The document discusses best practices for organizations outsourcing their managed network services to third-party providers. It recommends (1) structuring contracts to allow termination of specific services without impacting others, (2) establishing clear service level agreements with financial penalties for non-compliance, and (3) engaging in vendor management throughout the engagement to ensure quality service delivery. Outsourcing network services can reduce costs but also exposes organizations to risks, so following these practices can help mitigate risks and maximize results from outsourcing.
Next generation IT outsourcing and the global enterprise model (GEM)WGroup
Disruptive technologies such as cloud computing and the “as-a-service” model for software, infrastructure and platforms have led to fundamental changes in how IT services are organized, managed and delivered—whether they are outsourced, insourced or a combination. The reality that IT services can be delivered to anywhere on the globe via the “Cloud” has accelerated the commoditization of IT. Ubiquitous access to IT services has lessened business units’ dependency on internal IT and shifted the IT organization’s prime role from process excellence to technology and service innovation. This article discusses through WGroup's perspective how outsourcing can create value through changing the way business is done.
With the role of key vendors growing in importance and with more vendors being introduced into the workplace, effective vendor management has become a critical capability of any enterprise. This document describes how the design (or redesign) of the VMO needs to be approached with a focus on enlisting top skills, implementing effective processes and tools and establishing an organization whose role is clearly defined in the enterprise.
Application SLA - the missing part of complete SLA managementComarch
How can operators ensure that the proper quality of so many complex services is delivered? Has the software for network and service monitoring enough functionality to provide the right information? Fortunately, OSS systems have evolved, and they currently contain functionalities allowing the
operator to build comprehensive service management platforms. Today, operators cannot even think about delivering modern services of a high quality without providing a SLA. This means that service assurance with SLAs becomes the most critical aspect of modern OSS solutions. Additionally, since most modern services are built based on a number of applications, delivering the services over network, the applications are becoming the core of the service models.
Next generation IT outsourcing and the global enterprise model (GEM)WGroup
Disruptive technologies such as cloud computing and the “as-a-service” model for software, infrastructure and platforms have led to fundamental changes in how IT services are organized, managed and delivered—whether they are outsourced, insourced or a combination. The reality that IT services can be delivered to anywhere on the globe via the “Cloud” has accelerated the commoditization of IT. Ubiquitous access to IT services has lessened business units’ dependency on internal IT and shifted the IT organization’s prime role from process excellence to technology and service innovation. This article discusses through WGroup's perspective how outsourcing can create value through changing the way business is done.
With the role of key vendors growing in importance and with more vendors being introduced into the workplace, effective vendor management has become a critical capability of any enterprise. This document describes how the design (or redesign) of the VMO needs to be approached with a focus on enlisting top skills, implementing effective processes and tools and establishing an organization whose role is clearly defined in the enterprise.
Application SLA - the missing part of complete SLA managementComarch
How can operators ensure that the proper quality of so many complex services is delivered? Has the software for network and service monitoring enough functionality to provide the right information? Fortunately, OSS systems have evolved, and they currently contain functionalities allowing the
operator to build comprehensive service management platforms. Today, operators cannot even think about delivering modern services of a high quality without providing a SLA. This means that service assurance with SLAs becomes the most critical aspect of modern OSS solutions. Additionally, since most modern services are built based on a number of applications, delivering the services over network, the applications are becoming the core of the service models.
This Slideshare presentation is a partial preview of the full business document. To view and download the full document, please go here:
http://flevy.com/browse/business-document/itil-service-level-agreement-template-277
This document is an ITIL V3 based Service Level Agreement Template.
A Service Level Agreement is an agreement between an IT Service Provider and a Customer. It describes the Services being provided, the committed Service Level Targets, and the responsibilities of both IT Service Provider and Customer. It is the 'contract' between both parties and as such it must be signed by both, and then be subject to formal Change Control.
