Quality Assurance Activities for ASP Based on SLM in Hitachi

Abstract

With the spread of the Internet, new business models have arisen. Application Service Provision (ASP) is one of those new services and its market is expected to grow rapidly. Many players have entry into this new market. However, it is risky for both customers and Application Service Providers (ASPs) to introduce ASP on their critical applications if quality of service is not sufficient. Service Level Management (SLM) is a solution to this problem but most IT organizations do not practice SLM as a clearly defined and continuous process, particularly for new applications or services, such as ASP. In this situation, Hitachi developed integrated SLM process (iSLM) standards for ASP and started to apply this process for real services. SLM is a quality management process itself and it is most effective, performed with continuous, organized improvement actions (KAIZEN). In the present paper, introduce SLM methodology and practice with making good use of KAIZEN experience in Hitachi.