MSP Association Members Adopting ITIL Standards

Developed by the British government, ITIL standards were designed to establish guidelines and a common language for operational processes such as change management and problem resolution, service delivery and resolution of customer inquiries.

"The use of a standard vocabulary for designing processes for IT management produces incredible efficiency in product planning inside an organization," said Dave Lilly, president and COO of MSP Association member SiteRock, Emeryville, Calif. "What ITIL does is provide a consistent framework between the service provider, suppliers and the customer."

The MSP Association has set up a Service Quality Management Initiative based on ITIL standards. So far, four of its members--SiteRock, Center 7, InteQ and SevenSpace/Nuclio--have adopted the standards.

The MSP Association plans to offer training to help members adopt the standards. Also under way is a new buyer's guide for MSP services.

"Our main objectives are to broaden customer awareness of managed services and drive quality of service delivery with best practices," said Carolyn Ruech, executive director of the MSP Association.