Building Professional Services: The Sirens' Song
How to build a winning professional services organization.Companies worldwide are discovering outstanding growth opportunities in professional services-but building professional services organizations at "product-centric" firms can be extremely challenging. Now, three leading experts present a comprehensive guide to creating professional services organizations, managing them to maturity, and delivering both quality services and superior margins. Building Professional Services introduces a complete, practical framework for delivering the full spectrum of professional services—from support and education services to managed, consulting, and productized services.Managing the professional services business at every stage of its lifecycleFocusing on the key factors that drive success: revenue, references, and repeatabilityResponding to the unique challenges faced by professional services in product-based companiesAligning services with the rest of the organizationEstablishing effective metrics and business review processesThe four phases of building a successful professional services organizationFrameworks for organization, project delivery, solutions development, and operational infrastructureCustomer engagement models and workflowsDrawing on their experience working with leading technology service providers, the authors cover every aspect of professional services: strategy, tactics, and operations. From financial models to customer relationships,Building Professional Serviceswill help you transform the promise of services into a profitable reality."I can't imagine anyone starting a professional services organization without first referencing this work."—Dave Nestic,President, NezTech Corporation"This book is a significant contribution and a practical guide to a fast-evolving frontier. With clearly expressed views and recommendations, it will stimulate both thought and action."—David H. Maister, co-author ofFirst Among Equals"Extraordinary insight into the issues faced when building a professional services business unit at a product company."—Kenneth Coleman, Sr.Vice President of Silicon Graphicsand retired CEO of K&S SolutionsHarris Kern's Enterprise Computing Institute SeriesSolutions for IT Professionals.