TITLE:
The Challenge of Global Selective Outsourcing Environment: Implementing Customer-Centric IT Service Operations and ITIL Processes
AUTHORS:
Anne-Maarit Majanoja, Erkki Tervala, Linnéa Linko, Ville Leppänen
KEYWORDS:
IT Service, ITIL Processes, Selective Outsourcing, Quality Management, Customer Satisfaction
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Service Science and Management,
Vol.7 No.6,
December
5,
2014
ABSTRACT: Presently,
internal Information Technology (IT) organizations make strategic level
decisions to explore new capabilities and solutions from outsourcing markets to
fulfill various business and customer expectations. However, far too little is
known about the operational level challenges that emerge between IT service
purchasing companies and suppliers in a global selective outsourcing
environment. In this research, we focus on analyzing the operational level
challenges and nonconformances from the IT service purchasing company’s
point-of-view. Nokia’s IT unit selectively outsourced parts of its operational
level IT service activities to the supplier. The IT unit and the supplier
jointly implemented Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) processes,
globally. The cooperation was not completely trouble-free. It was identified
that ITIL processes can provide standardized structures for executing the IT
service activities, but quality and customer-centric operation will also require
active and participative management and leadership, efficient communication and
information sharing, globally implemented quality management practices, and
clear responsibility and ownership structures between the parties. These
findings improve operational level selective outsourcing knowledge, and the
findings can be exploited by other global IT service transition projects.