To understand this critical element of IT success, it is necessary to fully comprehend the nature and purpose of a Service Catalog. To begin this discussion, lets examine what a Service Catalog is not. It is a common misunderstanding that the Service Catalog is no more and no less than a marketing brochure for IT and as such is a ‘nice to have’ option. While the Service Catalog may be used for the basis of creating a marketing tool, this is an auxiliary output of the catalog and certainly not its central purpose.