Following on from my review of Day 1 of the itSMF UK Conference and Exhibition, it’s time to take a look at what happened on Day 2.
As the second day started I couldn’t help but look around slightly relieved that I wasn’t feeling as bad as the majority of the other conference goers looked. By all accounts the wine on the table had been completely obliterated and some people (mentioning no names) didn’t even managed to make it down for breakfast!
Talking of breakfast the fare at the Hyatt Regency was a decent spread and didn’t taste too much like it had been standing for hours. My experience of the waiting staff was that they were efficient and courteous, something you’d think would be a given but it never ceases to amaze me how hotels can charge such an extortionate amount for breakfast and then get it so very wrong.
In the Exhibition Hall more revellers surfaced and headed straight for the coffee in an attempt to freshen up somewhat before another full day of sessions. Anyway, less talk of breakfast and hangovers and more talk about the actual conference content…
Service Integration and Management (SIAM) – ITSM’s New Discipline by Kevin Holland, IT Service Management Consultant Specialist
My first session of the day was Kevin Holland’s Practical Tips for Effective Service Integration.
After threatening all the hungover attendees to stay awake or he’d do another Harmonica solo Kevin warned that System Integration is not Service Integration and that there is no need for an expensive supplier…you can do it yourself!
Systems integration is not service integration – how true don't confuse the two! #itsm13
— Jane Humphries (@humphries_jane) November 5, 2013
Q: there is a cost to SIAM is that a barrier? @ITILspecialist: "no, you don't need an expensive supplier you can do it yourself" #itsm13
— Joe The IT Guy (@Joe_the_IT_guy) November 5, 2013
10 Steps to Problem Management – A Real Life Journey by Amanda Kirby, Virgin Media
It took me a little while to concentrate on Amanda’s session as I was mesmerized by her fantastic shiny red shoes! Getting Problem Management right is one of those elusive things that is so important and yet difficult to put into practice so I was interested to see Virgin’s experiences.
@gobbymidget She certainly makes those shoes look good, doesn't she? 😉 #itsm13
— Virgin Media (@virginmedia) November 5, 2013
Amanda ran a visual exercise to show how difficult it can be keeping all the balls in the air…literally!
Great interactive session on problem managment with balls – amanda kirby #itsm13 pic.twitter.com/qow8Tv8tnf
— Richard Griffiths (@mallrat37) November 5, 2013
She also shared Virgins mantra “Screw it…let’s do it!” which appealed to the part of me that gets frustrated with the bureaucratic nonsense we’ve all experienced.
Amanda’s bubbly enthusiasm was totally infectious and by the end of it I was ready to go back and tackle implementing Problem Management…you know… if we needed such a thing at The ITSM Review.
Impromptu SM Congress Talk – Patrick Bolger, Barclay Rae, Paul Wilkinson and Mark Smalley
Over the course of the conference I had heard a few people commenting on how there wasn’t a lot of mention of SM Congress and so I was pleased to find that an impromptu talk by a few of the members who attended the original sessions at Fusion were going to answer some of the questions that had been raised since.
"@patb0512 setting the record straight on #SMCongress & encouraging #ITSM13 attendees to get involved pic.twitter.com/4gGUoZSUHK
— Sophie Danby (@SophieDanby) November 5, 2013
The session was particularly useful to those who were hesitant about SM Congress, as it helped clear the air and display the facts about the initiative.
For those of you that have been on the moon for the last couple of weeks and missed all the SM Congress talk you can find out more about it here. I also recommend taking a look at #SMCongress on Twitter for general discussions about the initiative. If you have great ideas to help shape the IT community and the future of ITSM then please consider getting involved.
DevOps – Shattering the Barriers by Kaimar Karu, itSMF Estonia
My final session of the day was a relatively new subject for me. Kaimar explained the methodology and benefits of DevOps and why Beer is such an important part of forging relationships, although judging by what I saw over the course of the conference any old alcohol will do!
@ken_gonzalez See point 5…told you so. Beer is essential to #DevOps #ITSM13 pic.twitter.com/z5K7hhVO21
— Patrick Bolger (@patb0512) November 5, 2013
In summary
At the end of day two I was thoroughly shattered but hugely buzzed by everything I’d learnt, and I had list as long as my arm of further reading and cool stuff to investigate.
Despite some of the comments that there was a smaller attendance than in previous years, all of the sessions that I went to were very well attended and all of the staff at ICC I encountered were welcoming and helpful.
Some of the vendors I spoke to were concerned that due to the layout there was less opportunity for delegates to pass through the exhibition area on their way from one session to the next. However vendors such as Gaming Works that invested significantly in self promotion via social media and other avenues leading up to the conference hardly saw time where their stand wasn’t attended.
We managed to sneak a few photos with some of the exhibitors:












All in all an enormously enjoyable event that I will not hesitate to revisit.
Thanks for great time , and put my name down for sponsor next year. #itsm13
— Ivo van Haren (@ivovanharen) November 5, 2013
Great few days discussion at #ITSM13… Once again an eclectic mix of old and new faces. Thank you itSMF UK and safe travels everyone.
— Chris Barrett (@ChrisBarrettski) November 5, 2013
Thank you everyone for a truly amazing conference. @itSMFUK staff for the cust serv & org excellence, speakers for awesome prezis. #itsm13
— Andie (@AndieKis) November 5, 2013
In closing we would just like to take the opportunity to wish Ben Clacy all the very best in his future endeavours. Thank you Ben for everything you have done for ITSM.