SIAM Models - getting the basics right

For most companies, today’s world of IT Service Management and day-to-day Service Delivery involves a mix of internal teams across the enterprise, several external suppliers as part of an end-to-end IT eco-system, with end-users and customers at the end of the chain.

Several CIOs we have spoken to recently have cited a major challenge to the on-going success of their SIAM Model as being maintaining compliance standards and control, whilst operating in a customer-focused, agile manner to meet changing business demands.

Back to Basics

Going back to basics, Service Integration and Management (SIAM)?is an approach to managing multiple suppliers of business and IT services and integrating their activities and delivery into a single business-facing IT organisation. If it works well, this type of model can be very successful, if not, it can end up being a costly and thankless exercise.

SIAM models revolve around three key functions –

1. Customer & Retained Organisation: this is the customer of the services responsible for setting the strategy and defining the `watermark` between the company and its service providers, i.e., what will be retained internally and what needs to be outsourced to a specialist.
2. Service Providers: whether this is an internal shared service model, or made up by a range of external suppliers, this is every party that delivers a service to the customer organisation.
3. Service Integrator: this is the role that is accountable for ensuring effective delivery of services and successful collaboration/integration between service providers. You can have different types of Service Integrator, including external, internal, hybrid, and lead supplier.

Often in SIAM Models, key roles become blurred. This scenario happens all too often and can lead to the customer organisation’s expectations of the SIAM Model and outsourced agreements not aligning with the expectations of the service providers. This can lead to micromanagement of suppliers, and `Shadow IT` emerging to paper over the cracks that are appearing.

There are key things to consider when building up a complete picture of what you need from a SIAM Model, not least the services you need to procure externally, the role your retained organisation will play in the new model, commercial constructs, and performance measures.

If you are looking into the most appropriate type of SIAM Model to adopt, and wondering what your options are, please let me know as we can discuss the options with you so that you can make an informed choice.