Integrating new technology into services – ITIL 4 HVIT

The challenge in a product/service environment is developing the product, harnessing the technology, involving stakeholders and ultimately creating value for customers.

Therefore, adopting high-velocity IT is about applying digital technology for business enablement, increasing performance and improving value streams for the co-creation of value.

Digital technology is built on often complex and unpredictable systems and presents risks – such as security and a multitude of components – when organizations are innovating ways to deliver new things.

For example, a company might be using robotics/AI to deliver new services. The technology can include voice synthesis, a central processing unit, batteries, cameras, robotic arms/legs and an operating system. However, if the company buys the hardware for the sake of having it, the robot could end up in storage for months!

Instead, the organization needs to begin from demand: why does it need a robot and its services? Is it about user experience? So, there needs to be an objective before looking at value streams, people and technology, understanding the risks within new products and capabilities and eventually designing and co-creating value.

The main skills challenge with high-velocity IT is being able to orchestrate this environment.

This means working towards a genuine culture of digital adoption using methods such as Lean, Agile, DevOps, design thinking and emotional intelligence – vital for interacting with stakeholders and users consuming services.

ITIL 4’s HVIT guidance supports the application of digital technology for business enablement and helps practitioners to understand every single challenge they might face. They need to recognize the importance of HVIT for business enablement (not just fast for the sake of fast) and how this is underpinned by digital transformation.

Another important element in the guidance is AI operations: the application of machine learning and big data to provide IT operations with continuous insights. This ensures that everything designed and transitioned to deliver services will create value and be ready for future iterations.

ITIL 4’s service value system (SVS) establishes how different components and activities within the organization work together to co-create value.

A consistent SVS combines governance, practices, guiding principles, continual improvement and the trigger points to identify real demand for value.

When you acknowledge that your organization is going to be based on digital technology you must, therefore, start with people; how they can work together and how they can orchestrate every piece of the service value system. With this in place, you can then begin to deliver services and create value more quickly.

Many organizations are only at the start of this digital transformation journey. However, for enterprises struggling today to deliver the right thing or confronting problems with customer/user experience, there are plenty of options to help improve.

Yes, it is challenging, but frameworks like ITIL 4 are there to help organizations develop the right strategy and build on the opportunity of high velocity IT.

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