Shared Services Forum has developed a holistic model called Technology Integrated Business Services^TM (TIBS) Capability Model for use by GBS and SSCs in building and enhancing capabilities to progress in their journey of integrating technologies into business services.

The world is getting more complex by each passing day. Running businesses or independent business units was once an art - only those who ‘had’ it could do it. Then it became a science due to the advent of business schools – it became algorithmic. Unfortunately not so now! The ‘art’ required to run a successful business is making a comeback. Stability is stepping aside to make way for dynamism and sectional focus is morphing into the whole. Both inside-out as well as outside-in are now things of the past. It’s inclusivity that’s taking over. The entire eco-system is considered one large comprehensive unit.

Global Business Services epitomized by Global In-house Centers or Shared Service centres (GBS/SSC) too are moving on rapidly. It is becoming increasingly important to recognize the need to move beyond efficiency to value creation. Services that are considered ‘tech enabled’ are shifting gears to become ‘tech integrated’. Going digital is no more considered as just a good business decision. It’s an imperative to stay alive. However, being integrated with technology means much more than just going digital. It requires a mind shift across three dimensions:

Capabilities for Technology Integrated Business Services

Given the above metamorphosis arising from this high-speed digital and transforming world, GBS and SSC organizations need to keep a laser focus on future readiness and their roles as sustainable corporate assets – by leveraging the new-age technologies and service delivery models. ‘Wide’ technologies which are social, mobile and interconnected compete for mindshare with ‘deep’ ones, which are analytical, robotic or inherently intelligent. Each of these is equally important today as the business fabric is becoming increasingly digital at a breakneck speed.

In the past, the term integration was essentially used in a limited sense i.e. integrating additional technology tools and workflows to the current ERP implemented within the organization. However, the current context is clearly shifting big time beyond just integrating with ERP, to integrating technology including digital innovations into the core business services itself. Interestingly, many corporations, GBS and SSCs are adopting digital technologies as an independent stream in the organization, which also will not provide the broader adoption of technology integrated services in its true sense.

In the last couple of years, few ‘digital maturity’ models have been gaining ground for enabling GBS and SSCs to assess how well they are leveraging digital technologies for their operations. Having said, these models consider only the digital maturity ‘independent’ of the current state legacy systems or ERPs, processes, practices, multi-various data management structures etc., and hence, may not lead to Tech Integrated Business Services.

Keeping in view all these considerations, Shared Services Forum has developed a holistic model called Technology Integrated Business Services^TM (TIBS) Capability Model for use by GBS and SSCs in building and enhancing capabilities to progress in their journey of integrating technologies into business services. Its SIX parameters and FIVE levels comprehensively cover the elements to focus by GBS/ SSC.

The Parameters

Alert business houses and those who have read the writings on the walls have already progressed well towards their journey into increasing their digital footprint and improving their digital capability. However, increasing digital footprint does not automatically translate into improving capability. For GBSs to improve their overall capabilities to achieve tech integrated business services, six internal parameters would need to improve simultaneously. While three of them are technology dimensions, the other three are operational in nature. The parameters are individually explained below:

…increasing digital footprint does not automatically translate into improving capability. For GBSs to improve their overall capabilities to achieve tech integrated business services, the six internal parameters would need to improve simultaneously.

1. Conventional Applications: This dimension cannot be wished away. It denotes the existing technologies prevalent in the organization. Some of these could be the core systems on which the business currently rides. Improving on this parameter is not doing away with it, rather to efficiently incorporate it within the new corporate TIBS^TM design.It is, therefore, best described as “Aligning, leveraging, effectively integrating and optimally utilizing existing technology applications and systems including ERP, legacy systems, Data warehouse, Workflow and Add-on Tools, etc.”
2. NextGen Technologies: This parameter often gets confused with being the sole measure of digital competence or the maturity and is connoted as transitioning from conventional technologies on to nextgen technologies. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The best examples of use cases of these new age technologies are when they are perfectly integrated with conventional ones.This parameter indicates the extent of “Initiating, adopting and optimizing both wide & deep digital capabilities and nextgen technologies like SMACIT, Robotics, Cognitive Automation, AI, NLP, Omni channel, blockchain, cyber security etc.”
3. Enabling Infrastructure: This parameter strides both of the above dimensions. Infrastructure could well be ‘conventional’ or ‘Nextgen’. The parameter is important enough to warrant to be considered as an independent dimension as it is the bedrock on which the two technologies would rest, be connected with and finally work as one.It is “Designing and enhancing tech infrastructure connecting both conventional and nextgen technologies, optimizing core infra & network, data, information security, data privacy, recovery etc.”
4. Breadth & Depth: This parameter evaluates the extent of coverage of the various levels of process value chain across single or multiple engagements or service lines. Integrated technologies in select service line only, howsoever deep, cannot be an indicator of true enterprise level integration. Similarly, integration carried out across several service lines, but none of them end-to-end too are indicators of incomplete integration processes. Engagements or service lines can be described as the service delivery arrangements of a GBS/ SSC with a particular stakeholder i.e. a country or business unit as the case may be.This parameter looks at “Leveraging and integrating technologies across upstream/ downstream processes for various engagements and service lines relating to single or multiple functions/ business units, keeping the end consumer in mind”
5. People & Culture: This is perhaps the most underrated and overlooked parameter and is also the least understood. The fact of the matter is that it perhaps is the most important one. Creating an effectively engaged and productive environment is as serious leadership requirement in the TIBS journey. It has to be lived each moment. Every element of transformation involves a change of some sort. Transforming into a tech integrated service delivery could be daunting to the company’s staff.The leadership would do well by “Shaping the work ethos, mind-set, skills and behaviours of people to imbibe/ promote tech integration through inspiring leadership, people practices, innovation, risk appetite, data & knowledge management, upskilling, reskilling, etc.”
6. Partnering & Collaboration: Establishing a long term relationship based on mutual trust and teamwork, and on sharing of both risks and rewards is as important as any of the other parameters. This completes the loop on effective servicing - be it other business lines, internal divisions or external ones such as suppliers, competitors or customers by creating a relationship which is mutually beneficial.Effectively it is “Collaborating with all stakeholders including LOBs, HQ & Partner ecosystem with structured governance to deploy resources & investments for a cohesive digital environment aligned with corporate strategic objectives.”

