Arrk | Enterprise application

Effective and collaborative relationship management takes more than just ‘good-will’. It is also essential to agree a process and organisational framework that is collectively used to manage and measure the health of the relationship. It is widely recognised that one of the most critical success factors for the positive outcome of partnering arrangements is the building of an ‘integrated project team’ (IPT) wherein people from all participating partner organisations work together as one team towards a set of common goals. The building and maintenance of an IPT starts at the top and, if for no other reason, it is vital that there is a highly visible ‘joined up’ management structure responsible for the strategic and operational management of the partnership and projects operated within it. The potential scope and extent of a partnership between Arrk and its Customer can at times be substantial and the resultant relationships and operational processes complex and therefore the governance mechanisms and processes need to reflect this.

It is very important that these mechanisms are designed and operated on a ‘fit for purpose’ basis. The objective is to have efficient effective governance structures and processes that maximise the benefit that the parties realise from the partnership without introducing unnecessary bureaucracy. We believe these are:

• Multi-level governance that enables different groups with different expertise operating at different management levels to manage different types of opportunities, issues and risks
• Multi-interest governance that enables different groups with different interests to exercise local control and management as appropriate
• Emphasis on a fact based performance evaluation with the use of balanced scorecard based assessment wherever possible
• A degree of flexibility in governance mechanisms that will allow us to adapt and adjust as the partnership evolves
• Conformance with best practice governance policy across a spectrum of governance arenas including partnering management, project/service management, risk management, business stakeholder management, corporate governance and financial management.

In November 2006 the British Standard Institute published the world’s first business relationship specification PAS11000 http://www.pslcbi.com/

The UK leads the world in pioneering new models of business relationships, and this is certainly the case with 'Smart Partnering'. This can be defined as 'a commitment between businesses in a collaborative relationship to create mutual value by striving to achieve shared competitive goals and operational benefit through a spirit of mutual trust and openness.' While still a nascent concept in the IT service industry we at Arrk are pioneering this way of working which we believe will become the most effective and dominant model for managing outsourcing relationships in the era of global IT services.