ITIL v3 (Information Technology Infrastructure Library)/Service Strategy

Service Strategy is the center and origin point of the ITIL Service Lifecycle. It provides guidance on clarification and prioritization of service-provider investments in services. More generally, Service Strategy focuses on helping IT organizations improve and develop over the long term. In both cases, Service Strategy relies largely upon a market-driven approach.

This is a view of ITIL where IT and business align their visions. Its key topics covered include service value definition, business-case development, service assets, market analysis, and service provider types. List of covered processes:

• Strategy Management
• Service Portfolio Management
• IT Financial Management
• Demand Management
• Business Relationship Management

Importance of this view is because this phase that is responsible to define service value. When defining a service is important to have in mind four Ps for strategy: Perspective, Position, Plan, Pattern.

Strategy activities are:

• Define market
• Develop strategic offer
• Develop strategic assets
• Prepare for execution

Service Strategy

Principles

When defining a service, strategist must have in mind list of principles, as stated below:

• Value creation
• Service assets
• Service provider types
• Service structure

Stages

Stages for definition of strategy are:

1. Define
2. Analyze
3. Approval
4. Charter

Service provider types

There are three types of service providers, that may include service provided as well providers for the service:

1. Internal service provider: exists within an organization and provides service solely for a unique business unit
2. Shared service unit: exists within an organization, but provides service for more than one business unit
3. External service provider: operates outside organization

Processes

Service strategy has two processes: Service Portfolio Management and IT Financial Management, as depicted below.

Service Portfolio Management

Owned by service portfolio manager, it is composed of four sub-processes:

• Strategic service assessment: assesses current service in the market.
• Service strategy definition: to define overall goals of the service, as well to define customer and customer segmentation.
• Service portfolio update: adjusts services offered in portfolio based on strategy definition.
• Strategic planning: defines, initiates and controls the program and projects required to execute Service Strategy.
• Demand Management: Service Strategy.

IT Financial Management

Owned by financial manager, it is composed of four sub-processes:

• Financial management support: defines necessary structure for management of financial planning data and costs.
• Financial planning: determines required financial resources over next planning period.
• Financial analysis and reporting: analysis of financial costs provisioning and service profitability.
• Service invoicing: issues invoices for the provisioned service.