Dear Sarah

 

Last month I had the honor of hosting Alliance Data's CIO, Barry Carter, in a live, interactive online case study.  There has been so much interest and follow-up on what Barry had to say, I'd like to make sure that our newsletter readers don't miss it.  To view an instant replay, click here.

Barry's presentation, "Shaping IT Service Demand through the Service Portfolio," highlighted Alliance Data's objectives to improve customer satisfaction, align business and IT goals, and improve cost transparency.  The solution for Alliance Data was implementing a comprehensive Service Catalog and Service Portfolio, and Barry walked us all through their journey to date, and the challenges and successes they've encountered so far.

During the Q&A session, someone asked Barry if he had any advice for someone just starting their Service Catalog project. His answer was illuminating: "You really need to find a partner to work with who has done this before and can give you a referenceable sample of a Service Catalog.  Had we found a partner like Lontra earlier, we would have gone much further faster."

First of all, hearing this sort of feedback from a CIO makes me immensely proud of my Lontra solution delivery team.  But aside from that, I believe that Barry's advice to the growing community of organizations just getting started on their Service Portfolios is solidly grounded.  Lay out your goals for your Service Portfolio and then find a partner who has helped other organizations to achieve those goals.  And above all, don't start from scratch: the right partner can bring along templates, best practices, and know-how that will greatly accelerate your Service Catalog and Service Portfolio initiatives.

For information on how Lontra can help your organization to achieve these goals, please don't hesitate to email my team.

Best,

Boris Pevzner
Founder & CEO, Lontra, Inc.