Originating Author:Dave Vellante
Can a Service Orientation Change the Perception of IT? Back in 2003, when Nicholas Carr wrote his infamous HBR article entitled "Does IT Matter?," the entire industry rushed to defend its turf and explain why Mr. Carr was dead wrong. What was meaningful about the article to me is that it perfectly portrayed the symbolic ammunition CEO's have used to squeeze discretionary IT spending in the last three years. Throughout the middle part of the 2000's, corporations were drowning in cash and starving for growth and innovation, yet IT wasn't a beneficiary. The trend to services orientation has the potential to change this if IT learns from past mistakes.
Does IT suffer from an unfair rap? Perhaps. Technology is risky and sometimes difficult but let's face it, lines of business have the perception that when they want something done, IT is an impediment but when IT wants a pet project, 'yes we can' is the mantra.
The trend in application development toward service orientation is undoubtedly technically appealing and makes for some great slideware. The ability to package together services that link function seamlessly and can be invoked by applications as needed is compelling. But what's really interesting is the potential this has to change the relationship between IT and business, where IT becomes a provider of automated services that business can select from a menu of items. The appeal to the business is they can much more quickly build products and services for customers the way they want, paying for function that's needed and not paying for capabilities that are part of a large monolithic application that are forced upon them.
This personalizes applications for the business and gives them a sense of ownership. That business lines often love to take credit for technical successes and distance themselves from bad projects is irrelevant. That's what customers do. IT should remember that delivery is table stakes, great service is all about building loyalty.
Action Item: IT must re-examine its definition of services, from architecture to project delivery to ongoing management. Today's service-oriented approaches, while fraught with early difficulties and pain, point to a new model for IT delivery that can add tangible value to business customers.