The Enterprise Digital Podcast

Ian and Barclay discuss the current status of ESM – the original inspiration for the podcast. Is this still a viable and living ‘ology’? We focus on the original definitions that we discussed and look at whether or not these are applicable now and whether ESM is alive or dead? We look at the reality of what is in use around this area and also whether our own taxonomy and definitions really reflect...

This session includes a detailed discussion of some of the ethical questions and impact associated with AI. Can we ascribe ethics to AI technology? Or is are these issues a further exposure of human frailty and ethical behaviour? Does the AI have a conscience and moral compass, or is it just a mirror to us as humans? This is the 3rd of the Entdig AI series, and we use a variety of experience and k...

This week we discuss and explore the Service management and AI ‘Elephant in the room’. We hear a lot of very practical and senior discussions around the future of the Service Desk – do we really need this function if we can automate out the work? What are the implications, how realistic is this? What does this mean for the IT career path if Service Desk is an entry point? How do we continue to man...

Our guest is industry analyst Eveline Oehrlich – who has significant analyst experience in previous roles with Forrester, RIA, DevOps institute and Peoplecert. We discuss and debate where the analysts fit in in the development of thought leadership, data and direction. The discussion also focuses on printed burgers, analyst relations, and how we need more flexible understanding and knowledge of ho...

No this is not more hype this is real research and analysis, from our guest Ollie O’Donoghue, Director of Cognizant Research.   This week’s episode is definitely one of the most enlightening and exciting episodes that we’ve had on the podcast. We discuss some fantastic research content – just released and highly topical and useful.  This looks at 1000s of current job types and projects forward to...

This is the first of a mini-series of AI based podcast, where we look at the some of the non-shiny and non- technical aspect of AI – ie how we approach this from a business perspective. This will feature some additional guests, including James Finister on this initial episode. We will discuss human aspects, ethics, risk, feasibility, practical opportunities This session looks at some areas of AI i...

The one where we discuss what’s happened in the last year – the industry, the podcast, and us as people… We have had a year of absorption around AI and experience – what lies ahead..?. As people there have also been opportunities and challenges – and none less than for Ian, who has had to face some major health challenges. Thankfully he’s met them and on the mend. We are good to go for 2024 – look...

This week Ian and Barclay discuss some recent industry events, SDI Spark, itSMF UK, SMW and also the sad demise of itSMF USA. It’s also a year since the launch of ChatGPT – what will the next phase of this involve..?  Ian also mentions the concept of the ‘Innovathon’ – crazy ideas presented for innovation. What about robots that kill you…!? Or how can we really get some goodness from the AI revolu...

ESM revisited – what do we really mean by this? It was the original thought behind this podcast when started a couple of years ago. There’s always something new that comes along to get in the way of this, but it keeps on coming back – like the way CMDB remains as a brand and something we should do that we keep coming back to. Whilst we might want to focus on ESM, the world of marketing always loos...

We discuss the forthcoming itSMF UK conference in the UK, where James will be speaking and discussing Neurodiversity. This in relation to how we understand and work better with neurodiverse people – there are some roles and areas of work where there are particular skills and capabilities where the ‘superpower’ moniker works, and many where it doesn’t. The challenge is knowing the difference and ho...

Is it a coincidence that ITSM sage Roy Atkinson will be speaking at The SDI Spark conference on Halloween? Maybe not, but he will certainly be presenting some quite terrifying statistics on the cost of failure in IT and Service Desks… For this podcast, Roy’s second appearance on the podcast, we discuss these stats and numbers, as well as some general trends in the industry. We also discuss the big...

Ken returns to the podcast, now head of analyst relations at Freshworks, having moved from a major analyst firm to ‘the dark side’ - or the bright side, depending on your perspective! The discussion looks at how we view different roles and activities in our industry – particularly when seen from a different perspective. There are some great insights into analyst relations and the ethics and effort...

