Standardize-the key to success

One of the biggest challenges that SMBs face when dealing with
small and medium solution providers is consistency in delivery and consistency
in quality of delivery across different customer sets.

Corporate customers want the same experience from their solution
provider, whether a network is being set-up in Hyderabad or Indore. That is
because the customers' customers want to have the same experience whether they
are accessing services in Delhi or Lucknow.

Productization or standardization of IT service offerings is the
new mantra that is likely to be taken up by entry and mid-level solution
providers. There is no dearth of examples to show that even small time players
actually ensured that consistency in quality and delivery is achieved before
they started growing and some became even big.

According to industry pundits, such as IDC, to
standardize or to achieve 75 percent repeatability of services delivered is a
good benchmark, and if that is achieved then productization is successful.

Clearly, solution providers looking for an edge, and keen on
beating competition, will now strive to productize. The success mantra
for the next 24 months for bagging new as well as repeat orders and enhancing
profitability will surely be standardization.

The advantages are for the solution providers too. Market
research and surveys clearly indicate that service-level agreements (SLAs)
between the vendors, solution providers and the customer, is likely to be the
order of the day in near future. It will not work without standardization.

Surely, challenges for solution providers, who are already
undress pressure, will go up. Standardisation would require higher levels of
expertise from partners to implement and maintain the solutions. But we must not
forget that while the small players try to win big customers, the big players
are now increasing focussing on SMBs, who increasingly want 'productized
services' and fast implementations.

According to IDC, "The market spending on system
integration services in India for 2007 is expected to be around $872 million
growing at 19 percent and contributing to 21 percent of the total IT services
market. This change in the delivery model will not have a huge impact on
spending, but will definitely improve vendor earnings and client confidence from
the standardized services deliverables."