The new standard for Service Organisations: customer-centric IT with USM

By Stephen-Ley

What is USM?

USM is a method that builds a carpet pad under the three essential business assets: people, processes and technology. According to Frank de Jong, USM is all about simplifying the interaction between these elements: “You actually build a carpet pad, so to speak, under your three assets as they call them, processes, people and technology. Those have a certain interaction with each other and USM actually builds the carpet pad on which those three elements interact.” USM is based on principles and focuses on simplicity, but it is important to distinguish between simple and easy. As the Franks explain: it can be easy to learn, but applying it in an organization requires a good approach.

The power of simplicity: why USM?

Many organizations tend to make their service management unnecessarily complex. Frank de Jong says: “One of the ills we suffer from in service is a penchant for complexity. That we also sometimes equate complexity with sophistication - as long as it's complex, it will be good.” USM, on the other hand, focuses on simplification. This makes it easier to implement, standardize and make processes accessible to teams within an organization.

USM also provides clear templates for processes and workflows. It helps MSPs clearly describe and structure processes such as incident and change management. This structure provides predictability and helps deliver consistent services to customers.

The difference between USM and frameworks such as ITIL

An important point Frank and Frank raise is the difference between USM and other frameworks such as ITIL. ITIL is often seen as a collection of “best practices” that organizations can use, but it can also be complex and time-consuming to implement. USM acts as a carpet pad to which you can apply frameworks such as ITIL, but in a way that suits the specific needs of your organization. “The moment you leave something out (of a framework), then you can bet that sooner or later you're going to get stuck somewhere too,” Frank stresses.

The advantage of USM is that it offers the freedom to selectively use components from existing frameworks without having to stick to everything in them. It offers flexibility and allows you to adapt behavior and processes to the unique needs of your organization and customers.

Customer focus and the Value Maturity Model

Whereas IT service management traditionally looks at competencies and the maturity of an organization, USM relies on the so-called “Value Maturity Model.” This model focuses on the outcome and value you deliver to your customers as a service provider. As you become more mature in this model, you add more value to your customer by, for example, proactively offering services that the customer does not yet know, but needs.

According to Frank Eerland, “Once you get to the point where you can deliver services in a very consistent and predictable way at an acceptable quality and price, the next step is actually going to be to get even closer to the customer and to understand the customer's business much better.” This aligns closely with the focus on customer experience that is becoming increasingly important in many organizations, such as XLAs (Xperience Level Agreements).

How do you get started with USM?

Implementing USM is a journey, the Franks say. A good start is to conduct a baseline assessment to understand where your organization is now. This assessment provides insight into current maturity and is the basis for creating a roadmap to a higher maturity level. “Determining your current level, we can do that through a USM assessment. So a baseline measurement: where are you now?” states Frank de Jong. From there you determine where you want to go and what steps are needed to achieve that, matching what your market expects from you.

Continuous improvement: a never-ending journey

An important principle of USM is continuous improvement. You are never “done” with service management because the world around you is always changing. The Franks stress that USM provides a solid foundation to build on, but you must always keep improving and adapting. The goal is not to reach an end goal and then sit back, but to create a culture of continuous improvement within your organization.

Curious to hear more insights from Frank de Jong and Frank Eerland about USM and its application within MSPs? Listen to the full episode of the podcast Typical Joost and discover how your organization can work more simply and customer-focused.

Link to podcast

© 2023 - 2025 Joost-IT | Layout & design Matthja Grafisch Ontwerp & De Goudse Wolf

© 2023 - 2025 Joost-IT
Layout & design Matthja Grafisch Ontwerp
& De Goudse Wolf