ISS 2020 Vision Future of Service Management | Page 52

The value of service, particularly in B2B or B2B2C contexts, is moving from the delivery of a
needed outcome to the degree of agility it provides. Adopting the XaaS mind-set, users are
awarded the freedom and flexibility to only focus on their core competencies. 57 Maintenance
costs of owned assets are becoming more of a liability in tomorrow’s business reality. For
example, legacy systems are costly to upgrade, lead to higher risks due to the complex
structure, and rarely provide the same service level as the latest technology – which places
users at a disadvantage in accelerating and hyper-competitive markets. XaaS provides users
with increased responsiveness by way of having access to the latest market technologies. And
with the new technology enabling more tailored solutions more and more will transfer assets
to services, resulting in more competitive pricing for these services.
As such, the relationship dynamics between users and service providers become an increasingly
important factor in the service exchange, since the outsourcing of more high-value, core
business areas – those which offer market differentiation or a competitive advantage – requires
a higher degree of trust. Value-alignment is important as outsourcing relationships shift from
meeting expectations and fulfilling input-output requirements to exceeding expectations and
achieving service outcomes. The service provider is not only expected to deliver a fixed service
but most constantly evolve according to best practices and the end-users’ needs.
The future service landscape will be one that is constantly redefined by changes in user
behavior that are enabled or augmented by technologies. It is important for service providers
to maintain a certain vigilance at all times and utilize the data they collect effectively by
regularly revisiting the service landscape in which they operate and update their Service
Management approach accordingly.
5.2.2 Service strategy
A constantly shifting service landscape will challenge organizations to rethink, reinvent and
reset their service strategy. They will be required to design for service that reflects the changes
in their context and embed this mind-set within their organizational culture. This challenge
is being driven by a shift towards a focus on user experience, which is the next frontier for
differentiation, value creation and growth. Service providers must explore methodologies
to help improve or innovate service experiences that result in more satisfied users and more
profitable enterprises. Service providers need service innovation. 58
Service innovation in the future necessitates a people-driven digital transformation –
combining deep insights into the needs and wants of users with digital technologies that
leverage data and connectivity to create new business value. The trend of human-centred
design 59 is about emotional experience mapping that will allow service providers to discover,
define, develop and deliver the greatest value (see figure 19).
57 Van Der Weerd., ISS 2020 Vision: Future of Service Management, 2016.
58 Moritz, S., Design for Services, Keynote, Service Experience Summit, 2014.
59 Coenen, C., ISS 2020 Vision: Future of Service Management, 2016.
50