EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
Global Business Services , GBS is an evolution of the shared services model where support was provided across geographies from a single department . GBS brings together shared services such as IT , HR , finance , and customer service , into a single organisational structure that eliminates the silos between these departments , and others , and supports everyone regardless of function or location .
A recent survey across GBS-oriented organisations in 45 countries showed 88 % had reduced costs , 78 % had achieved their standardisation and efficiency goals , and 63 % had added business value .
GBS is about process standardisation , automation , and operating efficiencies . To deliver this , silos must naturally dissolve , and a new business paradigm will emerge to take their place – one of end-to-end alignment and collaboration . When technologists connect processes via automation and integration , users across departments get access to common back-end systems of record .
No matter where anyone works , or for what department , speedy access to the right data makes them more effective , freeing them up to focus on higher-value tasks .
Process connection starts with merging services into regional hubs . This is followed by adopting global end-to-end business processes managed by global owners . Quick wins are most found in procurement and finance followed by HR and IT , although this may vary from organisation to organisation . All moves should be governed by a global GBS team that thinks and acts holistically .
Cross-departmental visibility allows teams to work more intelligently and be able to continuously spot opportunities for improvement that can reduce operational costs and deliver higher service quality .
Cross-departmental visibility allows teams to work more intelligently and continuously spot opportunities for improvement that can reduce operational costs .
When measuring the returns on GBS , it is vital to allow for non-financial benefits such as net promoter score , NPS . Some old processes will have no postimplementation twin with GBS , so it will be necessary to allow shared visibility across all service cases to deliver a clear impression of the value delivered by global business services .
This visibility also translates into better governance and compliance and tighter controls over sensitive company and customer data .
By implementing a culture of low-code application development editors and citizen experience builders , the newly formed GBS organisation can build applications across portal , mobile , chatbots and
others . It can scale back-office operations for better business outcomes . It can create superb EX , connect systems and departments , and extend service delivery to new use cases . p
MARK ACKERMAN , AREA VP FOR AFRICA , AND MIDDLE
EAST , SERVICENOW
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