Are IT services such as application maintenance and operations heading towards commoditization? Are frameworks like ITIL going to hasten the journey towards commoditization? These & other related questions have been on my mind for a while. Upon further thinking, reading & discussions with colleagues I am still unable to decide anything conclusively. On one hand I agree with people who argue that application maintenance offerings have beginning to alike across a spectrum of vendors such as IBM, EDS, Infosys, Wipro, TCS, Accenture etc. All of them have well defined global delivery models and make good use of skilled manpower spread across their various delivery centers. They further argue that it is a matter to time when these vendors will start undercutting the prices of their competitors for tactical or strategic purposes. Customers too would start demanding price cuts as it would difficult for them to distinguish one vendor from another. People like Nicholas Carr support this line of thinking. Standardization is the way forward according to him.
Is standardization and commoditization the same thing? Yes and no. Yes, because one of the goal of standardization is to become independent of a supplier. No, because the other goals are to improve interoperability, reduce complexity & raise quality.
My colleagues who argue against IT services going down the commoditization route have a case in point. They believe two vendors maintaining an identical application using an industry standard framework such as ITIL can end up providing totally different end user experience. Their understanding and application of an industry standard framework makes all the difference.
The debate actually opens up lot of other questions. Can any service ever be commoditized? Which is a good example of a commoditized service? I am willing to pay an extra buck or walk for extra 5 minutes to buy a sandwich or coffee for a smile & personalized service I get at Pret. Products do not matter but service does! What do you think?
2 comments:
I guess IT services is heading towards commoditization. Because commoditization refers to little differentiation, not "no differentiation". Even agriculture products from different vendors might have a little differentiation. But it is mostly commodities when you consider them across the board.
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