What have we (Ian and Barclay) been up to,..?  Mapping, Wardley mapping, sustainability is service management and vice versa?, just use the best bits that work for you, why do people ask if ‘this is right according to BP’? Watch out for the best practice police, perfection is the enemy of execution, proportionality, move fast and break things – is this terrible and dangerous? Back to sustainabilit...

Simone is making her 2nd appearance on the podcast and this session is a discussion based on some current research that Ian, Simone and Barclay are working on. This is basically exploring the contrasting direction of AI capability with the growth of human and experience management. The discussion includes some agreements and also some challenges and disagreements – all of which make for fun and en...

Our guest is Anthony Orr, who is an experienced and well-known member of the ITSM community, as a member of the HDI top 25, with BMC and other vendors, and as an ITIl author. Anthony currently works with SDI Presence, which is an MSP that provides local levels of support (not the Service Desk Institute…). The discussion moves from internal IT transformation and business value to the wider scope of...

This is a short Ian and Barclay only discussion episode, introduced with some valuable advice on armadillo-related honey - yes..!?.  Actually, we discuss the notion of how we can manage teams and plan the levels of staffing that is needed, and how this is a key element in much operational and management thinking. The regular cry is that ‘more people in the team will mean we get things done better/...

Our guest is David Wright from SDI – Chief Value Officer and keen supporter of all things alien, UFO and sci-fi… We try to set out an intelligent discussion around the future and present with AI, GAI,  AGI and much more. The potential is huge, being developed at a challenging speed, now with AI tools to speed up how we work. Should we trust this technology, or how much can we trust this..? We also...

This episode is a revisit to Glasgow University, who are well on their way to a mature ESM operation, largely through the work and steering of Mark Temple. Mark was an early guest on the podcast when he had already created a number of ESM capabilities and now there are many further areas added, hours of work saved and successes to discuss. There’s still more to do, however, we discuss some great d...

Our Guest is Mitchell Pautz, Senior Service Management Analyst at the University of California – a ‘small’ university of over 50,000 people… 😊 Mitchell has a key role in the university, supporting a diverse community, He also has a good practical approach to managing expectations and delivering effective solutions – not just about trying to ‘delight’ users. We discuss a variety of topics around s...

Val Wilson manages a team of over 1000 service management practitioners in BT, across the UK and India. Despite the challenges of this role, she is an active member of the industry, as an itSMF board member and SITS/SDI events. This is a brilliant discussion on how to lead and inspire a successful organisation and its people. There are some great nuggets of wisdom on authentic and supportive leade...

This episode is another host interview session – this time with the ebullient Ian Aitchison. We trace his early career, through Studying Computer Science, then managing (murky?) night clubs and spinning vinyl, learning management and some great life and service skills. Then moving into IT, running a police service desk and moving to the software industry – from service desk to software product man...

This is a fantastic episode with Hank Marquis – who works with Gartner but is speaking here on his own behalf, mostly around the psycho-metrics of service and service management people. The conversation focusses around feedback, how it is gathered and used, and the tools and academic background used to make some sense and develop practical and useful strategies for improvement. There’s a bit of St...

This is a discussion on the service management industry, based around a more broad and personal interview of host Barclay Rae. Ian provides suggested commentary on Barclay’s hair and sartorial style over the years, plus discussions about music, Glasgow, London, Mary Poppins, Live Aid, and his IT career, also, missing out some key bits like being CEO of itSMF UK. ..(senior moment). There is also so...

This is a short episode and the first of an occasional series of ‘news’ or topical discussions around the industry. This Is with Barclay and Ian who talk about, well we can’t really say, but it’s about the stuff that’s going on in the industry, or what we can say about it, whatever it is… 

Humans collaborate, and parrots cooperate..! This is all you need to know about this episode. Our guest is French-Czech consultant David Billouz, who regularly provides ITSM insights via LinkedIn and other platforms.  David clarifies some key elements of collaboration and cooperation, as well as the need for a phased approach. Somehow, we work parrots into this discussion. Confused. Curious? Then...