Typical contents: Service Description, Availability, Pricing, KPI's, Reporting, Review Meeting Frequency, Escalation Procedures, Key Stakeholder Contact Details, etc.
April Service Level Management ITSM Share-and-Learn slidesUniversity ITSM
April 2008 slides for our department's ITSM share-and-learn, where people come to talk about IT Service Management best practices and how they can be applied to our department.
Purchasing, Procurement, Vendor, Contract and RFP Process Management with Sha...Optimus BT
Using the Document management, Collaborative and Self service features of SharePoint to implement a turn key procurement management business solution, that will streamline the procurement process, help you comply with regulations, enable you manage contracts, empower self service and participative procurement, aid in informed procurement decisions, in executing an effective procurement strategy and make your procurement function hassle free. Optimus BT is a leader in providing Procurement software and other turnkey solutions using SharePoint.
WGroup is brought in by a Fortune 100 corporation to restart a stalled RFP effort and guide its IT sourcing strategy. With a contract deadline looming, the client brought in WGroup to restart a stalled RFP effort and guide its IT sourcing strategy beyond incremental improvements toward service providers capable of delivering transformative advances in automation, efficiency, and effectiveness. Having these differentiated and variously priced options saved the client money and alleviated service concerns by appropriately targeting workloads to the delivery model that best fit the needs.
Kinetic Data White Paper, Divide And Conquer To Accelerate Client Transitionsbrettnorgaard
White Paper discusses how to accelerate transitioning new clients to the service platform by breaking offers into standard, optional and customized groupings.
IT managers and people involved in purchase of hardware for your organisation. here is a bit of what you need to know.
and how you could get support from manufacturers when such machines/software break down or need support/ maintenance .
Addressing Contract Management Needs with SharePointOptimus BT
A presentation on the benefits of using SharePoint to manage, create, track, and archive contracts with SharePoint's document management, workflow, and collaboration capabilities.
Service Level Management PowerPoint Presentation SlidesSlideTeam
This deck consists of total of thirty three slides. It has PPT slides highlighting important topics of Service Level Management Powerpoint Presentation Slides. This deck comprises of amazing visuals with thoroughly researched content. Each template is well crafted and designed by our PowerPoint experts. Our designers have included all the necessary PowerPoint layouts in this deck. From icons to graphs, this PPT deck has it all. The best part is that these templates are easily customizable. Just click the DOWNLOAD button shown below. Edit the colour, text, font size, add or delete the content as per the requirement. Download this deck now and engage your audience with this ready made presentation.
Interested in managing contracts with SharePoint? Managing NDA, Non-Competes, Self Service Contract Creation, Contract Lifecycle Management, Master Service Agreements and Statements of Work (SOWs), Prime Contracts, Contract Alerts and Milestones - all of this is possible with eContracts. In addition, we integrate with CRM and ERP systems making it easy for you to onboard Vendor contracts, IT contracts, Customer Contracts in addition to managing other related processes like Quotes, Proposals, and RFPs. eContracts is not a tool, or a solution - it is a complete Contract LifeCycle Management Product built for SharePoint.
This Slideshare presentation is a partial preview of the full business document. To view and download the full document, please go here:
http://flevy.com/browse/business-document/itil-service-level-agreement-template-277
This document is an ITIL V3 based Service Level Agreement Template.
A Service Level Agreement is an agreement between an IT Service Provider and a Customer. It describes the Services being provided, the committed Service Level Targets, and the responsibilities of both IT Service Provider and Customer. It is the 'contract' between both parties and as such it must be signed by both, and then be subject to formal Change Control.
Typical contents: Service Description, Availability, Pricing, KPI's, Reporting, Review Meeting Frequency, Escalation Procedures, Key Stakeholder Contact Details, etc.
April Service Level Management ITSM Share-and-Learn slidesUniversity ITSM
April 2008 slides for our department's ITSM share-and-learn, where people come to talk about IT Service Management best practices and how they can be applied to our department.
