News & Press

Election Process Kickoff

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 11:10:00 GMT

The election process has begun!!

itSMF USA is a volunteer-led, vendor-neutral community dedicated to the promotion, adoption, and advancement of service management best practices and standards and as a community, our mission is to connect service management professionals, learn through events, trainings, etc., and provide opportunities to grow your skills.

One of those opportunities is by serving as leader of the organization, and the board of directors are the core leaders setting direction for the organization in a post-Covid world for our members.

The election process is taking place over the next several months. This process includes identifying the nominating committee, candidates, interviews, recommendations; and finally, vote of the membership for the next slate of directors.

We can't move forward as a volunteer-led community without members stepping up to lead, and we ask for your thoughtful consideration of the following question: How can I help lead this organization going forward?

Board of Director

Do you believe you may have the skills needed and willing to be considered for a board of director position? Click here to let us know and have some initial discussions.

Do you believe you know someone who should be considered for aboard of director position? Click here to let us know so we can have some initial discussions.

Nominating Committee

Would you possibly be willing to serve on the nominating committee? Click here to let us know and we reach out to discuss what this entails.

Other Volunteer Opportunities

Not able to serve on the board but willing to help the community in other ways? Click here to see some of the volunteer opportunities and let us know if you would be willing to help with any of these.

New Sponsorship

Sat, 17 Jun 2023 14:35:00 GMT

itSMF USA is pleased to announce a new sponsorship with Excalibur Data Systems and Halo ITSM to fund our Zoom subscription.

This sponsorship allows us to increase our Zoom subscription to better serve the organization program needs including our local interest groups and community of interest groups.

Continual Improvement Community of Interest Announcement

Tue, 9 May 2023 19:34:00 GMT

We are pleased to announce that, after a 2-year quiet spell, we will be re-activating the Continual Improvement Community of Interest (COI), which will be managed by Cy Howells and John Clipp. We intend to have a variety of speakers discussing Continual Improvement concepts and best practices and covering topics such as Assessment Methodologies, Metrics, KPIs and Measurement, Improvement Planning and Execution, and the tools that may support your Continual Improvement journey.

The itSMF Continual Improvement Community of Interest objective is to increase the visibility of the benefits achieved through the adoption of Continual Improvement best practices. Our role is to serve as an advisory and expert panel for knowledge transfer and collaboration on implementation and support of Continual Improvement best practice.

Please contribute your ideas and thoughts or start a conversation on the Continual Improvement Forum at:

https://www.itsmfusa.org/forums_engagement/Topics.aspx?forum=237869

If you would be interested in speaking at one of our sessions or have any suggestions on possible topics, please send us an email to contimpcoi@itsmfusa.org

New Community of Interest!!!

Sat, 18 Feb 2023 14:37:00 GMT

The Unified Service Management Community of Interest is now in place for members to join in! The USM welcome video summarizes some of the benefits of the Unified Service Management method. There are also a couple of recent webinars available to members:

· Simplifying Service Management for the Enterprise - Part 1

· How to Make a Success of ITIL 4 with USM - Part 2

USM has been used very successfully in the Netherlands and increasingly in Europe for almost a decade, so this is a proven approach to simplify service management for the entire enterprise. Stay tuned for future announcements to the USM COI such as:

> DISCOUNTS on USM publications

> FREE USM Workshops

> REDUCED PRICING for USM Foundation Certification Training

To join this (or any other available interest group), visit the itSMF USA website, go to Connect, Our Communities, navigate to the USM group page and choose to join the group.

The USM group page and USM Forum Page have more information.

CLICK HERE to join this exciting new COI.

New Community of Interest!!!

Sat, 7 May 2022 13:58:00 GMT

The ITIL Community of Interest is now in place for members to join in!

To join this or any of the other available interest group, go to Connect, and Our Communities and navigate to the group page and choose to join the group.

Email cyrus.howells@itsmfusa.org if you are interested in being a manager of the ITIL Community of Interest.

Our next event will be session 1 of the ITIL 4 Overview Series presented by Cy Howells who is one of the managers of the community of interest.

1st Quarter Update from Outgoing President

Wed, 6 Apr 2022 21:06:00 GMT

Dear Member,

My term as CEO and President has come to a close, having stepped down as President over the past week. I remain committed to itSMF USA and its future, and I will be serving on as Treasurer.

