Service obligations management in IT outsourcing

In outsourcing, service obligations broadly refer to the duties and responsibilities of the service provider related to the provision of services. It is critical that the provider clearly understands and properly implements its complete service obligations to the client. The BlueMoon project in IBM develops a novel approach to service obligations management in the context of IT outsourcing. BlueMoon conceptualizes different kinds of service obligations through a formal obligations model. It provides an overarching obligations configurator tool for gathering and validating obligation requirements throughout the outsourcing lifecycle. It further facilitates the implementation of service obligations by automatically binding them to the IT architecture planning and provisioning process and to their uses in various service documents. Work is under way to monitor service delivery operations and verify obligations compliance. Addressing a key challenge in IT outsourcing, BlueMoon promises to significantly improve the client's satisfaction, the health of the outsourcing account, and the provider's bottom line. © 2007 IEEE.