All Of A Size: What Our Participation in the 8th itSMF Russia Conference Taught Me

By Vilma Domaševiciene, CEO, Marval Baltic

Recently, my team and I attended the 8th itSMF Russia Conference, held in Moscow. Marval was the golden sponsor of this event, which was fantastic in many aspects: very well organized and run, very well communicated and with a plethora of interesting and knowledgeable speakers (our very own Dr. Don Page and Greg Pritchett among them).

During the event, I had the opportunity to meet and chat with IT Managers from large organizations in Russia. To me, these discussions were illuminating.

I come from a rather small country. Small-size countries usually have small-size businesses and limited addressable markets. That actually affects a lot the way service is perceived and delivered. In Lithuania, we don’t have many companies that have ten thousand employees! Things are more personal; so is service delivery.

If you are the Service Manager at a small or medium-size organization, everything is very close to home. Any bad feedback or a customer’s poor experience can (and will) affect your team; perhaps your business too. Therefore, IT and Service Managers are committed to continually improving customer service and ensuring customer satisfaction.

I had the impression that service management might be more impersonal in bigger companies, like companies in Russia. I thought that the size of the market might provide a safe net for those who provide the services. After discussing with IT Managers at the Conference, I realised that my impression was wrong. Improving customer service is number one priority for bigger organizations as well. People responsible for service delivery in Russia face the same challenges and have the same objectives as service providers in Lithuania.

I came to the conclusion that any organization that wants to grow and remain profitable has included improved customer experience in their strategic business goals; and that is regardless of their size or the market’s size.

I left the event having a better understanding of the Russian market and its needs. In reality, they are not different to the needs of any other market. Responsible organizations depend their success on delivering great service to their customers; and great service is delivered by great people, following great processes and employing great technology. This is a field I know very well, and Marval MSM has always been the great technology any business can use to reach their goals, no matter how big or small they are.