ServicePortfolios

ServicePortfolios are the collection of all services that a service provider manages across their entire lifecycle. The portfolio provides a consolidated, strategic view of both current and planned services to support governance, decision making, and investment planning. It is commonly organized into three components: the service pipeline, the service catalog, and the retired services. The service pipeline contains ideas and programs in development or under consideration. The service catalog lists services that are currently offered and supported for customers. Retired services include those that have been withdrawn from delivery and are no longer available.

Service Portfolio Management is the process responsible for maintaining the portfolio in alignment with business strategy, financial constraints, and capacity. It balances demand and supply, evaluates proposals with business cases, and prioritizes investments. The portfolio reflects strategic goals, risk, costs, and expected value, and provides inputs to budgeting, planning, and capacity management. By overseeing the entire set of services, the process helps ensure that the organization commits resources only to services that contribute to strategic objectives and acceptable risk levels.

Lifecycle integration is a key aspect, as services move from idea (pipeline) to active delivery (catalog) and, when appropriate, to retirement. Changes typically require formal governance and investment decisions, with updates to service levels, funding, and performance metrics. The Service Portfolio is used by executives, service managers, finance professionals, and business units to understand current offerings, forecast future capabilities, and guide resource allocation and decommissioning decisions.

In practice, organizations employ ServicePortfolios to evaluate new service proposals, ensure alignment with strategy, monitor service performance, and retire services when business needs evolve.