Development of a Cloud Service Driven Operating Model for IT Service Provider

Abstract

Given the background of changing market trends, such as a decrease in IT spending in IT infrastructure services and a growing market of cloud-based IT services, this the- sis aims to analyse and address the question of how an IT Service Provider needs to change the different components of the internal operating model. This enables them to cope with changing client requirements and to build new capabilities caused by the characteristics of cloud-based services. Therefore, existing frameworks, appropriate for the transformation of an operating model for IT Service Provider are analysed to verify whether they can be applied for the changes required for cloud-based services. The analysis of existing cases of IT Service Provider outlines specific changes in the operating model elements. New primary data was generated through 19 semi-structured interviews regarding the requirements towards IT Service Provider as well as detailed changes in the operating model elements. The findings conclude in the development of a novel operating model for IT Service Provider which includes not only changes within each operating model element but also adds an additional element to the model to highlight the cultural changes, required for a sustainable operating model transformation towards cloud-based IT services. With this novel operating model, this thesis provides a contribution to theory as it offers scholars a clear framework to derive changes in each operating model element. It also allows the application of the Re- source-Based View to improve the competitive advantage of an IT Service Provider. Practitioners such as consultants and managers within the IT services market can apply this model to guide an IT Service Provider not only in the strategy phase, but also through the entire cloud-driven operating model transformation.

Date of Award	6 Nov 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Portsmouth
Supervisor	Mark Xu (Supervisor) & Armin Roth (Supervisor)