Purchasing, Procurement, Vendor, Contract and RFP Process Management with Sha...Optimus BT
Using the Document management, Collaborative and Self service features of SharePoint to implement a turn key procurement management business solution, that will streamline the procurement process, help you comply with regulations, enable you manage contracts, empower self service and participative procurement, aid in informed procurement decisions, in executing an effective procurement strategy and make your procurement function hassle free. Optimus BT is a leader in providing Procurement software and other turnkey solutions using SharePoint.
WGroup is brought in by a Fortune 100 corporation to restart a stalled RFP effort and guide its IT sourcing strategy. With a contract deadline looming, the client brought in WGroup to restart a stalled RFP effort and guide its IT sourcing strategy beyond incremental improvements toward service providers capable of delivering transformative advances in automation, efficiency, and effectiveness. Having these differentiated and variously priced options saved the client money and alleviated service concerns by appropriately targeting workloads to the delivery model that best fit the needs.
Kinetic Data White Paper, Divide And Conquer To Accelerate Client Transitionsbrettnorgaard
White Paper discusses how to accelerate transitioning new clients to the service platform by breaking offers into standard, optional and customized groupings.
IT managers and people involved in purchase of hardware for your organisation. here is a bit of what you need to know.
and how you could get support from manufacturers when such machines/software break down or need support/ maintenance .
Addressing Contract Management Needs with SharePointOptimus BT
A presentation on the benefits of using SharePoint to manage, create, track, and archive contracts with SharePoint's document management, workflow, and collaboration capabilities.
Service Level Management PowerPoint Presentation SlidesSlideTeam
This deck consists of total of thirty three slides. It has PPT slides highlighting important topics of Service Level Management Powerpoint Presentation Slides. This deck comprises of amazing visuals with thoroughly researched content. Each template is well crafted and designed by our PowerPoint experts. Our designers have included all the necessary PowerPoint layouts in this deck. From icons to graphs, this PPT deck has it all. The best part is that these templates are easily customizable. Just click the DOWNLOAD button shown below. Edit the colour, text, font size, add or delete the content as per the requirement. Download this deck now and engage your audience with this ready made presentation.
Interested in managing contracts with SharePoint? Managing NDA, Non-Competes, Self Service Contract Creation, Contract Lifecycle Management, Master Service Agreements and Statements of Work (SOWs), Prime Contracts, Contract Alerts and Milestones - all of this is possible with eContracts. In addition, we integrate with CRM and ERP systems making it easy for you to onboard Vendor contracts, IT contracts, Customer Contracts in addition to managing other related processes like Quotes, Proposals, and RFPs. eContracts is not a tool, or a solution - it is a complete Contract LifeCycle Management Product built for SharePoint.
Across the corporate landscape IT functions are completing their transformation to a service-orientation. Slowly but surely, “governance” has become a core mission, if not yet the core competency, of the IT organization. Governance involves many fronts and addresses many levels – there is architectural governance, IT finance and projects governance, and of course, supplier governance. All call for new skills and new structures. WGroup collectively brings decades of hands-on experience in IT supplier management to assist our clients with the multi-supplier challenge – from building the governance structures to defining sourcing strategies to facilitating contract reviews to transition management. This states how WGroup would implement a multi-supplier governance model successfully.
Regulatory Affairs Outsourcing Considerations and ModelsPaul Kuiken
I present a number of issues which are being considered by all organisations in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and clinical sectors. I presented this to an audience at an outsourcing summit and have tailored this to a more general audience.
I am happy to receive your comments and provide your insights to whether you agree or not with my points or to hear from you regarding your experiences of outsourcing in whatever sector you are interested in.
In this case study, WGroup helped a firm with insourced IT justify and plan the transition to a comprehensive virtual outsourced solution, saving 15% on IT costs. As a result, client benefited from an advanced technology platform, lower risk, and increased agility.
