Aligning IT-service propositions to changing business requirements in ongoing servicesystems

In order to form value-oriented service-systems with their customer organizations, IT-providers are increasingly required to orientate their service offerings towards the ongoing support of their customers’ business processes with IT. Nevertheless, predominantly resource-focused and transactional IT-service propositions are offered that lack transparency in both value added and expenses per service for the customer’s business. As a first step in our research in progress that aims for a conceptual basis for the design of IT-service propositions in value-oriented service-systems, we apply service-dominant logic to IT-service propositions. Simultaneously, however, the bit for standardized and automated IT-operations processes has to be taken into account when designing such service propositions. Based on current service-system research, we propose (1) to predefine service propositions in consideration of both commitments and operational processes and (2) to introduce additional ‘shaping propositions’ to customize and allow for the continuous adaption of the IT-service to functionality and performance changes. In order to maintain transparency in and control of the current service agreement and its expenses, these propositions orientate themselves toward business objects in the customer’s field of responsibility.