There is so much hopefulness in the air, with the COVID-19 virus waning across America. Likewise, we hear of the resurgence from some of our past volunteers who are inquiring about restarting local interest groups. I'm pleased in having led the organization through a Pandemic, pulling together a group of people who did not know each other. We built relationships that led to people committing to building the organization regardless that we currently do not deliver Fusion conferences.

For 2021, the new Programs Committee was successful in carrying the torch with bi-weekly virtual presentations, and offering several free, member-only training and certification sessions in ITIL 4 Foundations, and Lean IT Foundations. We launched the monthly Open Conversations forums in 2021, and I held several Town Halls to share Chapter highlights.

March 4 – 5, 2022, the Board held a strategic planning meeting where we reviewed our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. As a result, the board developed a 90-day plan with specific deliverables on how the organization will decide on some Chapter strategy alternatives.

For the year, I’m most pleased with the contributions of so many of our volunteers, including your dynamic, faithful board of directors: Russell Thyret, Cyrus Howells, Hope Station, Ray Ybarra, and John Malonson. With the depth and duration of the Pandemic, the board and the Interest Group leaders have done a splendid job at maintaining our Chapter operations.

Please welcome Russell Thyret who I’ve appointed and the board has unanimously accepted as your 2022 President and CEO.

Peter Beasley

ITIL Forum available

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 14:04:00 GMT

A new community forum is now available for general discussion about the ITIL process framework!

To join this or any of the other available forums, go to Connect and the itSMF USA Forums.

Choose the forum you are interested in, and under Forum Actions, subscribe to instant updates.

Remember to follow the forum rules.

4th Quarter Update from the President

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 20:33:18 GMT

Dear Members, Sponsors and Partners,

We’ve turned the corner and are coming into the final stretch. As we enter Q4, Strategy 2021 will complete in the upcoming months.

Finally, the board has made structural changes, amending our bylaws, where Presidents can now serve past the outdated, mandatory 1 year cut-off, thus allowing the board needed continuity to achieve lasting goals. Join the board of directors with your nomination by Monday, October 11.

Learn about our Bylaw changes and about last year’s performance at the Annual General Meeting of the Members, November 9, 2021 @ noon CST.

As a first in a series of improvements, look for a website upgrade the week of October 11, 2021. The new website will be responsive and mobile-ready, with an updated modern user interface.

We are enjoying a resurgence of our Local Interest Groups (LIGs) and our Communities of Interest (CoI). This is exciting, and now’s a great time to get involved ― or to start a group in your area. Personally win $1,500 toward your choice of technical training by starting or leading a LIG or CoI for Q4 2021. That’s right, be one of the two winners, based on a peer review, for starting or leading an Interest Group. Stand-out among your peers. Look for more details soon.

Active Interest Group members can now get free or discounted technical training and certifications. The first Active Interest Group Member offering is Lean IT training from Pink, December 13 / 14, 2021. To attend free, simply become an active participant of a Local Interest Group or Community of Interest group by November 15, 2021. It’s that simple.

We’ve offered and 58 members have taken or are registered for our free ITIL 4 Foundation certification and training. As we hold our last 2021 ITIL training October 4 / 5, we are making plans for continued free service management trainings for members into 2022.

The bi-weekly Thursday Programs Committee offerings have grown to over 100s of RSVP per session. The next, October 14, 2021 session challenges the audience on whether Outcomes, Costs, or Risks are the most important in determining value within new service offerings. What do you think?

Another innovation is our new Open Conversation series – the 2^nd Monday of each month. Here, new and potential members learn of the benefits of itSMF USA, plus members share open conversation with “what’s on your mind.”

Membership is growing, and it’s a great time to consider sponsoring itSMF USA. We now allow corporations and vendors to sponsor Local Interest Groups and Communities of Interest to publicize their brands, and to show support to the service management community. Reach-out at info@itsmfusa.org for more details.

Plan to attend our first Open Conversations, Monday, October 11, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. CST.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87945078063?pwd=ZXpRWlBEbXFtYk9iU3NLSHhNcStBZz09

Meeting ID: 879 4507 8063
Passcode: 445870

Peter Beasley
President, Board of Directors
itSMF USA

3rd Quarter update from President

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 16:11:43 GMT

Dear Members, Sponsors and Partners,

Hello again. COVID-19 is not yet out of the news, but nonetheless, the American spirit continues on.

We at itSMF USA and your Board of Directors are working hard to turn a corner.

