A service catalog provides a single source of consistent information about all available services and the following relationships can be created:
When service catalog information is associated with customers, service suppliers and contract information, it can create a rich, multi-dimensional picture linking these additional items:
Customers or user communities see value in a service offering and enter into a contract with the business to obtain the offering.
ITIL provides you with the tools and the storage to create the service catalog for your business. You can put information about all the IT services that are available for deployment in your service catalog. The service catalog would be the only part of the service portfolio published to customers, and is used to support the sale and delivery of IT services. Your service catalog can also include information such as deliverables, prices, contact points, ordering or request processes.
The use of ITIL service catalog makes the set of services easily available to users. Using ITIL service catalog integrated to request fulfillment provides several benefits for the entire organization among which are the following:
Centralized management of requests: Whether a user needs to request access to an application, retrieve a backup or purchase new equipment, ITIL service catalog is the access point to all services offered by the service desk or other service departments, providing access to this information and how it is processed.
Simplicity for the user: The users request what they need and they receive it without worrying about the process of providing the service.
Self-service: The use of ITIL service catalog greatly facilitates user self-service capabilities, reduces management costs and improves the user experience by providing detailed information about their requests (description, price, delivery, SLAs, approvals, etc.) and the status of their application.
Improvement in business processes: Each service can have its own process of processing based on the data provided by the user. Processing the registration to a training is not the same as processing the provisioning of a PC.
Better control: One of the main needs of any service department is to have maximum control over the entire operation. The use of ITIL service catalog with the request management process allows traceability of the entire process from application to delivery recording and documenting all the intermediate steps.
Standardization of supply: An important benefit of using ITIL service catalog is the ability to provide each user with complementary services, like eliminating the possibility that someone who should not have access to an application, could apply the access to it, simplifying the catalog for each user profile and reducing the workload by eliminating the processing of improper applications.
Cost reduction: ITIL service catalog can reduce the time that the user requires to process applications, allowing these applications to be processed more efficiently and enables the most qualified service staff to focus on those tasks that bring more value to the organization and reducing total operating costs.
Improvement in financial management: Centrally processing all requests through ITIL service catalog facilitates the allocation of costs associated with each corresponding department or business. Besides, knowing the price of each service offered, allows each area to make its budgets more accurately.
Increase user satisfaction: Provide the user with a single point where to see everything that each service department offers, where to send your requests and always know the state of the same, which not only improves the management of service delivery but also greatly increases the satisfaction of the user.
Maximize business benefits: ITIL service catalog describes each service not only by its characteristics but also by its objectives. This intelligence helps closely align services with the business strategy, substantially contributing to the achievement of corporate goals.