Changing Services and Support Requirements

6 Pages·1994·0.57 MB·English

INPUT
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Bulletin
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I I I I I I I I I
A Publication from INPUT’S Information Services Market Analysis Programme - Europe
Vol. V, No. 11 December 1994
Changing Service and Support
Requirements
As new types of technology products, notably Software Support Enters the Open
PCs and client/server computing, gain Market
widespread acceptance in the market so they
drive the requirements for new types of The software products market has grown
services and new skills to deliver them. rapidly over the last fifteen years and has
consequently become a key area of focus for
Three of the most important trends that are many vendors.
affecting the required services and skills mix
are examined below: At the same time the software product
market has changed from being almost
• The development of an open market for exclusively technology driven to one in which
software product support customer demand and customer acceptance
are the dominant influences.
The network-centric nature of future
•
customer support and service needs It now needs to be recognised that software
product support is emerging as a clearly
• The increasing congruence of IT and identifiable market with open characteristics
business process requirements. just as hardware markets before have also
succumbed to the same competitive and
customer pressures. This process is illustrated
graphically in Exhibit 1.
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Exhibit
1
Software Support Enters the Open Market
Source: INPUT
Exhibit 2
In the past there existed a direct relationship
between the vendor and the customer. Now European Software Markets
the customer’s system tends to be built up
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from a multiplicity of sources, potentially each ^
element requiring support from a different . A.- ^ V .• .r , -ws%- ^ '^ s .p',1. ^ s•^' '''J ' ' > s '.yX-vS.-.'s-.
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source. .c.-.\..-.. T.J.-X"/^.-..v-.v-vJ”.--sw.v't.S\*. S'.V •. :•-sCO't'
In the proprietary world that dominated the Software product sales 22.3 31.7
early decades of the IT industry customers
Software product support 2.9 4.3
paid for conflict resolution in the product
price. The vendor integrated the necessary
Software product-related 4.0 6.5
hardware and software components into a services
working system.
Total 29.2 42.5
The world of open systems and its highly
Source: INPUT
competitive environment and low prices has
however shifted the integration burden onto
the customer. Customers now pay for conflict
resolution in the services that they need for
implementing the user’s desired solution.
The size of the available opportunities in
Europe are indicated in Exhibit 2. In addition
to the market for direct product support is
also indicated the opportunity for services
associated with products.
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Recent user research has indicated a importance of the desktop domain, are
significant level of dissatisfaction with the changing the dynamics of the information
support currently being offered by many services market.
vendors and this is frequently expressed as a
perception of lack of value for money for the Whereas support and service needs tended to
services provided. be based on a centralised computing
paradigm, now those needs have spread and
Vendors seeking to exploit future software diversified throughout the organisation.
product support opportunities, particularly
those generated by desktop users, should Most corporate network infrastructures are
focus their support and service capabilities characterised by their lack of coherence and
many
around the following principles: integration. In cases individual business
units have implemented their own local
• Support oriented to user needs not specific networks which have operated independently
products of one another.
A
• recognition of a multiplicity of different There is now increasing pressure to integrate
user requirements these networks on an enterprise-wide scale in
order to fully leverage their potential business
• Application of technology support, e.g. benefits.
bulletin boards, for the provision of support.
Exhibit 3 indicates in graphic form another
Network Support Requirements Set to
major challenge facing organisations, the
Dominate User Needs
need to develop inter-enterprise networking
as well as intra-enterprise connectivity.
The continuing acceptance of local area
networks (LANs), and the growing
Exhibit 3
Reengineering Enterprise Systems
Mobile
Employees
Corporate
Systems
Suppliers Contractors
Source: INPUT
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The most important manifestation of this The major growth opportunities lie in the
trend is the rapidly expanding use of the non-product support sectors, for example in
Internet and its development for commercial the provision of
applications.
Full network outsourcing
•
One of the major challenges faced by
organisations in this environment is the • Network management and monitoring
maintenance of the security and integrity of services
their data.
• Business continuity services
Another aspect is the need to appeal to
varying levels of customer support and service • Help-desk support services.
A
need. variety of users will require support,
The inherent complexity of the network
all with different personal requirements as
environment is driving the need for the
referred to above under software support
application of new skills and capabilities, many
requirements.
needing to be delivered remotely.
Consequently a fast developing opportunity is
Successful vendors will need to continuously
now emerging for the outsourcing of these
refresh and develop their skill bases and seek
functions, see Exhibit 4
strategic agreements with other vendors to
Exhibit 4 obtain access to otherwise unavailable or
—
complementary
skill sets.
Desktop Network Services Europe
Careful long range planning will also be
Q Maintenance Services Other Network Services required in an environment in which the time
to develop real in-depth skills is lengthening
and is measured in years not months.
The Integration of IT and Business
Processes
One of the most important trends in the
development of the services business that will
affect the development of new services and
new skill requirements is the tendency for IT
services to become more and more integrated
994 999
1 1
within the business processes that they serve.
CAGR 9%
Overall
This concept is illustrated graphically in
Source: INPUT
Exhibit
5.
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Exhibit 5
itself at all levels of services contracting as an
integration of IT and Business increased requirement for the vendor to
’
Processes demonstrate industry understanding and
knowledge.
This trend is likely to accelerate as the idea of
outsourcing non-core processes gains wider
acceptance. Organisations’ business processes
will become separated into core and non-core
processes.
Core processes will become the focus of
intermittent reengineering efforts. They are
therefore likely to require the assistance of a
partner with considerable expertise, and
preferably world-class practice, in the relevant
business process.
Ideally this business process expertise needs
This trend first became of major significance to be developed across a range of different
in outsourcing contracts where the vendor industries in order to optimise the likelihood
was contracted to provide a service defined of achieving innovative approaches to the
business problem.
largely or exclusively in business terms rather
than in IT terms, these are defined as
) Vendors will therefore need to establish skills
business operations. That have been
in business process areas like customer
precedents in processing services for such
systems, supply chain management and
activities as payroll processing and the
document workflow where hitherto they may
factoring of invoices.
have defined their skills in terms of, for
example, accounting systems or a payroll
The first major business operations contract
in Europe was between BP Exploration and package.
Andersen Consulting in 1991.
Clearly there exists a need for the integration
Subsequently this phenomena has manifested of IT skills and business skills both in terms of
the operational and development aspects of
itself in numerous other contracts, notably in
KF the customers’ business processes.
EDS’s contract. However, it also manifests
This Research Bulletin is issued as part of INPUT’S Market Analysis Programme-Europe. If you have
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INPUT, 17 Hill Street, London, 7FB, UK, [phone].
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