Symantec offers new service delivery model that helps ensure specific business outcomes

Delivered by Symantec's Global Services organization, Managed Outcome enables customers to transform their IT environment from its current state to a desired future state while delivering on operational metrics and achieving greater efficiency and lower TCO.

The Managed Outcome model is designed around meeting agreed-upon business results based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). While traditional Service Level Agreements (SLAs) focus only on operational aspects, the KPIs in the Managed Outcome model are business values that IT organizations are expecting to get from solutions, such as measurable and improved security posture and data backup success rate.

Symantec has begun to establish this framework with its Security Operations Management offerings, as well as Managed Backup Services and Managed Endpoint Protection Services.

"Traditionally, the vendor/customer relationship has been defined as that of a buyer and seller, with the vendor's role limited to selling and helping with deployments. These older, more traditional customer relationships are no longer sufficient, affordable or successful in keeping up with the demands on business critical IT functions. The new Managed Outcome model provides customers with capabilities to deliver increased IT availability and system performance, while reducing IT management complexity, minimizing security risks and speeding deployment."

said Luigi Brusamolino, vice president of Symantec Global Services, EMEA.

Key Drivers of Managed Outcome Model

Over the past several years, many IT departments have been on the defensive. A number of drivers have made it increasingly challenging to meet SLAs in the face of demands to cut costs and complexity, including accelerating technology changes and innovations, shorter technology investment cycles and staffing reductions. As a result, companies are seeking to drive costs out of their IT infrastructure without compromising the quality of IT services, while at the same time ensuring IT alignment with business priorities. In addition, these companies are looking for ways to standardize procedures as much as possible without compromising service levels.

"For most companies, the uncertainties dominating the marketplace have made it increasingly difficult for IT organizations to meet SLAs cost effectively," said Irida Xheneti, Security Services Research analyst at IDC. "As organizations have recognized the need to evolve vendor relationships and move toward outcome-driven provider relationships using TCO, quantifiable deliverables and SLAs to measure values, they've found managed outcome relationships to be invaluable in helping to meet these critical business objectives while keeping costs down."

Vendors began extending consulting and infrastructure management services as organizations realized their internal staff and resources couldn't always maintain their increasingly complicated infrastructure.

Managing disparate engagements around consulting and infrastructure management services with its unique pricing and governance requirements can lead to unpredictable and higher TCO and distract IT from focusing on business priorities.

The Managed Outcome Process

Symantec uses its Assess-Design-Transform-Operate model to transform customers from their current state to the desired future state. With a proper assessment of the situation, Symantec and the customer can mutually agree upon delivery metrics and KPIs to measure the transformation of the maturity of their business processes. Using a unified capacity-based pricing model to deliver Managed Outcomes, Symantec provides seamlessly integrated consulting and managed services by leveraging an ITIL-based delivery methodology, tools and IP that support a combination of expert-led services with a shared delivery model.

The Managed Outcome model fosters an ongoing, dynamic relationship between Symantec and its customers that emphasizes results and improved ROI for IT services. Managed Outcome has been designed to deliver key customer benefits including:
• Clearly stated, measurable outcomes based on KPIs
• Faster and more efficient management and implementation of existing and newer technologies
• Improved IT processes
• Service management based on operational metrics
• Reduced day-to-day operational management expenses and oversight
• Lowered total cost of ownership (TCO) as a result of a "pay for results" model
• More predictable cost of ownerships
Symantec recently entered into Managed Outcome arrangements with one of the world's largest entertainment companies and a leading international bank, both of which have struggled for years to manage complex security infrastructures with multiple technologies.

They needed to establish comprehensive security operations management, including standardized methodologies, while reducing costs, improving quality of services delivered and focusing IT on strategic initiatives. By engaging with Symantec on Managed Outcome offerings - which include a shared delivery approach performing Incident Response & Management, Managed Security Operational Services, Identity & Access Management, Email Security and Managed Security Services - these customers have implemented solutions backed by strong SLAs and KPIs to track success that deliver real value to support future business needs.

Pricing and Availability

Symantec Managed Outcome offerings are now available globally. Pricing for the Managed Outcome offerings varies based on the scope of the KPIs and operational metrics of the services delivered.