Commandments of the IT outsourcer / Service Provider
Good day, dear habrovchane.
It so happened that I started my career in an IT outsourcer, continued it as an integrator, and still work as an IT service provider. In addition, I have to provide a lot of services to the same outsourcers, and to act as an “expert from the outside” myself.
Thanks to this experience, as well as the happiness of working in a fully ITIL-compliant organization, I have developed a number of ideas about how the work should be conducted (this is more about the internal "kitchen"). I would like to share them with you. I do not insist on their correctness, but this “credo” helps me very well (and, accordingly, my employer) to carry out successful work and not to stop pleasing clients.
')
Everything else is under the cut.
Every home begins with a foundation, and any IT intergrator must start with Global Operations (Global Operations). This is exactly what will allow the divisions of the organization to contact each other, correctly escalate various requests and promptly solve any incidents.
Without Global Operations, even with a staff of first-class technical specialists, the client will still be unhappy.
And when I try to talk about how to properly lead the GO, this picture of the American animator Gary Larson with the signature always comes to mind. Finally, then! Now this should clarify a couple of things here! :
Just as shown in this funny picture, all global operations should be carried out.
Clarity, simplicity and explanation / documentation of everything that is possible, including communication between departments, technical documentation, organizational plans and projects, communication with the client, technical projects, etc.
Whenever a discussion about global operations begins, sooner or later the conversation falls apart for discussion of certain entities that Global Operations must manage.
For most companies, these entities can be divided into:
- Customer Management
- Employee management
- Documentation
- Monitoring
- System for receiving and recording applications / incidents
- Procedures (Work-flow)
- Backup (yes, this question I always prefer to put in a separate big topic)
And if the organization provides hosting / colocation / cloud:
- Scalability
- Network
- Storage System (Storage)
I do not want to go into the details of the management and management of each of these areas. I gave the list in order to show which entities need to be divided. And if you have problems with several items from the list, then you should think: are there any problems because the same people deal with different things / the same procedures for different things / some things from this list are prioritized below others?
Well, actually, going to the “creed” that I talked about. Observing the following "commandments" in the work, you can get to provide a high level of service, while performing the tasks set by Global Operations:
1) Never work without insurance.
If you have any changes coming, be it technical (upgrades, patches, upgrades, replacement of equipment, etc.) or organizational (relocation, new employees, vacations, training, etc.), then you should always have insurance a case if something goes wrong. Should always be able to rollback / switch / restore. You should never start work if you do not know what to do when everything breaks.
2) Time is running.
Do not forget that in the event of an incident, accident or other problem, during its correction / search for causes, the hand on the clock moves 2 times faster. And you do the work 2 times slower. Always worth remembering this. Therefore, when you are faced with a task, think how much time you need for its execution, multiply the figure by 2 for yourself, and inform the customer of the value multiplied by 3.
3) Have a total of 2 pieces.
This phrase should be taken very literally. It is necessary to duplicate everything. Equipment (2 storage systems, 2 servers, 2 switches, etc.), backups, employees, workstations, plans. There should be a total of 2. Well, or you should at least strive for it.
4) Bad news doesn't get better with time.
When a problem occurs, do not pull in order to voice it to colleagues / clients. From what you report about the unavailability of service / human error / equipment failure later this news will not be more joyful.
5) More communication!
You need to communicate more than you do now. Need to send more notifications. Need to send more emails. Need to make more calls. Believe me, any client who has a problem will prefer to receive a couple of dozen letters with statuses (even if they are the same), rather than thinking that you are not doing anything, pick up the phone and call you with questions.
6) To err is normal.
This is also not to be forgotten. Making mistakes is absolutely fine. If you follow other rules, then an error for you will not be a disaster. But to make the same mistake a second time - no longer. This means that there are problems with documentation / communication / people.
7) "Because we always did that ..."
About the use of this phrase should be forgotten. Never solve questions by following these words. Even if you already have something stuck (technical solution, procedure, methods, etc.), you do not need to give up the best, because you are afraid of change.
8) Meetings.
I personally do not like meeting. All these talks and discussions put pressure on me. But, unfortunately, the meeting is a necessary evil. Without them in any way. Be sure to hold periodic meetings (department meetings, division meetings, quarterly general meetings, etc.). In addition to all the meetings with customers are also important. Do not forget to periodically show the client what you are doing for them, how you are improving and why you are such good fellows.
9) Never forget about common sense.
This is perhaps one of the most important things. If you notice somewhere a lack of common sense (in the documentation, in the upgrade procedure on the vendor's website, in the direction of the authorities, in the contract) - stop and go to point 5 (more communication). Do not blindly make decisions if it seems to you that there is clearly something wrong.
I would also like to say about several moral principles, which also would be nice to follow:
- If you said you would do something, do exactly what you said.
- Fulfill your small and large obligations to colleagues and clients
- Be proactive in actions and communications
- A bitter truth is better than a sweet lie (try not to deceive the client. Does not apply to Sales: D)
- Make it so that you can be seen and stay in touch
Of course, it is impossible to always do everything, but it is better to know what you are striving for. And when you want to make a decision, and you feel that it is wrong, look at the list again.
