Implementing consistent IT service management processes across your organisation, and insisting that suppliers comply with these will reduce service risk as well as providing you with greater flexibility of sourcing options.

Amongst users of IT services there has been increasingly widespread adoption of outsourcing, out tasking and offshore delivery models as an alternative to retaining specialist skills in-house. In parallel with this, the industry has seen a move away from custom built, “legacy” systems towards packaged, open source and interoperable technologies. This has resulted in an overall shift towards the commoditisation of many IT skills in the marketplace.

Although the skills required to support IT systems are becoming commoditised, buying those skills from a third party provider continues to be a costly and complicated process. In some respects this is in the interest of service providers as they seek to differentiate their offerings through the use of their own delivery methodologies and approach to governance.

Smart buyers are beginning to realise that by getting their own house in order they can drive much greater consistency between suppliers. They are implementing standard internal processes and ensuring that suppliers comply with these, rather than adapting their own processes every time they engage a new supplier (an unplanned but surprisingly common result). This allows for faster, lower risk sourcing decisions based on the actual market price for the skills required, rather than the perceived value of one complex proposal over another.

The added value is that by adopting standard internal processes the buying organisation can significantly reduce the risk of service failure as multiple IT supply groups (either internal or third party external) work to the same processes using the same terminology. Getting buy in from suppliers and internal supply groups can be eased by adopting an approach built on existing industry standards such as ITIL, and by ensuring that processes are as straightforward and open as possible.

Service management is only one of the factors to take into account when making business critical sourcing decisions. It is also important to have a well thought through sourcing strategy in place and to ensure that you have the necessary skills available to negotiate effectively with suppliers.

However, if considered strategically, effective IT service management can help your staff to execute their day to day work, provide better management control and significantly increase the buying power you have with suppliers.

Definitions

IT Service Management
An organisation’s approach to the management of their IT services. Typically includes processes such as incident, change, problem and release management as well as the governance process between IT and the business.

Outsourcing
The provision of certain services by a third party, often involving the transfer of staff to the provider organisation.

Out tasking
As outsourcing, but where there is no staff transfer involved.

ITIL
ITIL (the IT Infrastructure Library) is essentially a series of documents that are used to aid the implementation of a framework for IT Service Management. This customisable framework defines how Service Management is applied within an organisation (definition from www.itil.org.uk)

Acuera is an independent and delivery-driven consultancy that specialises in IT service sourcing and IT service management. www.acuera.com