Challenges in implementing IT service management for telecommunication sector in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The Sri Lankan telecommunication industry has an immense competition today, in which a number of major players are battling to increase their subscribers and most importantly, their market share. On the other hand over the past several decades, "Information Technology" has become the primary technology that affects everyone in the modern world in their day-to-day lives. As telecommunication is a technology driven industry where information technology plays an important role in, telecommunication companies are required to strengthen their Information Technology Services Management (ITSM) framework in alignment with the present environment and its challenges. This research is carried out to find out, to what extend the Sri Lankan telecommunication industry uses ITSM and to find out the challenges faced by them when implementing ITSM. The research identifies the major challenges that the local telecommunication organizations have to face when implementing ITSM. As a preparation for the research an extensive literature review was done in the areas of ITSM implementation frameworks, key success factors in ITSM implementation, and challenges in implementing ITSM for various industries. The research was done based on a survey among the IT management staff of Sri Lankan telecommunication companies, using a questionnaire. Based on the challenges identified from the research, the recommendations were made to overcome them. The findings of this research and proposed recommendations are helpful for any telecommunication organization, which is going to implement IT service management. Also this research findings and recommendations are useful not only for the local telecommunication industry but also for many other local industries which may be considering ITSM implementation.