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Chapter 4 ■ Service Strategy
The first vertical bar from the left is the reference value for the customer. This is the
benchmark that the customer has set, based on the current engagements or DIY (do it
yourself) strategies. The bar next to it indicates the positive difference that the service has
provided. An example could be HD streaming that the customer is able to enjoy, thanks
to high-speed Internet. The world is not without problems. When the Internet goes down
or acts erratically, it leaves a bad taste in the customer’s mouth. This leads to negative
difference resulting from the service. These are the perceived losses from utilizing the
service.
The difference between the positive and negative differences is the actual value,
as perceived by the customer. The overall economic value of a service is the difference
between the positive and negative differences, plus the reference value that the customer
has set.
4.5 Patterns of Business Activity
IT services are aligned with business activities. Business activities in turn are aligned with
business outcomes. In other words, IT services drive business activities and business
activities deliver business outcomes.
Whenever business activities are performed, IT services are expected to deliver. This
cycle generates demand for IT services, and when IT services are leveraged, customer
assets are utilized. The customer assets are generally leveraged in a pattern.
For example, in a bank, there are month-end activities that are run on the last day
of the month. These activities in turn bring about special focus for the people involved,
additional activities they perform, additional load on the IT infrastructure, usage of
applications, and a host of other activities.
To support the business activities, an IT service provider must understand the
patterns of business activity to ensure that:
1. All people resources are fully available.
2. Infrastructure is error free.
3. Sufficient network bandwidth and storage space are provided.
4. Escalation channels are in place.
In effect, the month-end activities present a pattern of business activity (PBA) and
are dynamic in nature. It is also important to note that the same set of services cater
to various PBAs. In the same example, the infrastructure support caters to month-end
activities as well as the daily routine activities. Since the same services support multiple
PBAs, it is critical that they are well understood and planned for.
4.5.1 PBA with Example
Let’s say that a customer hires personnel based on a number of factors, such as attrition
due to appraisals, salary hikes, customer deliveries, new projects, etc. The service
provider is tasked with providing all IT services to employees when they are onboarded.
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