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“Software-enabled Services lie at the core of digital business transformation, will be a major disruptor for both on-premises software and SaaS providers,” –
Keith Jahn, a Vice President of Product Services Delivery Center at Micro Focus
Digital transformation is simultaneously a matter of urgency and a point of confusion for most businesses. While executives realize the need for it, many are not quite sure what approach will bring the most value and where to start. New software gets installed and workflows get altered; but instead of boosting the company’s productivity, it only brings frustration. The learning curve for employees may turn up steeper than expected, entailing delays, errors and sunk costs.
If you feel like your team doesn’t have the bandwidth to learn new software, troubleshoot issues and manage connected processes, it’s time to consider turning to a Software-enabled Services provider. Specialists who deeply understand their software can get value from it much faster than someone who has just started using it. Unless software is your business, it might be a good idea to focus on the objectives you wish to achieve rather than on the software itself.
SeS Providers Deliver the Outcome, Not the Tool
“A SeS company is a company that uses software as a key enabler to provide a service of some kind to customers,” –
David B. Black, Technology Partner, Oak Investment Partners
Partnering with a SeS provider means getting a team of professionals onto your side who know exactly how to bring your company to its goals. They make all of the industry-wide experience and competence in the software work in their client’s favour.
For startups, businesses that are just moving into a particular market segment, or smaller companies SeS mitigates the risk of spending too much on the tools that will contribute too little. Investing in software might be quite expensive, not only financially but in terms of time and effort needed to install it and then to train personnel on how to operate it. Such an investment may pull your business down, not delivering the value on time. What is even worse and it’s often hard to predict, when the results will start to show, and pinpoint if there’s some kind of issue that hinders the progress.
A software-enabled service provider, on the other hand, can commit to a particular deadline, setting up realistic expectations and giving the opportunity to plan budgets and timelines. By signing up for such service, a company can count on the negotiated results being presented on time.
SeS ensure a quicker yet safe approach to implementing the MaxBill SaaS solution for a specific company. It acts as a trusted advisor and delivers COTS configurations to successfully guide business transformation projects.
For larger companies, digital transformation often requires major changes to processes and personnel structure, which result in lengthy adaptation periods. SeS can get the company up to speed quickly, re-setting the established processes in a new, more productive fashion along the way. Additionally, it provides the necessary training. Just imagine how difficult it is to go through all of the supporting documentation, trying to figure out a solution if you’re not familiar with particular software. A SeS provider is dedicated to sorting out a problem, saving users’ time and effort.
Therefore, any business can take advantage of the SeS model, no matter the size and vertical.
Software-Enabled Services Use Case for Operators
To study the direct effect SeS has on their clients, let’s take a look at a particular scenario.
Barbara, a customer services advisor at a multi-play telecommunication company, needs to react to the consumers’ demands quickly. She answers the questions about the current service packages, switches them, disconnects, or gets new users into the system. All of that she performs on one CRM platform that gives her the ability to see and manage each contract in the company system.
Barbara is concerned with providing the customers an enjoyable experience and satisfying their queries without any friction. She can perform better when backed by a SeS provider — a credible expert with a deep knowledge of her sector. It provides suggestions regarding the business process, keeping in mind the regional uniqueness, can help additionally configure business applications and makes sure that it covers all possible operations scenarios. As a bonus, it can counsel Barbara on how to optimize the customer journey. Then she can focus on her duties as a people person, bringing creative and empathetic value.
SeS: a Productivity and Resilience Boost for Businesses
The right software-enabled service provider lets everyone do the job they are best at. It provides experience-driven insights to the executives so they can concentrate on business development, eliminates the need to put the personnel through the tiresome hours spent looking through the extensive documentation and can tune the solution’s configuration along the way if needed.
All you have to do is to determine which outcome you desire. Set up the plan, draw the strategic objective you need to achieve and then embark on a path of partnering with a SeS provider that can drive you to the needed destination. It is crucial to put confidence in your provider’s assessments and expertise. This way, you will get the benefit of having a local trusted consultancy, specially designed training, IT management services and support. Such collaboration can become an integral part of the business, reducing the chaos that usually accompanies digital transformation. Basically, a software-enabled service provider backs the digitalization for companies that aim to be at the forefront of the innovation by supplying them with recommendations and services rooted in the deep knowledge of the industry, its local trends and processes.
