I was working my way through different predecessor business models, and how I felt that each had a unique advantage in this new world of "IT as a service", or -- more generically -- cloud.
In "The Regional Edge", I tried to make my case that strong regional and/or geographical ties appeared to confer an advantage in securing business and growth. And I now know many EMC partners who are pursuing that model.
In "The Vertical Edge", I made a separate case that service providers who catered to the unique needs of a particular industry -- either with applications, or targeted infrastructure solutions -- appeared to have a similar advantage.
But, as I've come to find out, there appear to be many paths to success in this nascent business.
And, with this post, I'd like to share my perceptions as to why system integrators appear to have a unique angle on all of this.
Defining A System Integrator / Consultant
Like most labels and categories in our industry, this one is also imprecise. In a nutshell, these outfits offer smart people that help IT organizations get where they're going.
That being said, the range of services offered by SIs is incredibly broad: from high-level business strategies (really, more of a consulting engagement) to bread-and-butter staff augmentation (more of a contractor function) -- with everything in between.
Their sweet spot, though, is the transformational initiative -- changing a decently-sized IT organization from one kind of beast to another.
Over the years, I've done a lot of work with various SI organizations -- from very large to very small -- and, more recently, with EMC Consulting -- a group of great people who are now playing in the major leagues in several regards.
At its essence, though, an SI brings smart people with proven methodologies to the table. They invest the time to fully understand their clients, and can propose logical and sequential activities that move the IT organization forward.
And, when it comes to consuming IT-as-a-service, their importance cannot be underestimated.
Retooling IT For Change
It is the rare IT organization indeed who is ready to consume most forms of IT-as-a-service.
All of the processes, skills and mindsets are usually oriented around traditional IT consumed in the traditional manner. No matter how cool, or cost-efficient, or superior an external service might be -- it's often the case that, if you're an SP, your client just isn't equipped to consume what you're offering.
A few years ago, I decided I wanted a boat. In New Hampshire, you can't operate a boat without an extensive training course, followed by an in-person examination. It's harder to get a boating license than it is a driving license. Simply put, I couldn't get a boat until I had invested considerable time and effort ahead of time.
I'm sure that I frustrated more than one boat salesperson until I realized this :-)
Creating The Business CaseOne of the things that SIs (especially those with a strong consultative flair) do well is to create the case for senior management. IT organizations tend to do well with modest projects that are variation on what's been done before; conversely, they tend to struggle when considering entirely new propositions with far-reaching impacts.
Going farther, any large organization has a vested interest in preserving the status quo; by comparison, most IT-as-a-service propositions are a departure from this, and usually face enormous internal resistance.
Not to mention, it always sounds better when it comes from an independent expert's mouth :-)
I can't tell you how many valid and worthwhile IT initiatives that I've seen get stalled at this step. It's not that the business case wasn't there (it was), it's just that the case wasn't framed properly. And a good SI / consultant can help with this.Creating Good Governance
I don't know why so many people shy away from the governance topic. Good governance actually helps to accelerate change and deliver maximum results -- simply because the organization has a framework to make decisions and resolve concerns. More large-scale IT projects fail on this basis than any other single cause, as far as I can tell.
But setting up good governance doesn't always come naturally to IT organizations -- especially when many of the stakeholders are non-IT people. And if creating and managing good governance processes isn't your strong suit, an SI with a consulting orientation can be a big help.
Systems Integration
Ostensibly, you'd think that the major value proposition of a systems integrator would be, well, systems integration. But, as far as I can see, most of their value proposition lies outside of this proper domain.
That being said, there's always some integration work when an external IT service is being considered: integration with security systems, workflows, chargeback, user experience, etc.
None of these integrations is usually individually difficult, but -- taken together -- can create the perception of a big, impenetrable wall that appears daunting to many IT organizations. A good SI can put this all in perspective, and enable the organization to focus on the really hard stuff.
Change ManagementWhen you hear this term used, try and figure out whether the speaker is referring to the relatively straightforward task of technology bits, or the more daunting task of re-engineering people and process.
Any serious consideration of IT-as-a-service will likely cause a fundamental reconsideration of How Things Get Done In IT. People often can be highly resistant to any proposed change, especially when it concerns how they go about getting their jobs done. The more people involved, the longer they've been doing it -- the more tenacious the resistance.
One of the great things that SIs bring to the table is the ability to orchestrate change at an individual, group and process level. They combine familiarization and incentives with firmness and disincentives to get organizations to do things differently and not incite a riot in the process.
Assembling The Picture
There's more, but I think you get the picture.
You, as a service provider, may have the best offer in the world: the most cost-effective, the most flexible, the most robust, the most functional, etc.
At some point, though, it starts being less about your ability to deliver as a service provider, and more around your potential customer's ability to consume.
There are a few SIs out there that have it all: great system integration and consultative skills coupled with enough scale to operate data centers on an efficient and attractive bases.
But this is the exception, and not the rule. Most SIs don't seem to want to own and run large data centers, or -- more properly -- tie up their capital and their people in that sort of model. It makes sense -- their business models are built on smart people, and not large amounts of capital.
My guess is that we'll see all sorts of partnerships in the future between people who are good at infrastructure (service providers) and people who are close to the customer -- system integrators.
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