Our Programs Committee, led by Cyrus Howells, and team, has achieved a new milestone. In July, we kicked-off our free ITIL4 Foundations training for members. That’s right, we have a 1-year mission to provide free training for our new and loyal members who continue to support us. Also, members and guests are enjoying the learning and networking from the Program Committee’s bi-weekly virtual events. If you missed the July training, we have more in store over the next few months.

Our Local and Special Interest Groups, led by Ray Ybarra, are rebounding too. And yes, we are offering free training within the Interest Groups for members who attend the local and virtual events put-on by the faithful volunteers who support our industry.

We have new incentives for new Local groups, for leaders of existing groups, and for the volunteers who regularly participate in our programs. One of the greatest values we provide is networking for service management professionals, across America, to share best practices. Our incentives include branded dress apparel, technical training, and certification vouchers. We now send our most dedicated Chapter Leaders Awardees to a technical conference, including expenses.

Now’s the time to get involved with the resurgence of itSMF USA.

Membership is ticking up, and interest in added local groups has new momentum.

If you lead an existing Local or Community group, or if you want to be recognized amongst your service management peers as a leader, please join our Community Leaders meeting this Friday, August 13, @ 11 am CST.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86393782684?pwd=RU84aTQxZHFpc2ZLRGN3aFMzQllodz09

Meeting ID: 863 9378 2684
Passcode: 650473

Peter Beasley
President, Board of Directors,
itSMF USA

1st Quarter update from President

Sat, 13 Mar 2021 13:50:17 GMT

Dear Members, Sponsors and Partners,

Hello again, This year is certainly off to a promising start!

There are now multiple vaccines worldwide, COVID-19 infections are down, and the US election woes are well behind us. On most every front, the conversation is up-beat.

I’m pleased to also share that the itSMF USA Board of Directors held its annual strategic planning meeting the last week in January, and great new plans for the year are well underway.
First, we’d like to thank a few of the directors that are rolling-off of the board. Tammy Whited, John Clipp, and Scott Rose were with us in 2020, and have added tremendous value to the organization. We wish them well in their future pursuits.
Diana Mahmoud has been serving the itSMF community faithfully for 5 years now, and she too will be leaving at the end of March. If you get a chance, be sure to reach-out to thank Diana before she leaves. Diana is loved and will be missed.

As with each new board year, we have open positions and new opportunities serving on committees. Please welcome Hope B. Station and Cyrus Howells to serve as directors. Please extend them a hearty welcome.

Our committees for the year include Interest Groups, Alliances and a new focus on Programs. The Programs Committee will identify events and programs that can be delivered centrally to benefit all members, also bringing greater opportunities for sponsors. This committee will capture the content areas that our members want most.
We also have a new focus to build relationships with academic institutions. We serve as a bridge for students new into service management, and institutes of higher learning have great research to bring to our member base. Look for great new offerings here.
However, the heart and soul of itSMF USA remains with our members. We continue our model in support of the participation and knowledge-sharing within our Interest Groups (Local and Communities of Interest) and highly anticipate having in-person events again in 2021.
Certainly too, we cannot succeed in our mission to serve our members and the service management industry without our great sponsors like Dynatrace, Freshworks, JIT, Intact, and Technolava. We want to build on the value we deliver to sponsors, and how they provide benefits to members.

Look to hear from the Board, from the organization’s leaders and from me on a regular basis in 2021. I will hold a few membership-wide Town Halls in the year. And feel free to reach-out to me as this board works hard to earn your continued trust.
Peter Beasley

President, Board of Directors,
 itSMF USA

Looking forward to the new year: A message from Peter Beasley, itSMF USA President.

Mon, 4 Jan 2021 14:11:11 GMT

Dear Members, Sponsors and Partners,

I am blessed and honored to take the next leg serving as the President and Chief Executive for itSMF USA. Together, we’ve had a proud 23 year history right from the early days in 1997 of the Service Management revolution. There have been countless successes from thousands of volunteers, sponsors, partners, leaders and professionals who have established the service management profession here in the United States. Life in America is better based on our collective successes.

But as we leave 2020, we now hear of B.1.1.7. The world is finally delivering vaccinations to Covid-19, but we are amid a documented period of heighted infections. Coronavirus has affected the entire world and itSMF USA has not been immune. Fusion ’20 was cancelled and our vibrant, in-person Local Interest Groups have morphed into a virtual existence. Everyone now knows Zoom.

