What is a Service Catalog?
Similar to a retail store catalog, a service catalog lists and describes all of a business’s current IT offerings. It’s a centralized database and service management tool that is clearly organized.
The requirements of an IT service catalog are laid out by the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), and include the service’s name, category, description, owner, availability, cost, and service level agreement.
Why Does it Matter?
Service catalogs are a subset of service portfolios, which show both active and retired services and products. Service catalogs are also the only part of the service portfolio published for customers to see. A good catalog that follows best practices can enhance the customer experience by providing clarity and options regarding exactly what a client can get from their IT team.
Industry experts also highlight a catalog’s role in expectation management, cost reduction, and improvement of business processes.
