The Service Integration and Management (SIAM) framework is not new, however, in recent years, while organisations (including service providers) have focused on maturing their own internal IT Service Management capabilities, SIAM has continued to progress, becoming more widely-adopted and establishing itself as the formal framework for service providers and its customers to operate within. When implemented correctly, SIAM establishes harmonious ways of working across organisations while allowing each partner to achieve their own objectives in a single and integrated way.
In Dianne K Fasel’s book ‘Partnering in Action, A guide for building successful collaboration across organisational boundaries’, Fasel states:
‘…..In order to thrive or even survive in today's business environment most organisations are finding that collaboration across organisational boundaries is necessary……’
An effective SIAM framework works for both sides of the partnership by facilitating agreement over terms, establishing boundaries and ultimately creating clear support demarcations (responsibility, accountability and handover points) across each other’s ITSM processes and support models upfront - while utilising a common ITSM language.
So what are the key considerations in getting your SIAM framework successfully established?
1. Minimum Controls: As a minimum requirement, your key control processes such as Incident, Problem, Change and Request Management processes need to be in place to a ‘repeatable maturity’ level. A an overall strategic approach needs to be agreed with regards to Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and Service Asset and Configuration Management (SACM), tools and platforms.
2. Handover Points: Focus on establishing specific process handover points or activities within processes on both sides. These integration points need to be scalable and clear from both sides.
3. SIAM Awareness across Procurement and Commercial Management: While the contract forms the basis and principles of the agreed outcomes, your ITSM processes (and SIAM Framework) will determine how you will work and ultimately the overall partnership performance. Therefore, procurement and commercial management needs to be cohesively formulated to support your SIAM approach.
4. Process Integration First: Negotiations around specific platform use and platform ownership need to become secondary to process integration and specifically agreement of formal support models, roles and responsibilities.
5. Rules of Engagement: A true partnership spirit is well endorsed across all levels of both organisations including setting behavioural limits, establishing rules of engagement, and defining what is acceptable in terms of specific roles and responsibilities across teams that work together to achieve common goals.
So, if you are seeking to strengthen your current service provider partnerships and relationships by establishing or building out your SIAM foundations, keep these 5 considerations in mind.