Over fifteen years ago, ITIL and service management disciplines were at the “Peak of Inflated Expectations”. Now, newer information technology frameworks exist. Now, there are many service management organizations and the ubiquity of viable service management products is not what it used to be. Technology always gives way to contemporary, newer trends and content on past best practices is merely a google away.

The American social fabric has undergone change as well, with social transformations like the Me Too, Black Lives Matter and a host of other societal activisms. History proves that organizations often must undergo some transformation to thrive in disruptive economies like we have faced in recent years.

So, the new decade beginning 2021 faces tremendous challenges, and it would be insincere to not identify the obvious.

Day One I have challenged the itSMF USA 2021 Board of Directors to ensure that we lead with transparency and in the best interest of the organization. No one can dispute that our greatest asset is our members to whom we must deliver value.

I am confident and I trust you can see too that we have the right management team to carry itSMF USA into its next era of successes, 2021 Board of Directors, and we thank Doug Smith for the hand-off from his years leading the charge.

Throughout the upcoming year, expect the Board to provide Town Halls and frequent communiques. We have a multi-day Strategic Retreat already scheduled in January, and we’ll inform and involve our members and sponsors as we maintain the organization’s vitality. Please look to hear from us again in February, after our retreat.

Peter Beasley
President, Board of Directors
itSMF USA

A message from Doug Smith, outgoing president

Thu, 17 Dec 2020 13:47:06 GMT

Dear Member,

This is the time of year where we pause, remember, and give thanks for those little things in life. Given the challenges all of us have experienced throughout 2020, simple words like “thank you” and “we couldn’t have done it without you” carry even greater meaning for this holiday season.

Please know that our gratitude for the trust and confidence you place in itSMF USA has never been more heartfelt. I want to thank our community, our members, and our local leadership teams for standing by our mission through a very challenging 2020. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and made our in-person education and networking events impossible, our teams embraced new ways of working and put together memorable events and training. We averaged an event a week through 2020-truly remarkable given all that was going on in the world. I send a special thanks to our Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Ohio Valley, St Louis, and Utilities Local Interest Groups and Communities of Interest for organizing events throughout the year and continuing to provide robust service management offerings.

As my term as CEO and President comes to a close, I want to thank our board for volunteering so much of their time and energy to our community. I am proud of what we've achieved together, including reducing operating expenses by more than 50%, growing our sponsorship and membership programs and strengthening our partnerships with other chapters. We launched a discounted online bookstore and hosted member-only initiatives such as the free ITIL 4 book and the MarsLander Simulation promotion. And for the first time, our community earned a special discount to attend an international event with itSMF UK 2020. What a year!

Finally, join me in welcoming Peter Beasley, President of itSMF USA (2021). Peter has served on the Board of Directors since 2019.

I’m grateful for your support and look forward to the wonderful things ahead.

Douglas Smith,

President, itSMF USA (2020)

2020 Annual General Meeting Announced

Wed, 2 Sep 2020 15:24:14 GMT

itSMF USA's Annual General Meeting will take place on October 14, 2020, from 4:00 - 5:30 PM EDT (3PM Central / 2PM Mountain/ 1PM Pacific).

Members will gather via Zoom this year, but you must register to access the presentation.

Following the Annual General Meeting presentation, we'll welcome Ken Wendle, itSMF USA past president and author of The V*A*L*U*E* formula. He will discuss "The 5 Elements of Value Creation."

This is our most important meeting of the year. Mark your calendars today! More details to follow!

Register

Letter From itSMF President

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 13:30:52 GMT

To Our Valued Members, Partners, and Service Management Industry,

As always, our top priority is the health, safety, and the well-being of our employees, our members, customers, and the communities we serve. With strong national roots, we have demonstrated an unyielding commitment to stand with our members and communities for over two decades — and today is no different.

It’s now been almost six weeks since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, and our daily routines have shifted dramatically. We have all been getting accustomed to working from home and juggling the daily distractions that can come with our new environment. At times, it can be easy to put your personal health and well-being aside, but now it’s even more important to stay healthy and active — both physically and mentally. Our families, members, and our industry need us more than ever.

Here at itSMF USA, we are committed to providing continued resource and education opportunities for our members and beyond. Collectively, we will persevere and come out a stronger world together.

For up-to-date information, follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, and at our website

www.itsmfusa.org.

Douglas A. Smith

President, Board of Directors

itSMF USA