Multi-supplier service is all the rage, together with its linking agent Service Integration and Management (SIAM). Wonderful in theory. How does one practically get multiple parties to collaborate towards a common end? It was recognised early in the development of multi-supplier models that there needed to be a unifying agent. A great deal of time…
Just when multi-supplier (also known as SIAM) contracting is starting to get under control, DevOps emerges. This article looks at the interaction of the two for the design of retained and sourced IT operations. The implications for service contracts are profound and largely un-tested. The pages of management journals have been liberally sprinkled with fads…
Service Integration and Management (SIAM), and the closely-related multi-sourcing, are all the rage. What is the essence of integration, what do you get from it and how do you make it work? I am suspicious of fashion, as anyone who has seen my wardrobe will attest. That there is a new management fad promotes interest…
Success in delivering change is dependent upon the ability of project managers and others to wield influence, build support and overcome resistance. Services, projects and companies are social entities supported by human endeavour. Personal agendas and relationships shape their functions. Project managers can engage to advantage, or ignore social influence at their peril. A new…
Access to essential information and the ability to apply it with full knowledge of its implications are essential to all services. IT Services have long depended on knowledge management. What does one have to do to keep the information flowing? The European Committee for Standardization suggests the definition: “Knowledge is the combination of data and information,…
The contract has been signed. Champagne has been consumed. The hangover is over – or is it just beginning? It takes many organisations two years or more to get a new service up and running effectively. In these times of short contract duration, expectations of flick-a-switch cloud services and agile delivery, what can you do…
Many a governance body and service manager sees themselves as drowning in report data, but intelligence to inform decision-making and drive the business forward is elusive. How to get to brief, succinct relevance that informs and drives performance? Why is Reporting Such a Problem? I have seen, and indeed found myself in the middle of,…
Business users and IT (and other services) departments love to be rude about each other. Mutual incomprehension and worse frequently reign. What can you do to establish and maintain a healthy relationship and the high quality of service alignment? The gap between Business and IT has long been deep. IT people too often have little…
There are few matters raising as much heat and as little light in service provision as innovation. Customers are often aggrieved that they do not gain the competitive advantage they think they have paid for. How can you gain competitive advantage from innovation by sourcing services effectively? At the start of an assignment some time…
The degree of change required to transform service provision from a prime model to one that engages multiple suppliers is significant. The many strands involved mean that it is not a simple issue that can be bought-in and forgotten. In this article, I concentrate on the job of implementation rather than sourcing and seek to point to some…