White paper Service Landscape Methodology Service Landscape Methodology (SLM) is a new way of approaching large IT service delivery. SLM is unique to Fujitsu and offers a number of benefits. In this paper we will look at what s involved in SLM and how it can help you. As the originators of SLM and lead consultants we look forward to hearing your thoughts on this subject and feedback to this report. Contents Introduction 2 SLM a new way forward 2 Next 4 Benefits Summary 5 Page 1 of 5
Introduction This paper sets out to answer two simple questions: What is Service Landscape Methodology (SLM) and, whether for those buying or supplying IT services, how can it help me? Before you even get to those questions, it s worth mentioning a simple truth. Large IT programmes aren t easy and have been beset by highprofile failures for many years. The introduction of cloud has both simplified and complicated large IT estates. We knew there had to be a better way. What we have ended up with and what has so far been a success story for Fujitsu and our customers is SLM. Given Fujitsu is a long-established and major global player in technology and services, you d expect us to employ a range of methodologies and we do. However, SLM is something new and something unique. SLM is simple, comprehensive and elegantly brings everything together, often in easy-to-understand diagrams. As one of our customers says in this paper: It is something that connects the business and the supplier. I think every company should use [SLM]. It looks like homework but actually it s fun and it helps you a lot. How can SLM help you? How do we describe the benefits of SLM? There are a few too many for this introduction but they apply across complex estates, to mixed environments of traditional IT and cloud, internal and outsourced functions and environments featuring numerous third-party suppliers in addition to ourselves. We will also discuss one of our main case studies, the Port of Rotterdam Authority, Europe s largest port operator located in the Netherlands. We make no secret that SLM is good for Fujitsu. It helps us be efficient, consistent and more successful. But it s also about a win-win with customers. As the originators of SLM and lead consultants we look forward to hearing your thoughts on this subject and feedback to this report Ian Groves Head of Service Architecture Managed Infrastructure Services Division, Global Delivery Jan-Simon Swagemakers Managing Consultant - Service Landscape Methodology Managed Infrastructure Services Division, Global Delivery The benefits can be described in terms of reduced costs, customer satisfaction, less risk, better control and transparency, for the customer and third parties. We mentioned costs but don t think cost reduction is the top priority. SLM is about better design, meaning new business and growth. It is no wonder interest is on the rise around the world. Industry experts are taking note. This paper shares some common ground with the latest writing on the concept of Best Value (formerly Best Value Procurement). But while that s where SLM takes some of its cues, SLM is unique and a relatively new way of delivering IT services. Page 2 of 5
SLM a new way forward We would like to talk more about where SLM comes from, what it is and the benefits it brings to complex environments. Origins Complexity is a natural part of the world in which we work. But SLM helps customers work in their increasingly preferred way it s all about processes that are connected, end-to-end and measurable. The work we have done on developing SLM over the past few years, much of it driven by Fujitsu in the Europe, has much in common with ground-breaking academic research and a methodology that has come to be known as Best Value (previously Best Value Procurement). That concept puts emphasis on price and performance, treats vendors as experts who must be proactive in the procurement process, and values transparency. We have built on those concepts - in the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and increasing numbers of other countries applying them to some large accounts. We developed what ended up being a much more visual, open and proactive way of working with customers sometimes even months before a tender process began. Typical SLM process In line with well-established phases of Pre-qualification, Selection, Clarification and Execution. Discussions take place with customer months before tender publication. They cover needs, attitudes to risk, knowledge sharing and mean fundamental relationship building. Understand how customer will score bid - its weighting and evaluation criteria. Focus on value rather than price. That said, seek out financial details. Core bid team assembled: sales manager, pre-sales personnel and other experts who would be hands-on if won. This is about experts making careful assumptions rather than answering customer questions. Onus shifts. Customer interviews vendor s people. When the bid is won, embark on detailed plan, in discussion with customer (approx. 2 months). Always look at additional ways to add value to customer. Workshops for in-depth information exchange and other reasons, all with a mindset of developing a win-win relationship. During execution phase, risk reports are shared on a weekly basis. Core team sessions on a monthly basis. The process is continuous and ongoing. The difference how SLM works Unlike the traditional RfP tender process, SLM is about engaging with a customer much earlier than in years gone by at no extra cost to them, we should add. We seek to develop a productive relationship based on our expertise and proactivity. This should feel like less work for any would-be customer. Also from the earliest of days, we talk in terms of tangible cost/service benefits. The ROI conversation is at the heart of SLM, across all suppliers. In these early stages we research a customer s current services and compare them with the new requirements and often what they ve told us they will need. The idea is for the customer to make a much more informed decision when choosing suppliers. In the past, it s been common for a customer to choose an outsource partner but still see its retained IT function grow and cost more. That s unacceptable. We have found that first-time customers are curious enough about SLM that we are then invited to have that first conversation Traditionally a service design methodology between buyer and supplier is only used once a contract has been signed. Not so with SLM. We now have the ability and simple framework and tools to engage not just at the RfP and selection stage but well before. And we have found that first-time customers are curious enough about SLM that we are then invited to have that first conversation. Service decomposition what s that? Service decomposition is the key differentiator for SLM, its beating heart. It brings forward a design discipline into the bid cycle something a lot of suppliers don t do. We talk about service decomposition in the ways we talk about the whole of SLM it is visual, simple, comprehensive and end-to-end. We break down SLM into five phases and service decomposition kicks in at phase two, with the real heavy lifting in stage three and four. It is key to mapping and building the picture of all services. Everything else we develop takes its cue from the design and service decomposition work we do. What we re talking about is very structured. It ensures repeatable disciplines. They re flexible all of this won t work if they re rigid but it s about repeatable logic. The groundwork we lay by decomposing the services does nothing less than help us design future services organisations. That s especially important because after service decomposition we will put together the service organisation with it including customer resolver groups, retained IT functions, ourselves and third parties. So service decomposition is important in several ways, from helping us have those early-stage customer conversations through to being truly end-to-end, from a service integration and support perspective. Page 3 of 5
