Support Design Should Begin at the Start

Everyone can think of a moment when they have experienced a problem with goods or services. Everyone can also think of a moment after the problem that…wait for it (drumroll)…there was poor customer support or no support at all.

So where does the disconnect between an enterprise’s strategic objectives and its failure in the eyes of the customer begin? Could this failure have been avoided from the start?

Here’s how it happens:  Oftentimes an enterprise reviews its strategic plan, which is a process that often generates new ideas and a new focus on how to achieve its objectives. A critical factor in achieving these objectives is IT. As part of this effort business cases are created and reviewed with due diligence and care, focusing on risk analysis, costing and other key planning issues. Approvals are given at various levels, and once the green light is reached, we then develop the product/service/upgrade, with implementation to follow.

Imagine that all of the above stages are completed and the enterprise has just successfully launched a new service to customers through its digital channel. The product is marketed well and it is disruptive, so this results in huge demand from customers. At this point it may seem that all is well and good; however, as with all things, problems are going to occur and customers (internal/external) will be affected.

This is where the true test begins and where many enterprises fail because proper support systems were not put in place at the start. There are several reasons why this can occur, including a lack of foresight at the beginning, a focus on being first to market over competition, improper resource analysis, a lack of training, a poorly developed service level agreement (SLA) or no SLA review.

Just as security and risk are key considerations, proper support mechanisms should be considered when implementing your enterprise IT governance structure since this is a form of risk mitigation in itself. You can implement the most state of the art IT infrastructure that strategically aligns with your enterprise’s objectives and delivers super-fast service; however, if there is no support for the 100 percent certainty that something will go wrong, then all becomes useless. Design your framework so that failures are welcomed and not left to chance.

Ammett Williams CCIE, CGEIT, Telecommunication Team Leader – First Citizens, TT

[ISACA Now Blog]