Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/833286
24 | THE DATA CENTER JOURNAL www.datacenterjournal.com all over the world, Ford defined a process to efficiently create and deliver his product with the features that customers desired. tHiS approacH caN Serve aS aN example for tHe colocatioN iNduStry. How doeS it work? First, a catalog-driven approach puts the customer at the center and precisely determines the customer's desires and requirements. ere- fore, the combination of all service characteristics, respective variants and extension levels drives the pro- vider's ability to differentiate. All of this information will appear in the service portfolio or catalog. Custom- ers receive services tailored to their needs, as they can choose from vari- ous delivery options. anks to the catalog approach they feel like they are getting an individual service even though it is composed of standard elements. In contrast, the providers' perspective is different: they are cost-effectively delivering scale. How can they achieve this result? A unique method: services are decom- posed into single components. Each component is then standardized, in turn increasing predictability and ease of maintenance. By standard- izing service components, repetitive tasks become faster to deliver using automation mechanisms, and they have a lower fault rate. Additionally, this approach enables further modu- larization and variant management, increasing flexibility to "customize" (i.e., deliver a specific variant) ser- vices for customers. e advantage of this approach is the design process that takes place before service delivery. Vertical inte- gration of all delivery teams ensures production efficiency. Defining ser- vice delivery up front means having the chance to optimize processes up front—and, in turn, achieve full cost control. Additionally, this unique ap- proach delivers standard soware to serve as a central database for all required information, such as work plans, components and their definitions, pricing structures, and delivered services in the context of contract details. It's not a siloed system, like Excel, SharePoint or a web page, as these tools can't be subsequently operationalized by other soware. is central data hub for products and services is acces- sible to everyone in the organization and can supply information for all participants at any location, be it an end-user portal, automation plat- form, service monitor, ERP system, configuration-management database (CMDB) or help desk. is complete solution enables product managers to bridge the gap between marketable units and the re- sources required to make and deliver them. It strengthens the chain be- tween sales, operations and delivery teams, as they work together more efficiently, share the same perspec- tive on data center and connectivity resources, and have clear processes installed. BeNefitS of a catalog- driveN data ceNter In summary, the benefits of a catalog-driven approach include ac- celerated time to market, transparent cost structures and efficient service delivery. A catalog-driven approach gives the sales-team members a pre- cise view on what to sell and allows them to tailor services to customer needs quickly and efficiently. Addi- tionally, it will help product-portfolio managers more quickly design new services faster and respond to chang- ing customer requirements. e digi- tized product and service portfolio will provide necessary data for other business units as well, helping them to work more efficiently together. e digitization of service- related information makes it possible to provide services flexibly and with consistently high quality, all while keeping costs down. e more stan- dardization, the higher the service quality, which in turn keeps custom- ers happy and secures revenue. e catalog-driven approach defines pro- cesses beforehand and aligns them end to end throughout the company's service-delivery chain. Finally, having the agility to react to market changes using stan- dard service components described in a catalog is the best way to deliver offerings to market quickly. is capability will drive the competitive advantage of MTDCs, which is de- termined by their ability to become service providers. To succeed in delivering high-quality value-added services, providers must emphasize service design, prioritize catalog management and embrace the shi to a product-oriented approach. n about the author: Patrick Büch, Head of Business Line Service Management at FNT Software, manages the service-management portfolio of FNT and advances the market entry of FNT ServicePlanet. Having more than 17 years of industry experience in service management, business-process management and enterprise architecture, he is a frequent speaker on these topics.