Just like using Google Maps, every journey has a starting point and a destination. So, in this chapter, I introduce two fundamental approaches to IT service delivery: The “High Touch” and “Self Serve” operating models. Our starting point, the High Touch model, is based on the call an expert principle. Need an IT service? Raise a service request, take a seat, and someone will get to you soon. Sound familiar? You are not alone! Our destination, the “Self-Serve” operating model, is based on the do it yourself principle. Need an IT Service? Well, serve yourself with our brand new UI (yes, you’ll be building a brand new UI!). This book will explain how you can shift from your High Touch operating model to a Self Serve one and start delivering in minutes rather than months.

If you’re leading an IT team today, you know something isn’t right. From constant firefighting,  delayed projects, to business bypassing IT altogether, these symptoms are clear signs that your High Touch operating model is holding you back. In this chapter, we’ll examine these telltale symptoms that plague IT departments and show you how to measure their impact. You’ll learn how to gather and analyze the data that proves these issues are systemic rather than isolated incidents. Armed with the symptoms and the evidence, you’ll be ready to drive meaningful change in your organization.

There are good reasons why most organisations use the High Touch operating model for delivering IT services. In this chapter, we’ll explore how your IT department evolved into its current state, and why common ‘solutions’ like adding resources or refining processes aren’t fixing things. Most importantly, we’ll uncover why these challenges aren’t unique to your organization – they’re the natural result of how enterprise IT has developed over the past decades. Understanding how we got here is key to embracing a fundamentally new approach.

Remember when Cloud was new and shiny? When it sat right at the peak of Gartner’s hype cycle, promising to solve all our problems? And let’s be honest – we bought into it. We all did. Now you’ve got your AWS landing zone, your Azure subscriptions, your cloud center of excellence. But you’re still wrestling with the same old issues. In this chapter, we’ll explore what everyone’s missing about Cloud. Because here’s the thing – cloud technology really does change everything, just not in the way most people think. We’ll cut through the hype and show you how most enterprises have hidden the true value of cloud – its self-serve, on-demand, pay-per-use nature – behind traditional IT processes and structures. By the end of this chapter, you’ll understand why Cloud isn’t just another data center, and why it is crucial if you want to shift delivery times from months down to minutes.

“High Touch” and “Self Serve”. Two operating models for delivering IT services. What are they exactly and how is cloud technology involved? In this chapter, we’ll put these models side by side and compare them across several dimensions – process, structure, roles, funding, and technology. You will be able to use this comparison to rate where your organization stands today. Are you fully in the ‘High Touch’ camp? Stuck somewhere in the middle? Or already moving toward ‘Self Serve’? While theory might seem dry, here’s the good news – you already know all these building blocks. What’s different is understanding how they need to work together. By the end of this chapter, you’ll know exactly what needs to change—and why halfway measures won’t cut it.