Have you heard of SIAM, or Service Integration & Management? It is becoming increasingly adopted by organizations to help simplify supplier management. So, what exactly does SIAM involve? To put it simply, SIAM is the process of integrating the management of multiple suppliers and business services under one single organization and its requirements. This means that rather than outsourcing the management of the firm’s various suppliers, they are all managed under the single “roof” of that firm. This may sound like a significant undertaking (and in some ways it is), but ultimately, integrating this practice can help organizations reduce the high costs of managing multiple services and operations, and improve the overall service and IT management process.

One interesting aspect of SIAM is that smaller organizations have probably been employing a practice like this for quite some time without recognizing it. Although it is not yet an “official” framework for IT management, many medium- to large-sized organizations are recently recognizing the process as beneficial and worth trying out. When we think about small businesses, though, they probably never considered outsourcing service management in the first place, as their relatively small number of suppliers forced proper internal management. Now, larger firms are interested in managing a greater number of suppliers internally as well, but are faced with a number of challenges in doing so.

The difficulties in managing external services internally are apparent for those firms that previously outsourced, but easily solved with the proper tools in place. Managing different service requirements for different types of suppliers can be a challenge, as service models vary based on the type and importance of what is being managed. In addition, service performance should be integrated from a user perspective in SIAM, not just a supplier perspective, which can be a new concept for many organizations. Supporting workflows, performance management, and service management in a commodity-based environment is critical, and something that must be carefully planned and implemented. Managing and automating vendor and service management, with the proper tools for on-boarding and performance measurement, is key to the process and can be achieved using the right management system.

In the case of switching over to SIAM, do not be afraid to get all the help you can by using an automated system. This investment will pay off hugely in the long-term, allowing you to properly and easily manage all your services. Vizor offers all the requirements needed for this type of management, including workflow automation, asset provisioning, network discovery, and performance reporting. On the service management side, the Vizor system also features problem resolution, issue tracking & escalation, knowledgebase and full SLA support, all from an ITIL perspective. If you’re thinking of making the switch over to SIAM practices, as many organizations now are, do it right and let a system like Vizor guide you through and ensure a seamless transition.

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