AMCIS 2007 Panel on IT Service Management: IT Service Management in the IS Curriculum

The fundamental function of information technology (IT), whether internal or external, is the costeffective provision of IT services that meet organizational needs and align with organizational strategy. With ever-increasing adoption of IT management “best practices,” industry now leads the academic community by recognizing the need for IT professionals educated in the IT service management (ITSM) processes -processes directly associated with the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective IT services. This article presents a summary of panel member presentations and subsequent discussions at Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) 2007 concerning the need to, and means for, incorporating ITSM concepts into business-school MIS/IS/CIS curricula. Panel members from industry strongly advocated the importance of including ITSM principles and concepts within business-school IS curricula. Academic members of the panel also articulated this need and described initiatives at their and other schools where ITSM concepts have been or are planned for inclusion in business school curricula at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. ITSM research opportunities, faculty preparedness, and possible resistance from within the IS academic community were additionally addressed.