Marval

Long before computers, IBM and Microsoft, thought leaders in information technology (IT) were emerging that would change the world forever. Oxford University Press (OUP) is one such organisation, which remains the largest, most successful university press in the world.

It has its origins in the IT revolution of the 15th Century, beginning with the invention of printing from movable type. The first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, only two years after Caxton set up the first printing press in England.

Never an organisation to be complacent, OUP's Group IT Services achieved another milestone which would contribute to its continued success for another 500 years - in December 2008, after 18 months, its 80-strong internal IT department achieved certification against ISO/IEC 20000, the international standard in IT service management.

Many at OUP rely on technology to do their jobs well, from having their own computers, through accessing systems, to storage of data. And many are supported by OUP's Group IT Services, who deal with their day-to-day queries and problems, and support and handle system maintenance, upgrades, and outages.

In order to ensure that the service being provided was 'best of breed', Chris Stavrinides (IT Customer Services Manager) and his team were recently put through an externally run audit, which has resulted in them being awarded the ISO20000-1 IT Service Management Certificate. This independent award testifies that OUP's IT Services are some of the best available, and they were the first major publisher to achieve this status in the UK.

"I'm so pleased that we've achieved this," commented Chris. "Working towards the certification, we've created and improved the processes for handling our work, resulting in a better service for the business. The final award is really the icing on the cake, as it clearly demonstrates that we've achieved operational excellence in our support of OUP's business requirements. But its value is also in helping to motivate my team to continually improve their work and remain accountable to their customers - you."

"Marval, which provides our ITSM training, consultancy and ITSM tool set, had already been discussing the benefits of adopting ISO20000. We needed a partner to help us achieve our goal. This was a no brainer. We selected Marval; their credentials were ideal."

Marval, he adds, was able to supply everything - training, consultancy and product. Certainly, it has the right credentials to do so, being ISO20000 certified, co-authors of ITIL® and ISO20000, while its integrated ITSM tool is designed to support both ITIL and ISO20000. And, as Chris points out: "Most of the evidential data required is automatically collected in the Marval tool."

"We wanted a partner that's been there and got the certificate, and was not afraid to challenge our approaches and ways of working." He continues, "Marval assisted at every stage, at all times - their overall motive was not profit, but the satisfaction to see us succeed (discussing/arguing issues with Marval team members late at night or exchanging emails during the weekend was a common occurrence). This is what I call partnership."

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