What’s in Your Portfolio Catalog?

Portfolio delivery is the technology management practice of deploying telecom, mobility, and IT services, systems, applications, and end-point devices to business users. One of the associated activities is defining and maintaining a portfolio catalog. This involves establishing and maintaining a catalog of available services, systems, applications, and end-point devices with associated configurations and options.

A portfolio catalog should contain service, asset, and license options across three portfolio categories:

• Telecom – services, hardware, and software providing WAN, internet, voice and video connectivity
• Mobility – services, hardware, and software associated with cellular/wireless communications
• IT – services, systems, software, licenses, equipment, and peripherals providing networking connectivity

The inherent challenge with these categories, though, is that portfolio technology often crosses telecom, mobility, and IT. For example, UCaaS (unified communications as a service) provides voice, video, collaboration, and presence capabilities across fixed and wireless networks and endpoints. So, which portfolio category is best for UCaaS?

The recommended best practice for establishing and maintaining a portfolio catalog is to include all service, asset, and license options and identify each with the intended and acceptable use case. The portfolio catalog should be inclusive and adaptable.

Technology evolution, digital transformation, and business strategy factor into what should be included in a portfolio catalog and, as needs and technology evolve, the composition of offerings in the portfolio catalog will change.