HP has redesigned its services offerings in response to the increasing amount of integration, convergence, and virtualization in data centers, says Flynn Maloy, senior director of the HP Support Services Portfolio. In a live interview from the Cube, webcast on SiliconAngle.tv (see video below) from HP’s Always On Services Launch, he said that most services companies are falling behind the evolution of IT environments in the wild. Convergence and virtualization are breaking down the traditional IT operational silos of server, storage, and network. “But most service offerings are still based on those silos.”

A year ago HP’s services executive team started redesigning its support structure to meet the changing needs of customers. The first thing that they realized was that when customers have problems today they typically manifest not as a failed system but as a slow-down in overall data center performance. “It is hard to find the cause” because everything is so tightly integrated that a problem with one component system will impact performance across the entire infrastructure.

When that happens customers don’t want “six-hour ninjas” that “parachute in” to fix a malfunctioning hardware or software component. “They want the red phone – instant access to an expert who can walk them through the entire environment to identify and fix the problem.” And they definitely do not want finger-pointing. The important question isn’t who owns the component or whether it is a storage, server, or network problem. It is how can IT restore service levels.

To provide that service, first the services organization detached its offerings from HP hardware – services customers do not need to be running all HP or any HP equipment in their data centers.

Second, they realized that they have to take a holistic view of the customer’s IT environment because that is how it operates. So when customers call the support line, they get support across their entire environment from one call.

HP has developed three levels of support, Maloy said:

1. Foundation Support provides the reactive support that all customers need when things go off-track, from hardware and software up through the virtualization layer, with no finger-pointing.
2. Proactive Care layers proactive elements such as patch management and proactive scans onto the foundation support. These operate across the entire environment, not just on specific enclosures or boxes.
3. Data Center Care adds high-end specialized services. For instance, he says, a hyper-scale customer may want a parts kiosk in house so that failing components can be replaced quickly by internal staff with remote help and instruction from HP support personnel

“Services is people, not technology,” Maloy says. “Our business is driven by our people, and when we ask customers what they like about HP services they always say they like the people who deliver those services.”