Traditional measurement of IT is not valid

Service Integration and Management (SIAM) promises to unlock the full potential of organizations’ business ecosystems and accelerate the transformation of their customer experience. However, progress can be difficult to track with outdated metrics. The IT industry is stuck in a rut of traditional measurement, and until it moves to new frontiers of measurement and partnership, it will be hard to gauge SIAM’s true impact.

Why SIAM measurement needs to change

Today, the impact of SIAM is calculated through a mix of traditional ITSM metrics, with few measurements focused on collaboration, value, and maturity. Many SIAM engagements rely too heavily on ITSM platforms like ServiceNow for out-of-the-box measurements, using these platforms for unified visibility, managing supplier performance via SLAs, and tracking key metrics such as resolution times and costs across integrated services (ITSM, CSM, Ops). While these systems themselves are powerful, the metrics and scope defined by clients and IT service providers are outdated. In order to make the most of SIAM, customers and IT service providers need to break out of the comfort zone of legacy metrics and truly partner to define what success looks like.

Effective measurement needs to be defined from the start

At the request for proposal (RFP) stage of a sales engagement, the SLAs are laid out and agreed upon. These are still framed around traditional metrics, such as incident resolution or how quickly a request is fulfilled. Historically, these metrics have served as key indicators for evaluating the value of IT; however, they are no longer suitable for assessing value in the future. 

Focusing on outcomes

SIAM providers need to focus more on partnership with customers and other suppliers to deliver their intended business outcomes. For example, an insurance company working with Capgemini has a desired metric of one million more insurance policies in 2026. As a SIAM provider, how do we offer effective support in this context? We collaborate and orchestrate with suppliers to maintain website availability and ensure that reliable call center operations will enable the client to increase their insurance policy sales by one million. A highly effective SIAM model will focus on the customer’s business priorities – for example, selling one million more policies, increasing the graduation rate in the public education system, or building safer and more reliable modes of transportation.

At Capgemini, we are intent on trying everything we do to a client’s intended outcomes. This goes deeper than the traditional service level agreement.

Shared success

What does the future of SIAM measurement look like? It is less about an SLA checklist and more about having skin in the game. If the customer succeeds, we all succeed.