Understanding the Business Relationship Management Process

Business relationship management has matured as a process over time, because initially it was simply a role fulfilled to ensure the business had a named contact within the IT service provider. But now, as part of a mature service management approach, we recognize the need for the process of business relationship management as a strategic process in its own right, not just as a role supporting service level management at an executive level.

The process of business relationship management provides a connection between organizational executives and the strategic management of the service provider.

In the Foundation exam syllabus, this process is covered only by the requirement to understand the purpose, scope, and objectives of the process. More information about this process is available in the lifecycle core publication of Service Strategy, and further education on the process can be found in the ITIL qualification scheme.

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Purpose of the BPM Process

This process has a very important part to play in the alignment of the IT service provider and the customer.

The purpose of the process is twofold:

• Establish a relationship between the service provider and the customer, and maintain this by continuing to review the business and customer needs. This relationship is extremely important for building a rapport between the service provider and the customer.
• Identify customer needs and ensure that the service provider can meet those needs, both now and in the future. Business relationship management is the process that ensures the service provider is able to understand the changing needs of the business over time. The relationship also allows the customer to articulate the value of the services to the service provider.

One of the most important concepts in this relationship is that of expectation—the customer’s expectation of the service provider’s capabilities and the service provider’s expectation of the customer’s needs. It is critical that the expectation of the customer does not exceed what they are prepared to pay for, and business relationship management is instrumental in managing this communication.

Objectives of the BPM Process

The objectives of business relationship management are as follows:

• Ensure that the service provider has a clear understanding of the customer’s perspective of the service so that you are able to prioritize the services and assets accordingly.
• Ensure that customer satisfaction remains high, which will demonstrate that the service is achieving the needs of the customer.
• Establish and maintain a relationship between the customer and service provider that enables understanding of the business drivers and the customer.
• Ensure that the organization and the service provider communicate effectively so that the service provider will be aware of any changes to the customer environment. Changes to the customer environment may have an impact on the services provided.
• Identify technology changes or trends that may have an impact on the type, level, or utilization of the service provided.
• Ensure that the service provider is able to articulate the business requirements for new or changed services and that services continue to meet the needs of the business and continue to deliver value.
• Provide mediation where there is conflict on the use of services between business units. This may be a conflict of resource allocation, or perhaps the requirement to utilize or change functionality differs for specific departments.
• Establish a formal procedure for managing complaints and escalations with the customer. This is a common requirement for governance standards, because it demonstrates a commitment to customer satisfaction and improvement.

Scope of the BPM Process

The scope of business relationship management will vary depending on the nature and culture of the organization. If the organization works with an internal service provider, it is likely that the business relationship management will be carried out between senior management representatives in both the IT department and business units. Often in larger organizations, you will be able to find dedicated business relationship managers (BRMs), but in smaller organizations the role can be combined with other managerial responsibility. The BRM will work with the customer representatives to understand the objectives of the business and ensure that the services provided are in alignment and supportive of those objectives.

If an external service provider supports the organization, you will commonly find that a dedicated account manager carries out the process, with an individual allocated to a customer or group of smaller customers with similar requirements. As the external service provider relationship with the business is captured in a contract, the focus will be on achieving the contractual obligations and customer satisfaction with the service value.

One of the major requirements for business relationship management is to focus on understanding how the services you provide meet the requirements of your customers. The process needs to ensure that you can communicate effectively with your customers so that you can understand their needs. The following are some of the key areas you should consider:

• Business outcomes, so that you understand what the customer wants to achieve.
• How the customer uses your services and which services are being offered to them.
• How you manage the services that are being offered, in terms of responsibility for the provision, the service levels you deliver, and the quality of service that is being achieved. You should also consider any changes that may be required in response to business and IT plans.
• As IT service providers, it is vital that you keep track of technology trends and advances that may impact your service delivery. All too often, customers will hear about new technologies but not understand the impact of them, so it is the responsibility of business relationship management to ensure that you communicate and advise on the best use of technology to deliver service value.
• You need to measure the levels of customer satisfaction and respond to any drop in satisfaction with suitable action plans. The BRM will be a key figure in the communication and management of any such plans.
• How you can optimize the service you provide for the future.
• The business relationship management process should be concerned with the way that the service provider is represented to the customer. This may mean engaging with the business to ensure that commitments from both sides have been fulfilled.

To successfully carry out the process of business relationship management and so that all of the previous factors can be considered, it is necessary to work with other service management processes and functions. For example, the ability to associate business outcomes with services is part of service portfolio management; service level management provides information about service levels and their achievement; and service asset and configuration management maps customers and service owners to the infrastructure, applications, and services.

This interaction between the processes of business relationship management and service-level management will require clear boundaries, relationships, and responsibilities to be identified between business relationship management and other service management processes, because there is a strong potential for confusion. Business relationship management should focus on the relationship between the customer and service provider, as well as the achievement of customer satisfaction, but the other service management processes should focus on the services themselves and how well they meet the agreed requirements.

Business relationship management does not ignore the services, but it should be focused on the high-level perspective of whether the service is meeting the business needs, rather than on specific targets for delivery. Equally, the other service management processes do not ignore this aspect of customer satisfaction, but they should be focused on the quality of the services and how customer expectations can be met.

An example of this is the difference between the service level management and business relationship management processes. They both have regular interaction with customers and are concerned with the ongoing review and management of service and service quality. But each has a different purpose, and the nature of the interface with the customer differs in content and responsibility.

This is clearly shown in Table 3.3, which is an extract from the core publication Service Strategy.

TABLE 3.3 Differences between business relationship management and service level management

Business relationship management is also concerned with the design of services, which makes BRMs the ideal contact for strategic communication with customers for all departments in the service provider. There is a potential connection for business relationship management with application development, as well as other development and design areas.

There are many connections and similarities between business relationship management and service level management and other service management processes, and the roles are often combined. But as you can see from Table 3.4, there are distinct differences in the activities for the processes, and there needs to be a clear understanding that when carrying out business relationship management, an individual needs to be aware when they are working on a strategic business relationship and when they are working tactically. For example, making long-term plans and managing a business relationship at a very senior level are part of a strategic approach, whereas working with services on an operational basis will be part of a tactical approach.

TABLE 3.4 Business relationship management process and other service management processes