Service Blocks Explained for Business Leaders

The world today expects everything as a service. Whether it’s ordering a ride, buying groceries or choosing what to watch on television, customers expect to be able to pick out exactly what they need, have it delivered when they need it, without paying for anything more than that. Utilizing the cloud should be no different, and yet too often, it is. Too many traditional IT services companies still insist upon costly bundled services and rigid contracts — truly ironic, considering cloud computing is what enables our ever more connected “as-a-service” society. At Rackspace, we’ve gone a different direction. Last year we introduced Service Blocks, extending our IT-as-a-service strategy to managed public cloud and even professional services. Our customers told us they want the flexibility to drop and add services, to use only what they need at any given time. We listened. James Staten, vice president and principal analyst with Forrester Research, noted the same trend: “we are seeing a significant rise in interest from CIOs to shift to cloud management contracts that are project-related and move away from traditional multiyear terms.” Yet leading providers are answering this need, he says, “through subcontracts within the standard multiyear commitment.” Except for Rackspace. As Staten wrote in his Oct. 2018 blog post, Driving MSP Cloud Cost Alignment — Rackspace, Service Blocks allows for project-based, outcome-focused engagements — “a fantastic example of an MSP that is shifting its core business model to respond to customer experience feedback.” In the video above, I break down exactly how Service Blocks work. After you’ve watched, if you’d like to take an even deeper dive, I suggest checking out “How to Get the IT Services You Need (Without Paying for the Ones You Don’t).” And when you’re ready, we’re here. Talk to one of our experts today about how Service Blocks can facilitate your unique cloud journey.