Critical Facilities Operations Process: Explanations and illustrative examples.
For training videos, please visit https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCYw2fG4p7buyhJD0EYHahuQ
IT Services have been an in-house function for most of organizations across the globe a decade ago. With rapid growth in new technologies and expansion of customer base, organizations were unable to adapt to changes relying solely on their in-house IT teams. This gave rise to external IT service providers and proliferation of multiple engagement models.
Five ways to develop a successful outsourcing contractWGroup
WGroup perspective paper on how to develop a successful outsourcing contratct--A few key aspects of an outsourcing contract typically drive its projected savings and return on investment (ROI). You must carefully consider all of these areas to avoid mixed financial results on your outsourcing project. Strategizing the following five areas can help you develop a successful outsourcing contract. The 5 key ways are contract components, unit pricing, resource volume, dead bands, and renegotiation bands.
ISHIR White Paper - It is Time to Switch Your Offshore Outsourcing VendorISHIR
As more and more companies are sharing dissatisfaction with their existing software development outsourcing arrangements, companies are evaluating risks and rewards of switching outsourcing vendors. When switching outsourcing providers significant risks can be avoided or minimized if best practices are followed.
Order To Cash - Inefficiencies and redundancies throughout the OTC cycle are an expensive affair for businesses and prevent them from turning receivable into cash.
The time might just be ripe for change in thinking when it comes to putting together an Enterprise Order To Cash paradigm in place ….. a more cohesive & comprehensive approach enabling Businesses to horn there competitive edge, unlock efficiencies, increase speed, significant cost reduction thereby have direct impact on the Top line and bottom line across the Enterprise.
Legal Transformation and Contract Remediationaccenture
Accenture’s Legal Transformation practice offers specific solutions to meet the various challenges impacting a firm’s Legal function. Specifically, it offers contract remediation strategy, technology solutions and support to aid firms in managing large scale contract remediation programs due to regulatory change events such as LIBOR, BREXIT and more. Read our latest Legal Risk Study to rethink the financial services legal function: https://accntu.re/3eF9URP
Post Award Contract Management for IT Suppliers v1.0 20200701Peter Soetevent
Post Award Contract Management for IT Suppliers is crucial to successfully manage the relationship between the Business and Supplier. This innovative framework offers all the elements for managing the process
Application sourcing focused on value, not cost aloneWGroup
As part of a four year transformation strategy to replace its aging technology stack, strengthen their expertise and reduce the total cost of ownership, a $12 billion US-based organization was seeking a solution that would resolve problems they were experiencing in the delivery of their applications development, maintenance and support functions. In this case study, WGroup facilitated the outsourcing RFP process with service providers so the client could evaluate partners based on value-creation capabilities, and not on cost alone. The resulting outsourcing contract implemented drove a metric-driven organization, measurable operational improvements, and expanded the service catalog of the IT organization.
A leading consumer packaged goods company was nearing the end of a five-year term $60 million contact for IT outsourcing. The client needed to determine their strategy and approach for the next generation deal. In this case study, WGroup leveraged its knowledge of the global service provider landscape including capabilities, pricing and service expectations to help ensure a renegotiation is a win-win solution for both a client and provider.
JMeter webinar - integration with InfluxDB and GrafanaRTTS
Watch this recorded webinar about real-time monitoring of application performance. See how to integrate Apache JMeter, the open-source leader in performance testing, with InfluxDB, the open-source time-series database, and Grafana, the open-source analytics and visualization application.
In this webinar, we will review the benefits of leveraging InfluxDB and Grafana when executing load tests and demonstrate how these tools are used to visualize performance metrics.
Length: 30 minutes
Session Overview
-------------------------------------------
During this webinar, we will cover the following topics while demonstrating the integrations of JMeter, InfluxDB and Grafana:
- What out-of-the-box solutions are available for real-time monitoring JMeter tests?
