Our systems detected an issue with your IP. If you think this is an error please submit your concerns via our contact form.

Infrastructure Operations icon

Govern Shared Services

Find the optimal path to shared services governance.

  • IT managers have come under increasing pressure to cut costs, and implementing shared services has become a popular demand from the business.
  • Business unit resistance to a shared services implementation can derail the project.
  • Shared services rearranges responsibilities within existing IT departments, potentially leaving no one accountable for project success and causing cost overruns and service performance failures.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

  • Over one-third of shared services implementations increase IT costs, due to implementation failures. Ineffective governance plays a major role in the breakdown of shared services, particularly when it does not overcome stakeholder resistance or define clear areas of responsibility.
  • Effective governance of a shared services implementation requires the IT leader to find the optimal combination of independence and centralization for the shared service provider.
  • Three primary models exist for governing shared services: entrepreneurial, mandated, and market-based. Each one occupies a different location in the trade-off of independence and centralization. The optimal model for a specific situation depends on the size of the organization, the number of participants, the existing trend towards centralization, and other factors.

Impact and Result

  • Find the optimal governance model for your organization by weighing the different likely benefits and costs of each path.
  • Assign appropriate individual responsibilities to participants, so you can effectively scope your service offering and fund your implementation.
  • Support the governance effort effectively using published Info-Tech tools and templates.

Govern Shared Services Research & Tools

1. Understand each of the governance models and what each entails

Build a plan for governing an implementation.

2. Choose the optimal approach to shared services governance

Maximize the net benefit conferred by governance.

Govern Shared Services preview picture

About Info-Tech

Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.

We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.

Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.

Talk to an Analyst

Our analyst calls are focused on helping our members use the research we produce, and our experts will guide you to successful project completion.

Book an Analyst Call on This Topic

You can start as early as tomorrow morning. Our analysts will explain the process during your first call.

Get Advice From a Subject Matter Expert

Each call will focus on explaining the material and helping you to plan your project, interpret and analyze the results of each project step, and set the direction for your next project step.

Unlock Sample Research

Authors

Evan Garmaise

Nai Chen Guo

Contributors

  • Barry-Wehmiller
  • CP Partners
  • Convergent Technology Solutions
  • County of Orange
  • Effectus
  • Government of Alberta
  • Kingspan
  • Vale
  • An additional 9 companies contributed to this research. Due to the sensitivity of the information, their identities will be kept confidential.
Visit our Exponential IT Research Center
Over 100 analysts waiting to take your call right now: 1-519-432-3550 x2019