IT departments that have a mandate to act as internal service providers must become a business within a business. Instead of simply focusing on the maintenance of activities and assets, IT must manage resources in a manner consistent with enterprise objectives. Create a process for identifying and closing gaps between IT performance and business expectations.

Defining and Managing IT Service Delivery

Delivering and managing IT services in an ad hoc fashion reduces IT's effectiveness in terms of adding value to the business. Administered properly, formal management tools such as Service Catalogs, Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and chargebacks can align IT initiatives with business objectives. Figure 1 illustrates how these management tools fit within an overall process for managing IT service delivery to internal customers.