- What are the benefits of integrating InfluxDB and Grafana into the load testing stack?
- Which features are provided by Grafana?
- Demonstration of InfluxDB and Grafana using a practice web application
To view the webinar recording, go to:
https://www.rttsweb.com/jmeter-integration-webinar
Neuro-symbolic is not enough, we need neuro-*semantic*Frank van Harmelen
Neuro-symbolic (NeSy) AI is on the rise. However, simply machine learning on just any symbolic structure is not sufficient to really harvest the gains of NeSy. These will only be gained when the symbolic structures have an actual semantics. I give an operational definition of semantics as “predictable inference”.
All of this illustrated with link prediction over knowledge graphs, but the argument is general.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 4DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 4. In this session, we will cover Test Manager overview along with SAP heatmap.
The UiPath Test Manager overview with SAP heatmap webinar offers a concise yet comprehensive exploration of the role of a Test Manager within SAP environments, coupled with the utilization of heatmaps for effective testing strategies.
Participants will gain insights into the responsibilities, challenges, and best practices associated with test management in SAP projects. Additionally, the webinar delves into the significance of heatmaps as a visual aid for identifying testing priorities, areas of risk, and resource allocation within SAP landscapes. Through this session, attendees can expect to enhance their understanding of test management principles while learning practical approaches to optimize testing processes in SAP environments using heatmap visualization techniques
What will you get from this session?
1. Insights into SAP testing best practices
2. Heatmap utilization for testing
3. Optimization of testing processes
4. Demo
Topics covered:
Execution from the test manager
Orchestrator execution result
Defect reporting
SAP heatmap example with demo
Speaker:
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a buttonDianaGray10
Here is something new! In our next Connector Corner webinar, we will demonstrate how you can use a single workflow to:
Create a campaign using Mailchimp with merge tags/fields
Send an interactive Slack channel message (using buttons)
Have the message received by managers and peers along with a test email for review
But there’s more:
In a second workflow supporting the same use case, you’ll see:
Your campaign sent to target colleagues for approval
If the “Approve” button is clicked, a Jira/Zendesk ticket is created for the marketing design team
But—if the “Reject” button is pushed, colleagues will be alerted via Slack message
Join us to learn more about this new, human-in-the-loop capability, brought to you by Integration Service connectors.
And...
Speakers:
Akshay Agnihotri, Product Manager
Charlie Greenberg, Host
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
Software Delivery At the Speed of AI: Inflectra Invests In AI-Powered QualityInflectra
In this insightful webinar, Inflectra explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming software development and testing. Discover how AI-powered tools are revolutionizing every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), from design and prototyping to testing, deployment, and monitoring.
Learn about:
• The Future of Testing: How AI is shifting testing towards verification, analysis, and higher-level skills, while reducing repetitive tasks.
• Test Automation: How AI-powered test case generation, optimization, and self-healing tests are making testing more efficient and effective.
• Visual Testing: Explore the emerging capabilities of AI in visual testing and how it's set to revolutionize UI verification.
• Inflectra's AI Solutions: See demonstrations of Inflectra's cutting-edge AI tools like the ChatGPT plugin and Azure Open AI platform, designed to streamline your testing process.
Whether you're a developer, tester, or QA professional, this webinar will give you valuable insights into how AI is shaping the future of software delivery.
GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using Deplo...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
State of ICS and IoT Cyber Threat Landscape Report 2024 previewPrayukth K V
The IoT and OT threat landscape report has been prepared by the Threat Research Team at Sectrio using data from Sectrio, cyber threat intelligence farming facilities spread across over 85 cities around the world. In addition, Sectrio also runs AI-based advanced threat and payload engagement facilities that serve as sinks to attract and engage sophisticated threat actors, and newer malware including new variants and latent threats that are at an earlier stage of development.
