Business services are services that support or facilitate the conduct of business operations. The business service sector is one of the largest sectors in the economy, and is growing rapidly as technological innovations continue to transform the industry. Business services include everything from professional services such as consulting, IT, legal and accounting to outsourcing firms, facility management companies and more.
A key challenge for managers in service businesses is designing a customer-focused experience that effectively meets the unique needs and desires of an attractive group of customers. This involves a shift in perspective, from product designers focusing on characteristics buyers will value to service designers focusing on the experiences customers want to have. In addition, service businesses must differentiate their offerings from those of competitors to stand out as a preferred choice.
In some cases, service businesses offer a version of the same product that is more suited to business uses, such as a business class flight or cloud storage service with additional functionality and higher data redundancy. Other times, they provide services specifically for other businesses, such as contract manufacturing or warehousing. Business services may also be bundled into other products to create new offerings, such as a product as a service model for computing equipment or software offered in combination with operation, maintenance and management services. The use of well-defined business services allows for a highly responsive environment by providing a means to structure automated business logic that is flexible and easily adaptable in response to changes in requirements or business processes.