The Levels

Each parameter described above should progressively graduate across predefined and measurable levels. Ideally there are five levels which move increasingly improving the extent of deployment of the integration parameters to business services. At each of the deployment stages, there is a defined service outcome that typically symbolizes the level. These deployment levels and their corresponding services are given below:

Level  1: INITIATED 

This level assumes that the basic structure is already in place. It is capable of providing ‘discrete output’ required from a single engagement or LOB. It could also mean use of basic stand-alone applications, multiple ERP instances or one ERP with limited functionalities and use of technology for limited engagements and service lines. New age technologies are not deployed and the culture of digital awareness is limited.

Level  2: REGULATED 

At this level m ost often the various ERP instances are synchronized and UAT or POC has been carried out for some new age technologies such as RPA and analytics. Multiple engagements are usually integrated but may service limited LOBs. Knowledge management processes and behaviours are established to promote people development activities such as reskilling, upskilling, etc. the ‘output is usually consistent’ with the introduction of several control mechanisms.

Level  3: ALIGNED 

The output at the stage is ‘unified’. Common technologies are deployed across multiple engagements and multiple service lines connecting front office and back office. A common ERP exists which may be supported by disparate applications, connected through defined workflow. At this stage wider impact newgen technologies may be put to use through social and omni-channel applications. There is a significant uptick in the company’s risk taking appetite and encouragement of innovation thinking among its staff.

Level  4: OPTIMIZED 

Here the GBS unit begins to operate as a single whole with the focused purpose of rendering business services that shape superior customer experience. The hallmark at this stage is the adoption of Cognitive and AI technologies across all customer touch points and the complete customer Journey. Use of CRM, enhanced security, including cyber security and optimal use of core network are imperatives at this stage. The customers are an integral part of the system and have the crucial say in the matters pertaining to the unit and policies are implemented around it.

Level  5: INTEGRATED 

This is the final stage of a well-oiled engine running smoothly and delivering consistent ‘integrated business services’, with a view to providing long-term value to the business. At this level, all new age technologies are effectively deployed – such as blockchain.

The model should be considered as a guide to determine the extent of tech integration in services. The model is created to assess employments and implementations for each service line as scoped and not always for the entire organization.

The unit is completely integrated within the organization to take in and experiment with any new and promising cutting-edge technology. The environment is of complete inclusion and effective collaboration with all stakeholders including partner ecosystems to provide complete and wholesome services which are beneficial to both internal and external customers.

The Levels as above are dynamic with new and innovative technologies emerging. In other words, what is Level 5 or 4 today could easily become Level 4 or 3 respectively as these will include new age technologies that have become operational in the GBS/ SSC environment.

How to Use the Model

Taking the combination of the six parameters and the five levels, the TIBS^TM is a ‘capability model’ that has 30 touch-points. Each of these touch-points represents a defined state of deployment. As organizations and service units improve on their capabilities, very possibly each of the parameters would move across levels in tandem to the extent they are generically connected with every other.

The model should be considered as a guide to determine the extent of tech integration in services.

The model is created to assess deployments and implementations for each service line as scoped and not always for the entire organization. In other words, GBS/ SSC organizations may achieve varying capability levels in one or more engagements or service lines based on the parameters relevant to these service lines and not necessarily the same level for all service lines within their ambit of operations. This has been kept by design to recognize that the deployment of practices and technologies could vary across service lines, centers and business units.

The intention is to first determine the gaps between the organization's current capability levels across the six dimensions and then build a plan for implementing for the next level.

Assessment is then done by a set of independent evaluators appointed by Shared Services Forum and proficient in both Business Services Management and IT architecture. The assessment includes a rigorous examination using questionnaires, documentation reviews, workshops and interviews with staff, leadership, HQ or other internal customers and members of larger eco-system, as relevant to scope of the assessment.

Conclusion

The rapidly shifting environments and expectations has meant that opportunities for staying at the cutting edge are opening up even more so. The world of business services are well set to drive the corporate agenda now, more than ever. The GBS centers, whether domestic or international, whether in-house, or hybrid, are poised at crossroads where a little push in the direction where the world is bound to go will take them center-stage right away. The business services leadership could well seize that opportunity before it fleets away.

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