The latest edition of the OT/ICS and IoT security Threat Landscape Report 2024 also covers:
State of global ICS asset and network exposure
Sectoral targets and attacks as well as the cost of ransom
Global APT activity, AI usage, actor and tactic profiles, and implications
Rise in volumes of AI-powered cyberattacks
Major cyber events in 2024
Malware and malicious payload trends
Cyberattack types and targets
Vulnerability exploit attempts on CVEs
Attacks on counties – USA
Expansion of bot farms – how, where, and why
In-depth analysis of the cyber threat landscape across North America, South America, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East
Why are attacks on smart factories rising?
Cyber risk predictions
Axis of attacks – Europe
Systemic attacks in the Middle East
Download the full report from here:
https://sectrio.com/resources/ot-threat-landscape-reports/sectrio-releases-ot-ics-and-iot-security-threat-landscape-report-2024/
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Dev Dives: Train smarter, not harder – active learning and UiPath LLMs for do...UiPathCommunity
💥 Speed, accuracy, and scaling – discover the superpowers of GenAI in action with UiPath Document Understanding and Communications Mining™:
See how to accelerate model training and optimize model performance with active learning
Learn about the latest enhancements to out-of-the-box document processing – with little to no training required
Get an exclusive demo of the new family of UiPath LLMs – GenAI models specialized for processing different types of documents and messages
This is a hands-on session specifically designed for automation developers and AI enthusiasts seeking to enhance their knowledge in leveraging the latest intelligent document processing capabilities offered by UiPath.
Speakers:
👨🏫 Andras Palfi, Senior Product Manager, UiPath
👩🏫 Lenka Dulovicova, Product Program Manager, UiPath
Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey 2024 by 91mobiles.pdf91mobiles
91mobiles recently conducted a Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey in which we asked over 3,000 respondents about the TV they own, aspects they look at on a new TV, and their TV buying preferences.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
From Daily Decisions to Bottom Line: Connecting Product Work to Revenue by VP...
Lessons learned
1. Lessons learned: Outsourcing managed network services
Driven by financialneeds, a competitive managed services market, enhanced remote netw orkmanagement tools and
demanding business requirements, organizations are increasingly delegating controlof their netw ork -- including carrier
services and service management -- to third-party providers.
The potential benefits of implementing fully outsourced managed services include reduced cost of ownership (COO), accessto
externalexpertise/intellectualproperty, improved operationalperformance and abstracted management. A holistic outsourced
model can also allow organizations to better allocate internal resources on strategic projects and core businessactivities.
How ever, relinquishing end-to-end responsibility for the netw orkinfrastructure without systematically addressing the service
delivery model exposes the organization to significant financial, operational and strategic risks. To mitigate these risks and
maximize results, organizations should consider the follow ing best practices:
1. Simplify the process for provider and service tower termination. First, structure the contract with minimal bundling so
specific services can be terminated w ithout impacting others. For example, in a recent project involving an offshore provider,
the contract was designed with separate service towers, e.g., Managed Router Services, Netw orkSupport Services (LAN,
telephony, w ireless infrastructure), Dedicated on-site support, Data Center Management Services and Contact Center
Management Services.
Second, retain broad rights for termination for cause, and allow for termination due to provider performance issues.
Third, establish specific termination processesduring contract negotiations and build them into the agreement. Explicitly
address all aspects of termination, including termination-related charges, provider wind-down support, providerobligations after
termination, and the transfer of assets(equipment, software), contracts and even provider personnel. It is alw ays best to
negotiate termination details w hile you still have leverage (i.e., before the contract is signed), as it w illmake termination easier
w ith fewer costsand operational/legaldifficulties. Waiting to negotiate these terms until you're seriously contemplating or
initiating termination is too late as the provider w illlikely be less disposed to cooperate.
Know ing that w ell-defined termination processes are in place w ith service towersthat can be peeled off (reducing provider
revenue) makes termination a more effective and credible stickto use if the provider is not performing.
