1.1 Background

1.1 Background

When we set out to develop an integrated service delivery (ISD) model to support a global distributed environment, little did we realize that the real power would be unleashed through tight integration, both from a services portfolio perspective as well as organizationally. It was only when we had finished defining our "customer requirements" and "benchmarking" (really more comparing and sharing than benchmarking), that we fully understood the keys to operational success.

We found that organizations, whether they were outsourced or not, were all experiencing similar trends: sagging levels of service (LOS) and rapidly increasing costs, both resulting in customer satisfaction woes. A common theme became fast apparent: the speed at which the business moved to a distributed environment, and associated application set, far outpaced the ability to manage them effectively, (see Figure 1-1).

Figure 1.1. ISD trends.
graphics/01fig01.jpg

It all points back to the fact that operations in a global distributed environment, being a new paradigm, is really only just maturing. Few benchmarks exist to use as a guide for setting up a successful operation, especially in larger organizations. In addition to not having "benchmark" organizations to model your operation, the appropriate technical tools do not exist to aid you in your quest to provide timely quality services at a manageable cost. Only now are the appropriate technical tools starting to become available.

Most of the frustrations associated with managing in this new paradigm stem from the successes that are enjoyed in the very stable legacy world. Legacy environments are normally predictable and centrally managed, and have had the benefit of 25 to 30 years of evolution and maturity, which makes them easily understood and managed. Variability drives change, change drives instability, and instability drives breakage , which drives cost and downtime, resulting in customer dissatisfaction. Those companies that have outsourced the operations of their distributed environments experience even further frustrations because this variability and instability only serves to decrease the ability of the service provider to respond to customer requirements in a timely fashion and usually translates into higher costs for the customer.

You are, however, not powerless in this world of ISD. We will show you ways to define your portfolio of services, and how to organize yourself to successfully deliver these services predictably, efficiently , and cost-effectively.



IT Services Costs, Metrics, Benchmarking and Marketing
IT Services: Costs, Metrics, Benchmarking and Marketing (paperback) (Enterprise Computing Series)
ISBN: 0132621959
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2000
Pages: 93

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