the Apollo 13 movie. Another movie which has been successfully used, which provides a bit of humor to discussions, is the National Lampoon’s Vacation. Matrix also has interesting clips for examples.  Play a clip to reinforce points or illustrate processes and ask your audience to identify the processes they saw reflected. 
2. Run a Jeopardy show.  Host a “show” with participants from the audience answering questions about ITIL and ITSM.  Add a bit of humor to the show by throwing in a “ringer” who is prepared to provide some off beat and “colorful” answers. In between questions, run “advertisements” related to ITIL and the ITSM program you are launching.  Have the sponsor on the stage as a participant and provide prizes for the game.

The key here is have fun – think outside the box and realize that the ITIL framework applies to much more than IT – be creative about how you get that point across.

I invite you to share analogies, techniques and examples that have worked for you or you think could work and which we can all add to our presentation “tool” kits.

Monday, June 29, 2009

The Square Peg Round Hole Syndrome

I’m sure there must be a logical explanation to this conundrum because IT people tend to be logical and ITSM tool vendors meet their customers’ requirements – right?  Here is the situation.  Most ITSM tool vendors are jumping on the ITIL bandwagon and designing their tools to use standard ITIL terminology and to enable and automate ITIL process workflows and integrations.  On the other side of the equation, most customers shopping for new ITSM tools are either implementing ITIL process improvement and want a tool to support, enable and automate their processes or they are looking for an ITIL – compatible tool to get them started on their ITIL process improvement journey (which is another issue for another time).

Consultants usually hear the now – standard mantra "the tool doesn’t meet our requirements".  Translation: we will have to do some "customization" to get into the core code level.  With the ability to do so much "personalization" or "configuration" to the out–of–the–box tool, I just wonder – is it that IT makes their requirements so complex because they are; or because they want to test the vendors and the tool; or because they are resistant to accepting the tool as it is?  Or is this a vendor issue in which they are trying to fit the square peg into the round hole and have not reached a level of integration and automation maturity that means they can meet the customer’s process integration requirements?  Or is a bit of both?