2. Establish clear SLAs with credits defined in the contract. SLAs should ramp up based on the service issue duration,
severity and number of defaults. Additionally, they should have both financialand non-financialremedies requiring:
• Rapid escalation processesto the provider's senior/executive management levels.
• Formal quarterly and annual review swith the provider's executive management level.
• Root cause analysis for every "Severity 1" incident.
• Detailed remediation plans.
• Performance improvement plans.
• New customer reference everysix months.
To enforce SLAs, the enterprise must dedicate internal resources to monitor provider performance (i.e., IT provider
management), address defaults, and consistently escalate chronic issues using predefined processesto hold the provider
accountable. [Also read: "Cloud computing and the truth about SLAs"]
3. Avoid pushing too hard on price to the exclusionof all else. Aspricing decreasesbelow an appropriate level, the overall
service and provider relationship becomes less tenable, risking inflexibility and "w orkto rule," substandard resource
assignment, and a poor overall experience. Squeezing the provider too hard on price creates the riskof having the provider
look for opportunities to gain back margins after the contract is signed. For example, they may eliminate promised resources,
sw ap dedicated/on-site roles for cheapershared/off-site resources (e.g., project management), or persistently demand change
orders for services not explicitly covered by the contract.
Still, if cost reduction is the main driver and a company plans to push hard during price negotiations, it w illneed to establish
provider management once the deal is done to strictly enforce SLAsand monitor performance; otherwise it can expect "nickel-
and-diming" and performance erosion fromproviders.
4. Engage vendor management early and throughoutthe engagement. In general, vendor management involves
delivering:
• Support in developing sourcing/termination strategies.
• Contract management (T&C/SLA/KPI compliance, performance reviews).
• Customer-vendor relationship management (fromonboarding to divesting).
• Financial management.
• Risk management.
With fully outsourced agreements, organizations are highly dependent on the provider and the quality of service delivery. Still,
companies often underestimate the value of vendor management. As a result, investment in and commitment to this critical
function is frequently lacking w ith the consequence being poor service delivery, chronic service issues, misallocation of
financialresources and unhappy users.
2. Keeping vendor management involved during each step of the sourcing/contracting processis essentialgiven their vital role in
managing provider performance and value creation during the contract term. This includes involving them in sourcing and
termination strategies before starting down the road to a fully outsourced network.
5. Think operationally when developingyour sourcingstrategy and negotiatingthe agreement. For example, document
the lifecycle of a circuit/service fromordering to expiration/termination, including every permutation (escalations, early
cancelation, non-acceptance, poor performance); then, askthe provider to identify and confirmtime frames for each process
step.
Keep in mind that not all process steps are necessarily key performance indicators (KPIs), nor must they carry financialcredits.
How ever, allsteps should be clearly documented in the contract. Formally documenting and monitoring KPIs w illencourage
provider performance and keep each process step moving. Of course, this chain of events is only as good as its w eakest link,
and the provider w illlikely exploit any action w ithout an explicit and w ell-documented KPI to "pad" the other process time
frames.
6. Maintain internal ownership of IT network architecture/design services. Ownership of these operationalfunctions better
positions IT to align the netw orkwith businessrequirements. Further, ownership builds criticalinternalexpertise that can aid
w ith networkand processoptimization, infrastructure refresh decisionsand, if needed, support the transition of the netw ork and
managed services to another provider.
Finding the right balance betw een leveraging the provider's resources/expertise while developing institutionalknow ledge may
be difficult, but it can be accomplished, for example, by assigning IT responsibility for managing documentation requirements
(e.g., as builts, configuration, netw orkdiagrams), negotiating the ability to hire provider staff assigned to the account, or
requiring asset transfer at contract termination.
7. Carefully consider assetownership. Fully outsourced deals historically use an "asset-heavy" modelw herein asset
ow nership is either transferred by the customer to the provider or provided directly by the provider. This model is leveraged by
both customer and provider for many reasons, including:
• One-time cash payment fromprovider to customer for existing assets.
