As business processes increasingly become digitized, the role of management is changing from technology users to the reluctant “architects of services blueprints.” They need answers to strategic questions such as:

• What kind of platform will be most effective in supporting online self-service customers?
• In a converging world of service channels—bricks, clicks, and mobile—how should firms organize, strategize, and invest?
• What is the systematic model for planning the next generation of cross-enterprise processes? What mistakes and obstacles should managers avoid?
• How can companies make smarter investments in integration capable of binding different channels, devices, and applications?

Scratch the surface of almost any major business issue and you will find the blueprint theme—the unifying umbrella for integrating diverse legacy and emerging technology initiatives. This is especially true in firms that are attempting to bring about tighter brick-and-click, or with the introduction of mobile technology, brick-click-and-mobile, process integration.

The concepts of multi-channel services and service platforms are now entering the corporate technology lexicon. The Internet is becoming the delivery mechanism for a whole range of services. A big myth of e-business is that first movers have a better chance of locking out their competition. The truth is that technology provides only a temporary advantage. User requirements are constantly evolving, and just because you are first doesn’t mean you’ll stay there. When a company’s services are functional, elegant in their design, fairly priced, and a pleasure to use, the company will be successful. It will grow in the good times, weather the bad times, and make the difficult transition from one generation of technology to another.

The Focus of this Book

The die is cast. Digitization is beginning to accelerate: e-commerce → e-business → services. Applications are evolving in parallel to support digitization inside company walls: enterprise apps → Web portals → service platforms. Service platforms are the foundation for implementing business initiatives ranging from consolidation to merger integration. They are essential for supporting cross-enterprise process imperatives such as cost reduction, new experience design, and innovation.

Managers are not interested in the nuts and bolts of technology that the various vendors are pushing. However, they are interested in the big picture and the value derived from technology investments. We understand this dilemma and present a balanced perspective of what managers need to know to make effective technology decisions. We are writing both to challenge t...