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It’s Good to Have Options
At Whitlock, Promoting IT Innovation certainly entails helping clients make better decisions on those matters that encourage IT operational efficiency. We spend all of our time speaking with clients about process improvements, automation, integration, communication planning, costs and benefits, and organizational alignment and training. In those conversations our unifying goal is to align alternate approaches to the client’s desired outcomes and available resources. We take seriously our role as advocates for IT (both the technology and the people). For the past dozen years, a common denominator in these conversations has been the configuration and deployment options embedded in Hewlett-Packard’s exhaustive business and technology management portfolio.
In his new book, Predictably Irrational, Duke University behavioral economist, Dan Ariely, explores the rational (and often irrational) ways in which we make choices. In a fascinating initial chapter he explores the “truth about relativity.” He begins by pointing out that we focus on the relative advantage of one thing over another when making decisions, and that in most cases, we don’t know what we prefer until we see it in the context of what’s available. In economics the measure of value of a good or service is often referred to as utility, therefore, when comparing one good or service to another, economists refer to this as relative utility. So, we are almost always comparing in order to make the decision that provides us with the greatest relative utility.
The concept of comparing one or more options, in order to reap maximum benefit, is the way our minds work (and therefore probably comes as little surprise). There is, however, one aspect of relativity highlighted in the book that may be less obvious: “We tend to focus on comparing things that are easily comparable and avoid comparing things that can not be compared easily.”
What does all of this have to do with IT, and in particular, IT Service Management? As it turns out, we hope quite a bit. When pursuing ever greater levels of IT Management proficiency and the performance gains and cost reductions that ensue, it is not easy to compare one solution to another. By its nature, evaluating products and approaches is a complex decision due primarily to the absence of standards promoting a straightforward comparison of the available options and their short and long term costs and benefits.
In an attempt to provide our clients with “context”, that is, IT Management alternatives (more) easily compared and contrasted, we have recently entered into new complementary partnerships with up-and-coming IT Management companies. To be sure, these companies do not offer the breadth of offerings found in Hewlett-Packard’s Business and Technology Optimization (BTO) suite. However, they do provide similar functionality that might best serve a mid-market customer or a division within a larger enterprise. Perhaps most importantly, their software will provide a context in which we can assist clients with a meaningful comparison of features, functions, benefits and costs (read: relative utility).
In addition to our legacy Hewlett-Packard-based offerings and products from our new partners, we are also rolling out new consulting services that will empower our clients with the ability to compare relative costs and benefits. The initial offerings include, new methods for the rapid deployment of ITIL-based processes, and new methods for supporting ITSM projects once complete.
As Mr. Ariely also points out, “Relativity helps us make decisions in life. But it can also make us downright miserable.” The basis for the negative aspect of relativity is that, “we are wired to compare,” and sometimes jealous of what others have, or frustrated with the fact we can’t afford all of the available options. We believe that the new solutions we are building are both feature rich and finite enough not to lead to this downside of relativity.
Peruse our site to learn more about Whitlock’s offerings that empower clients to make rational decisions that best Promote IT! Please, let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Don Bafford
President, Whitlock
Whitlock: Promoting IT Innovation