IT Service management system for EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute’s IT department

EMBL-EBI, Europe's biomolecular data hub, is a world leader in managing and analysing big data in biology and making it freely available to scientists worldwide. Research infrastructures (RI) like EMBL-EBI rely extensively on information technology (IT) services to conduct research and support the delivery of scientific services. These IT services are complex and diverse and IT service management (ITSM) has been shown in other domains to help to improve efficiency and productivity. ITSM is a collection of standards that help organisations develop a process-based approach for managing the full lifecycle of IT services, while keeping their users' needs at the forefront and promoting continuous improvement. However many organisations struggle with the design and implementation of an ITSM system as it involves the need for organisational change, and because the process approach can seem rigid and bureaucratic on the surface. This article aims to share the experience of the EMBL-EBI IT department in designing and implementing an ITSM system. ITSM implementation steps, benefits, challenges, opportunities, and practices are highlighted, critically analysed, and discussed.