IT Service Management

The growing importance of IT service management

With today’s connected software-defined vehicles (SDVs), it’s not enough to simply manage the quality of the software hidden under the hood. As networks become more integrated, software-defined vehicles are becoming service-defined vehicles that increasingly rely on cloud-based digital services, which require both an ecosystem and ongoing support.

Digital mobility service owners' responsibilities for IT service management

IT service management must be coordinated end to end, throughout and beyond the entire vehicle life cycle.

Vehicles’ digital services are offered through value chains of mutually dependent service providers. Automotive digital mobility service owners — including automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), their suppliers and tech service providers — have a dual responsibility as the key contact for end users and the coordinators of the complex network of service providers. In this context, service owners must be equipped to:

• Design services to offer high service quality.
• Maintain a close focus on end users.
• Orchestrate and manage the service provider network.

To accomplish this, service owners must apply the highly advanced skills, processes, methods and tools developed by leading IT providers to the automotive industry. Many of the skills now required revolve around frameworks such as the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL®) and ISO/IEC 20000, Information Technology — Service Management.

Based on these and other standards, in 2022, intacs® issued the SPICE for IT Services process reference and assessment model, which shares structural similarities with Automotive SPICE® and focuses on crucial processes for introducing and maintaining systems necessary to manage automotive digital services effectively.

The regulatory landscape of IT service management

The success of any software-defined vehicle depends on speed to market and the prompt availability of software updates, bug fixes, new functions and new services. Digital mobility service owners must reliably supply the connected vehicle with updates, which is not feasible without efficient software development and effective IT service management.

In addition to standards such as Automotive SPICE® for process maturity and ISO 26262 for functional safety, there are many legal and regulatory requirements for defined, implemented and tested IT service management processes.

• In June 2020, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) published new homologation requirements: R155 for the cybersecurity management system (CSMS) and R156 for the software update management system (SUMS).
• As of July 2022, no new vehicle type can be registered in the European Union or any other UNECE member country without documented proof of compliance with R155 and R156.
• As of July 2024, no newly produced cars can be registered without a proper CSMS/SUMS in place.

Although China and the United States (U.S.) are not in the scope of the UNECE, the UNECE regulations could eventually become the de facto standards in these countries as well.

IT service management is central to the digital transformation of the automotive industry. Effective IT service management enables the complex interplay of IT services required for compliance to be carried out correctly and efficiently, which is crucial for high performance and customer satisfaction.

IT service management's role in end users' perceptions of service quality

Through digital services, traditional electrical and electronic (E/E) development must now deal intensively with the quality perceived by end consumers in addition to objective quality metrics. This requires knowledge about suitable technologies, processes, methods, and tools, such as open-source software, CI/CD, cloud-based microservices, data management and machine learning. The previous focus on individual service suppliers is expanding to the service owner's overall responsibility for complex services through multiple suppliers. The service owner has a new role in safeguarding overall quality and minimizing risks through evaluating and improving the processes and procedures of the commissioned service suppliers and maintaining service quality across the entire network of services.

This includes managing:

• Business, customer and supplier operations – Orchestrating the entire service provider network throughout the product/service life cycle.
• Service development, release and deployment – Service assurance and user experience by design.
• Service operations, support and assurance – Developing a contingency capability as a key skill for service assurance during operations.

Only in conjunction with IT service management can service owners accomplish this while keeping pace with rapid and continuous change without becoming overburdened.

How UL Solutions Software Intensive Systems can help

UL Solutions Software Intensive Systems experts can support your organizations’ IT service management needs. From our decades of working with key players in the automotive industry and discussions with these customers and their IT service providers, we understand that it is no longer enough to just take care of the vehicle’s software. Automotive OEMs, suppliers and service providers must consider the entire digital services landscape. To address these needs and challenges, UL Solutions Software Intensive Systems offers trainings, engineering support and consulting services based on the SPICE for IT Services, Data Management SPICE and Automotive SPICE® process assessment model.

The information provided on this web page does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice or specific business advice, and is for general informational purposes only.