TABLE OF CONTENTS So far in this book we have covered both the cost and the value of IT, and both the demand for IT capabilities and the supply of IT services. Now it is time to take a closer look at the way demand and supply come together in a market place.
What does the market place look like, how many market places are available? What does it take for a customer to be a good IT services consumer ?
What are the economic principles for an IT service provider to be able to stay in business and sell good IT services for reasonable prices. Can we compare the internal tariffs with external market prices? What are reasonable market prices anyway?
It is good to note at this stage that although two of the authors of this book work for an IT services provider, the contents of this chapter reflect personal opinions only.
The first distinction must be between the internal and external market place. In the internal market place a limited number of service providers exist. Probably there is a central IT department; additionally there can be IT departments in business units providing IT services in the offering and mission critical areas of the IT portfolio. Usually, the internal service providers do not compete with each other, at least not openly.
The external market place often consists of multiple IT service providers who compete with each other. Business units may or may not have...
