IT á la carte

Digital Fuel Technologies Inc. has been shipping its ServiceFlow software to IT for a few years as a packaged application. Starting this week you can subscribe to it as a service.

The CEO of the San Mateo, Calif-based vendor, Yisrael Dancziger, says ServiceFlow helps CIOs "run IT like a business." That is, through its catalog, service level management (SLM) and finance modules you can give end users, IT's customers, the ability to pick applications they have rights to access from a menu. They can see how well IT is delivering on its service commitment via the SLM. And business unit managers can see the true costs of their group's use of IT's software and services.

With the SaaS version of ServiceFlow, Digital Fuel has pre-populated the catalog menu with 80 different IT services, such as e-mail or desktop backup service, with full descriptions and even cost data. Danczinger says the company's experience with so many IT operations over the years gives Digital Fuel insight into what most companies will want to offer their users.

All the information, of course, can be customized and Dancziger fully expects IT to massage his catalog's menu to a certain degree. But, he says, "this gets companies 70 to 80 percent there."

Dancziger likens ServiceFlow to eating in a fine restaurant. The catalog is the menu; the SLM tool reflects the dining experience; and the finance module, well, that's the bill.

Speaking of bills, Digital Fuel's SaaS offering starts at $200 per user. Bring your Black American Express card, if you want to show off.