30th June 2025
Beyond the band-aid: Effective long-term management of SPM systems
As a client, how can you differentiate between Managed Services providers and contracts? You want your solution to run smoothly, with issues resolved fast and minor changes deployed with the minimum of fuss. And everyone claims they can do this.
At Compincent, we think that true value is unlocked in an effective long-term management approach. It’s not just about keeping the lights on – it’s about nurturing a system that consistently delivers, adapts, and grows with your business.
During our Compincent Managed Services Month, we’re sharing insights from years of delivering successful SPM managed services. We’ve seen first-hand that a short-sighted, reactive approach to SPM leads to missed opportunities, at best, and to considerable frustration and business impediments, at worst. Our goal from day one is to set a trajectory of ongoing improvement, building a lasting partnership that evolves into a sustainable, high-quality service.
Balancing engagement: When to step forward and when to step back
Effective long-term SPM management means knowing when to engage deeply and when to operate quietly in the background. It’s a delicate balance that defines our approach.
“For some aspects of our service, we aim for minimal client engagement,” explains Piotr Orlowski, Compincent’s Delivery Services Director. “This is particularly true for regular maintenance and support when things break. After an initial hypercare period, where everyone settles into the new managed service, we should be highly responsive to occasional requests because, behind the scenes, we have everything under control.”
This low-engagement mode is a hallmark of a mature, well-managed system. It means we’re proactively monitoring, addressing root causes and ensuring stability, allowing your team to focus on their core business without niggling system distractions.
The pendulum swings when you’re looking to evolve your SPM platform with new developments. “When customers want to enhance their solution, we switch into high-engagement mode,” Piotr adds. “We’re proactively gathering information and rigorously capturing all requirements, using the same proven processes as a full system deployment.”
The value of trust and partnership in change scenarios
In these high-engagement scenarios, collaboration is vital, with clearly understood roles. Compincent is the expert in the SPM system, but you’re responsible for designing your sales model, calculations and reward structures. We need you, as the client, to describe the functions and outcomes you need in as much detail as possible. Part of our job is to educate and support you in understanding these distinctions, optimising our working relationship for success and reinforcing our trusted relationship.
“In a Managed Services change situation, we’re very focused on the information-gathering phase. This may take more time than a client expects, but it’s entirely for their benefit,” Piotr stresses. “Customers sometimes find it challenging to translate their vision into precise requirements. That’s why we invest in detailed discussions, helping them to communicate their needs effectively.”
Once requirements are crystal clear, we build independently, then re-involve you for User Acceptance Testing (UAT). A hallmark of our long-term approach is providing instruction documentation and functionality reminders. We believe it’s important for your future self-sufficiency. Unlike some partners who might withhold information to create dependency, our Managed Services relationships last because of the quality and transparency of our support.
The long game: root cause and continuous improvement
In routine support mode, we aim to be almost invisible. But when we notice a recurring problem, we don’t apply sticking-plaster fixes, we address the root cause.
Piotr shares a powerful example: “With one customer, around five years ago, we constantly had over 50 support tickets, a conveyor belt of problems and urgent escalations. We didn’t just patch them, we looked at futureproofing with every resolution, tackling the root causes. It required sustained hard work on our part, but the long-term gain means that eventually, those problems were eradicated.”
This future-focus ensures the proportion of bug fixes reduces over time. We don’t want business as usual to mean urgently addressing dozens of avoidable issues every week, even if it makes us look busy and indispensable. A few months into a typical Compincent Managed Services relationship, you’ll find very few bugs or routine fixes. Instead, we’ll be applying our expertise to change requests, driven by your team’s deeper use of the solution and confidence in our ability to make it do what they want.
Of course, it’s not all plain sailing. Unforeseen challenges, like team absences or new business requirements, are inevitable. But with our underlying steady rhythm and trajectory, we can help you adapt and sustain excellent SPM performance. Piotr says, “For us, these aren’t annoyances; they’re opportunities. They allow us to show our resilience and interpersonal skills, not just our technical prowess, ensuring we respond effectively and reinforce your trust. Every Compincent Managed Services team member understands this bigger picture, prioritising the right actions to maintain the rhythm that makes long-term SPM success possible.”
We’d love to talk to you about delivering a better kind of SPM Managed Service for your business, using the approaches and experience we’ve shared in our Managed Services month blogs. Please get in touch for a no obligation chat.