Given SIAM’s breadth, depth, and ability to generate organizational value delivery during large IT and outsourcing transformation programs, it is quite critical that structured training plans must be part of every SIAM implementation program, and from then on, to continuously replenish during the service delivery phase.
The SIAM model is envisioned to bring new ways of working based on trust and collaboration in an enterprise, which many organizations may find a little overwhelming to handle if its people were not adequately baptized with the fundamental philosophy of the SIAM operational model.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “For the best return on your money, pour your purse into your head”. A grim reality, describing several struggling large SIAM implementations that failed to provide the return on investment, primarily because not enough effort, resources, or brainpower was invested to adequately train the critical people roles, to mobilize the SIAM ecosystem from an investment to a value delivery machine.
Below are some of the challenges that come with a lack of systematic knowledge within SIAM ecosystem partners like Service Providers and client stakeholders. This will have a devastating impact on the prospects of SIAM programs.
1. Although SIAM is proven as a vital element for successful multi-supplier outsourcing relationships, sadly, it still has relatively minor attention during contracting and transition engagements. Service Integration is not considered a natural ingredient, like what ITIL is, for many such outsourcing programs. The reasons can be a lack of deep-level insights (except superficial awareness) among the decision-making ranks of the client organizations. Similarly, the sales functions of IT Services organizations that are to advise the clients may not be investing quality efforts, due to their lack of awareness about the strategic benefits of SIAM.
2. For many stakeholders in the Service Integration ecosystem, SIAM is a very confusing multidisciplinary model, covering concepts and practices from Service Management, Vendor Management, Service Catalogue, Organizational Design, and IT to business alignment, and a plethora of process improvement
methodologies. Some even think of SIAM as a natural evolution of traditional service management with a ‘turbo-charged’ supplier management.
3. We are living in an era of digital transformation which is fast evolving by making and breaking organizations. But becoming a successful digital organization requires the integration and harmony of several moving parts like technologies, business units, and suppliers to provide uniform digital (service) experience. The crucial role that SIAM can play in this area does not seem to be well understood, as the Service Integration function often fails to make quick and long-lasting value delivery after commencing the SIAM operations.
Tendency to confuse SIAM with IT Service Management and a general lack of published and authenticated service delivery best practices may drive the ability to operate a SIAM model to a very ‘closed’ and ‘elite’ skill set and/or capability.
Applications within SIAM programs
A Service Integration program normally has two major phases—Capability establishment and operating the established capability. During the capability establishment phase the Service Integrator tries to achieve the below:
*Establish a common set of processes
*A single source of truth
*Transparency across the ecosystem
*Intera models applicable to all processes, to ensure roles and responsibilities are clearly understood
*Unified and targeted communication model
Training all constituents—clients, Service Provider team members, and SIAM operations team members—becomes more important, to consolidate everything which has been achieved. The SIAM ecosystem cannot work as a cohesive and integrated unit without everyone in the ecosystem having a shared understanding. The fundamental objective of training in this phase is to inculcate a “One Team” mindset—Service Providers must be partners, not adversaries, through common goals and objectives.