The need to do more, at a higher level of quality - with fewer resources- is driving many IT organizations to implement process methodologies such as the ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) framework. As a foundation for defining standard services and communicating with the business, the Service Catalog represents an essential element for ITIL or any process-based IT service management initiative.

The Service Catalog can be used to define, configure, deploy, and govern IT services. It also provides the means to market available services, standardize service fulfillment processes, establish achievable service levels, determine the associated costs, and manage performance.

While ITIL provides guidance for service support and service delivery processes, ITIL doesn't offer concrete recommendations on how to produce and operationalize an IT Service Catalog. In this white paper, readers will learn:

• The key elements for an effective Service Catalog
• How to avoid common pitfalls
• Recommendations for producing an actionable Service Catalog
• A proven approach to jump start your Service Catalog deployment