• Reduced capital funding in favor of operating expenditures.
• Predictable cost streamand improved return on asset (ROA).
• Eliminates need for separate maintenance agreements; fewer providers may simplify provider management.
• Provider organizational scale/expertise/remote tools to drive ongoing operationalefficiencies and cost reductions.
• CPE capacity planning responsibility assumed by provider (e.g., if circuit upgrade requires router upgrade).
• Providers encourage it -- asset ow nership is a perfect way to create "stickiness"; once the provider services are in place, the
effort/cost to take backasset ow nership is perceived by the customer (correctly or not) to be prohibitive.
Despite these benefits, there is a grow ing preference foran asset-light model because of alternative lease-backfinancing,
w hich allow san organization to ow n the asset without significant capitaloutlay or giving up asset control. Further, improvement
in remote infrastructure management (RIM) tools and virtualization technologies mean customers can more easily deploy and
use these technologies. These enhanced RIM tools also allow offshore providersto compete more effectivelyagainst onshore
providers. [Also read: "Pros, cons of remote infrastructure management"]
If asset ow nership is the provider's responsibility, asset refresh commitments by the provider must be established during
contract negotiations. Keeping criticalIT assets current during contract termis an important to include in the finalagreement.
Additionally, companies should restrict the provider frompurchasing or leasing assets fromits affiliates or subsidiaries; s uch
relationships can obscure the underlying cost of assets, limit visibility into asset inventories and services billing, and make
service termination more difficult.
Ultimately, the pros and cons of asset ow nership must be carefully w eighed by both IT and finance to determine w hich asset
model makes the most sense.
8. Bundle transport services or negotiate a separate transportagreement? Bundling transport with the managed services
has the upside of giving responsibility for these time-consuming tasks to externalparties (e.g., orders, disconnects, billing
management, troubleshooting). Transport contract negotiations are also avoided w ith "only" the managed services contract to
w orryabout.
The dow nside? Bundling transport w ith managed servicesmeans carrier costs are no longer transparent. Cost visibility and
financialcontrolare diminished as transport billing becomes a lump-charge on the managed service invoice.
In addition, bundling often means the IT organization becomes further removed fromnetw orkservices. Asa result, internal
expertise about transport erodes further, thereby increasing IT's dependence on the provider. As with ownership of IT netw ork
architecture/design, maintaining an intimate know ledge of the netw orkis criticalto delivering real value to the business units.
9. Plan extensively before migratingto a fully outsourced environment. Numerous activities must take place before
executing the plan. In-depth discussions with the business units are needed to understand their requirements and future plans.
Developing detailed site migration schedules, financialmanagement processes, data center/site readinessplans, resource
plans, communication plans and process management (incident, problem, change, asset management, etc.) must be ready
before rolling out managed services.
Ongoing real estate activity, including pending M&A, must be understood and factored into the migration plan. Transition to a
fully outsourced model requires significant planning to properly execute by both the enterprise and provider partner(s)for the
ramp-up (and as needed w ind-down)to a 100% outsourced environment.
3. Migrating criticalIT netw orkinfrastructure and servicesto a fully outsourced environment is complex and risky but also has the
potential for significant cost and efficiencybenefits. Mitigating the risks requires preparing for and looking beyond the sourcing
event by developing a sound sourcing strategy, negotiating strong, flexible contract terms, having appropriate provider
management, and continuous involvement by IT. By taking these steps, organizations can help ensure the managed services
provider delivers realvalue to their business and customers.
Source : Netw orkworld
Recommended By Rick Moreno, GLOBAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR, AT&T
Netw orkManagement / Managed Services / Outsourcing / IT Infrastructure
rick.moreno2015@gmail.com
rick (dot) moreno2015 (at) gmail (dot) com
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/rick-moreno/6/79a/850