Visual Here is an example of how SLM is visually broken down. You can start to get an idea of a typical service decomposition. SLM in action: Port of Rotterdam Authority The Port of Rotterdam Authority (PoR) is responsible for the largest harbour in Europe. It s the gateway to the commercial heart of the continent and handles about 450 million tonnes of freight each year, around the clock, every day. For this organisation, IT availability is critical. PoR started talking to Fujitsu when its outsourcing contract came up for renewal two years ago. The PoR IT leads knew about the concept of Best Value and were interested in the idea of SLM. Evert Nolta, PoR service manager, said: The Fujitsu bid stood out because they mentioned something called the service landscape and that was something that no other supplier had put forward in their bid. It is common for schematics like this to be placed in the customer s environment, for example outside a main IT department s room, in a long hallway. (There has to be enough wall space.) At the end of a contract, should Fujitsu not be retained, customers are left with an elegant representation of how everything works. This is very different to the common black box approach We hear how all parts of a business, from C-level executives to business unit managers to IT professionals, get talking as they literally gather in the same place and see what everyone is doing including their own teams and all external suppliers. That process helps highlight duplication and gaps. Mid-contract, we have had feedback that a CEO or CFO wants to understand how something is working and they have appreciated the CIO or others in a delivery team using a sheet of A3 paper to show processes graphically. At the end of a contract, should Fujitsu not be retained, customers are left with an elegant representation of how everything works. This is very different to the common black box approach, where major service providers aren t transparent about what they do in fact historically they have profited from being opaque and it is difficult to switch suppliers. We re not talking about commodity services but we have a responsibility to make it easier for customers. Fujitsu held early-stage workshops with PoR, which came to see SLM as the way to see the gap between what the business needs and what was being delivered. Rob Slegtenhorst from the PoR s Harbour Master s Division, said: Using the service landscape you get an overview of all your assets and it gives you a complete view in the form of pictures. It shows you on diagrams how your IT organisation is put in place. SLM began to show PoR where it was doing things well and where improvement was needed, where the priorities lie. In one example, PoR talk about SLM being key to helping ensure its own vessels in the harbour were connected as they should be to the harbour master s central hub. It meant coordinating different IT systems with on-board wi-fi and cellular connectivity provided by Dutch telco KPN. In another example, PoR used SLM to discover dredging vessels that they weren t aware of, which was quite a revelation. PoR s advice? Start small get two or three of your people who really understand how it works then start to involve the business, using drawings and focusing on making improvements. Nolta added: It is something that connects the business and the supplier. I think every company should use [SLM]. It looks like homework but actually it s fun and it helps you a lot. Results SLM has proved itself in plenty of ways. For our customers it has taken out complexity, reduced costs, provided transparency, mitigated a lot of kinds of risk, and generated engaging documentation that can help future suppliers as well as incumbents. SLM allows us to build trust with our customers Arguably a precursor to all those benefits, SLM allows us to build trust with our customers. Creating good relationships is invaluable. Page 4 of 5
One of the top benefits has been better accountability - on customer, vendor and third-party sides. Fujitsu makes no secret that is a competitive advantage for us. One customer (see PoR box) described SLM as homework because it takes a lot of discovery legwork. But that has value. We have learnt which applications and processes have no owner and those things have been resolved. In the case of Port of Rotterdam, that organisation even learnt that it didn t know who was responsible for some of its vessels in the harbour. Next? Fujitsu is continuing to evolve and roll out SLM all around the world. Our unique approach has meant a fundamental reconsideration of when the discipline of service architecture and service design should be brought to a customer account usually earlier than in past years. It has also meant training and knowledge sharing, with centres of excellence and resources for our people. There is also a fundamental change in mindset when trying to win business that is about being a better listener and advisor. SLM is nothing short of transformational for both Fujitsu and our customers. Benfits Summary Simpler, quicker, more agile than previous methodologies. More interactive and transparent relationship across customer, vendor and third-parties nailing down dependencies and provides a service integration framework that helps Fujitsu manage end-toend delivery responsibility for every party. Proactive meets modern customers preferences for carrying out bid processes. Ongoing as well as a methodology for bids, helps deliver continual improvement throughout lifecycle of contracts (aligned with the CSLC what Fujitsu calls the customer solution lifecycle) and a snapshot for CxOs and others. Helps solution team empathise with the customer, finding the right solutions not just what has been contracted. Contact FUJITSU E-mail: askfujitsu@ Copyright 2015 [Fujitsu company name] Fujitsu, the Fujitsu logo, [other Fujitsu trademarks /registered trademarks] are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fujitsu Limited in Japan and other countries. Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Technical data subject to modification and delivery subject to availability. Any liability that the data and illustrations are complete, actual or correct is excluded. Designations may be trademarks and/or copyrights of the respective manufacturer, the use of which by third parties for their own purposes may infringe the rights of such owner. [Other disclaimers] Page 5 of 5