Abstract

IT solutions are a way to differentiate between competitors and to meet new customer expectations. For organizations transforming into IT solution providers, it is still unclear how to manage IT solutions. Based on literature on IT solutions and a multiple case study, we derive seven principles for managing IT solutions from the provider’s perspective. Main principles include that IT solution providers should have a modularized offering portfolio in place to ensure cost-efficient IT solution delivery for each customer and that IT solution providers should learn from each customer engagement to attune their offering portfolio constantly to market needs. As a result from our management principles, we argue that becoming an IT solution provider requires more effort than just changing the offering portfolio to include service.

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Seven principles for managing IT solutions from a provider’s perspective

IT solutions are a way to differentiate between competitors and to meet new customer expectations. For organizations transforming into IT solution providers, it is still unclear how to manage IT solutions. Based on literature on IT solutions and a multiple case study, we derive seven principles for managing IT solutions from the provider’s perspective. Main principles include that IT solution providers should have a modularized offering portfolio in place to ensure cost-efficient IT solution delivery for each customer and that IT solution providers should learn from each customer engagement to attune their offering portfolio constantly to market needs. As a result from our management principles, we argue that becoming an IT solution provider requires more effort than just changing the offering portfolio to include service.