It so happened that I started my career in an IT outsourcer, continued it as an integrator, and still work as an IT service provider. In addition, I have to provide a lot of services to the same outsourcers, and to act as an “expert from the outside” myself.
Thanks to this experience, as well as the happiness of working in a fully ITIL-compliant organization, I have developed a number of ideas about how the work should be conducted (this is more about the internal "kitchen"). I would like to share them with you. I do not insist on their correctness, but this “credo” helps me very well (and, accordingly, my employer) to carry out successful work and not to stop pleasing clients.
')
Everything else is under the cut.
Every home begins with a foundation, and any IT intergrator must start with Global Operations (Global Operations). This is exactly what will allow the divisions of the organization to contact each other, correctly escalate various requests and promptly solve any incidents.
Without Global Operations, even with a staff of first-class technical specialists, the client will still be unhappy.
And when I try to talk about how to properly lead the GO, this picture of the American animator Gary Larson with the signature always comes to mind. Finally, then! Now this should clarify a couple of things here! :
Just as shown in this funny picture, all global operations should be carried out.
Clarity, simplicity and explanation / documentation of everything that is possible, including communication between departments, technical documentation, organizational plans and projects, communication with the client, technical projects, etc.
Whenever a discussion about global operations begins, sooner or later the conversation falls apart for discussion of certain entities that Global Operations must manage.
For most companies, these entities can be divided into:
- Customer Management
- Employee management
- Documentation
- Monitoring
- System for receiving and recording applications / incidents
- Procedures (Work-flow)
- Backup (yes, this question I always prefer to put in a separate big topic)
And if the organization provides hosting / colocation / cloud:
- Scalability
- Network
- Storage System (Storage)
I do not want to go into the details of the management and management of each of these areas. I gave the list in order to show which entities need to be divided. And if you have problems with several items from the list, then you should think: are there any problems because the same people deal with different things / the same procedures for different things / some things from this list are prioritized below others?
Well, actually, going to the “creed” that I talked about. Observing the following "commandments" in the work, you can get to provide a high level of service, while performing the tasks set by Global Operations:
1) Never work without insurance.
If you have any changes coming, be it technical (upgrades, patches, upgrades, replacement of equipment, etc.) or organizational (relocation, new employees, vacations, training, etc.), then you should always have insurance a case if something goes wrong. Should always be able to rollback / switch / restore. You should never start work if you do not know what to do when everything breaks.
2) Time is running.
Do not forget that in the event of an incident, accident or other problem, during its correction / search for causes, the hand on the clock moves 2 times faster. And you do the work 2 times slower. Always worth remembering this. Therefore, when you are faced with a task, think how much time you need for its execution, multiply the figure by 2 for yourself, and inform the customer of the value multiplied by 3.
3) Have a total of 2 pieces.
This phrase should be taken very literally. It is necessary to duplicate everything. Equipment (2 storage systems, 2 servers, 2 switches, etc.), backups, employees, workstations, plans. There should be a total of 2. Well, or you should at least strive for it.
4) Bad news doesn't get better with time.
When a problem occurs, do not pull in order to voice it to colleagues / clients. From what you report about the unavailability of service / human error / equipment failure later this news will not be more joyful.
5) More communication!
You need to communicate more than you do now. Need to send more notifications. Need to send more emails. Need to make more calls. Believe me, any client who has a problem will prefer to receive a couple of dozen letters with statuses (even if they are the same), rather than thinking that you are not doing anything, pick up the phone and call you with questions.
6) To err is normal.
This is also not to be forgotten. Making mistakes is absolutely fine. If you follow other rules, then an error for you will not be a disaster. But to make the same mistake a second time - no longer. This means that there are problems with documentation / communication / people.
7) "Because we always did that ..."
About the use of this phrase should be forgotten. Never solve questions by following these words. Even if you already have something stuck (technical solution, procedure, methods, etc.), you do not need to give up the best, because you are afraid of change.
8) Meetings.
I personally do not like meeting. All these talks and discussions put pressure on me. But, unfortunately, the meeting is a necessary evil. Without them in any way. Be sure to hold periodic meetings (department meetings, division meetings, quarterly general meetings, etc.). In addition to all the meetings with customers are also important. Do not forget to periodically show the client what you are doing for them, how you are improving and why you are such good fellows.
9) Never forget about common sense.
This is perhaps one of the most important things. If you notice somewhere a lack of common sense (in the documentation, in the upgrade procedure on the vendor's website, in the direction of the authorities, in the contract) - stop and go to point 5 (more communication). Do not blindly make decisions if it seems to you that there is clearly something wrong.
I would also like to say about several moral principles, which also would be nice to follow:
- If you said you would do something, do exactly what you said.
- Fulfill your small and large obligations to colleagues and clients
- Be proactive in actions and communications
- A bitter truth is better than a sweet lie (try not to deceive the client. Does not apply to Sales: D)
- Make it so that you can be seen and stay in touch
Of course, it is impossible to always do everything, but it is better to know what you are striving for. And when you want to make a decision, and you feel that it is wrong, look at the list again.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/196176/
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