Refocus on outcomes
Enterprises of all kinds—from companies across the industrial spectrum, to governments, IT service providers, and other organizations—are seeking more positive and productive bottomline outcomes. They are looking beyond operational metrics from IT to drive better business value from their IT spend. They understand that IT operational metrics such as server and application availability are simply enablers and do not explicitly deliver business value.

The nucleus of IT spend is shifting due to disruptive technologies and BPO-type arrangements. And, the CIO is not always the buyer anymore. It may well be the business unit leadership and they, naturally, ask how this investment in IT will impact their business unit performance. Combined, these signals from organizations are driving the shift to business outcomes service management.

Two major communities demand the value business outcomes service management can provide. First, organizations want IT services that help them reduce costs, accelerate time-to-market, improve quality, and drive innovations. Second, businesslevel users want greater insights into the solutions that create simplicity and efficiencies and meet ambitious service expectations that keep them informed, productive, and one step ahead of the competition.

The differentiator provided by it is a service management approach that drives real business outcomes. The most fundamental shift is one of perspective—away from the traditional operational perspective on service management toward a focus on bottom-line business outcomes.

Understand business outcomes service management
A core principle of an effective business outcomes service management model is to link a specific business outcome to a specific activity within the IT stack. Organizations must have visibility into and control over the entire stack linking key performance indicators (KPIs) to business processes and metered down to the infrastructure layer with real-time metrics and predictive analytics.

As a result, this approach can measure far more than just operational measures. It tracks and analyzes physical- and process-based performance, enabling organizations to see and understand which cost-, process-, and physically oriented levers must be adjusted to improve specific business-level outcomes.

This is a paradigm shift. The mindset of the organization and IT provider must be one where success is measured by how business value is enabled and not on IT project implementation completion.

It is important to note, however, that a business outcomes service management approach does not require any one source or vendor to control the entire stack. However, it does require the organization to gain visibility into and control over all layers in the stack via KPIs. This ensures metrics and insights are valid and meaningful across the full environment. If one vendor is running one layer and another vendor is managing a separate layer, those partners must be closely integrated to gain the very real benefits of the results-oriented business outcomes service management approach.

A workable business outcomes service management approach framework must rest on an application lifecycle management (ALM) model that spans the entire IT stack.

Business outcomes service management leverages predictive technology at the appliance and application layers, and is supported by advanced development tools, methods, and accelerators. Its framework should use common industry standards such as the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Capability Maturity Model for Integration (CMMI), and Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT).

To realize the very real advantages of business outcomes service management, organizations need a rational approach to implementation, and the right tools and capabilities. An expert assessment may also be needed to determine if it’s the right model for your company.

Leverage the business of IT
Business outcomes service management also enables a better focused IT investment. Not only does it provide transparency on where IT spend is currently expended, it highlights what business areas are supported by that spend. This provides the data that enables decisions to shift dollars from one area to another or IT maintenance to IT transformation.

Figure 1 illustrates how business outcomes service management can be used to deliver sustainable, solution-aligned engineer-to-engineer (E2E) business processes for customers, suppliers, and employees. The business outcomes shown on the right are just examples, and any active organization might aspire to achieve scores or even hundreds of specific positive results.