Figure 1: High Availability Investment
Doug, the IS Manager at Acme Roll Manufacturing, walked apprehensively into the conference room to attend the third problem revue in as many weeks. It seemed to Doug that there had been many problems of this type over the past year. As a matter of fact, each problem encountered appeared to have the same symptoms and resolution. If that was the case, then why did it take SO long to diagnose and repair each occurrence? Each Department Manager attending the meeting shared similar thoughts as Doug. Why does it appear the same problem is happening over and over again? Additionally, why hasn't anyone provided a permanent fix yet?
During the meeting, the CIO walked into the conference room. Standing to the side, she listened attentively to the discussion. After a few minutes, she held up her hand interrupting the exchange and said, "It seems to me our customers have experienced too many problems in the past six months. As a matter of fact, I am receiving many complaints and really have not been able to provide these customers with an explanation of what my team is doing about them." Looking around the conference table, she then asked, "Can someone please explain to me what is going on?" "As well, what ARE we doing about it?"
All at the conference table looked at each other then settled their gaze on Doug! The CIO spoke again saying; "So, Doug? What is the problem, and what are YOU doing about it?" "Are we meeting our Service Level Agreements?" Doug looked at the floor, why didn't he know the answer to that question? It appeared to him they were, but, without hard data, how could he tell the CIO a definitive YES? As well, how much up time had the company's computers experienced? He knew a particularly important data base had been down three times in the last month, with the same type of problem.
Thinking to himself, the same statement recurred over and over again, "Just too much to do and not enough time to do it in." How can he know what is going on in the environment without complete information? What is our availability number? Why can't we permanently fix a recurring problem? If not fix, at least provide a work around to allow the end user to return to work as quickly as possible.
Are you familiar with the above scenario? Is your organization too busy fighting fires to stop, drop, and roll for fear you may stop, drop, and then roll OFF the deep end? To reduce the effects of "fire fighting", put the ITIL process driven approach in place in your organization.
The IT Infrastructure Library or ITIL, developed for the British government by the Central Computer & Telecommunications Agency (CCTA), is a description of a quality system geared toward the commercial operation of IT services. Using a methodical approach, ITIL describes many processes that are essential for IT service, focusing on the quality of services and the added value for the end-users.
For many organizations, a process approach may be seen as stifling, or too restrictive. I would contend that for many High Availability environments, all the technology and tools available today would not prevent unplanned downtime. Additionally, when downtime does occur, a lack of process may have been the root cause. The downtime event will surely be extended without an effective recovery process.
For example, imagine the process of delivering a baby at the hospital. There is competition for this business, so the hospitals need to do this optimally in every respect. Can you imagine what it would be like if a woman in labor went to the delivery room and the doctors and nurses re-invented a new process each time? Or were even uncertain how to proceed with no industry-standard methods in existence? The consequences could be tragic. Each delivery is different, yet the staff knows the process so well; it works seamlessly unless there are exceptions/complications. Every tiny detail is pre-planned and organized to ensure the staff know exactly where all the tools are, at what time to use them, and they know how to use them very well.
There are over 100 hundred books in the ITIL library. This paper will not cover all publications, but will highlight the essential concepts of Service Delivery and Service Support in your organization.
Aside from the ITIL library itself, the best source for more information regarding ITIL is on the Internet. I encourage you to take time and look through the ITIL resources. There are seminars and training classes that are offered by many organizations to assist you and your organization in improving the IT service provided to your end users.
IT Service Support is a process approach to achieving a stable, flexible, quality IT Infrastructure. The following processes will be discussed:
IT Service Delivery is processes that facilitates a quality supply of IT Services in response to the customer's demands. The following processes make up the Service Delivery set:
During the course of this paper, we will look at the objectives and activities of each process.
The ITIL approach to Service Management is a worldwide-accepted industry standard. Entrenched in Europe, ITIL is rapidly gaining acceptance in North America. Is your current IT organization process oriented or is it staffed with excellent firefighters? If you answered the latter, the ITIL approach will dramatically improve the services provided to your customers or end users.
As a Lead Assessor, I see many IT organizations. One role I fill is to evaluate a customer's processes with regard to service management. I have seen some outstanding fire-fighting organizations. Most of this organization's successes are dependent on individual heroics rather than repeatable processes. Often, these companies will have great process documentation. However, the processes are either:
Consider the following graph, which explains the relationship between investment and availability:
Figure 1: High Availability Investment
When your availability requirement reaches the 95% area, process, documentation, and discipline are often the difference between success and failure. Once you reach the area of 99.5% and greater, technology becomes even less a contributing factor. The investment axis not only represents technology but should also include effort, people, and time.
ITIL processes are not implemented over night. To successfully implement and receive the maximum value, your organization must first understand the process mindset and approach, followed by the discipline to stay the course. Continual process improvement becomes a way of life, not a once every now and then add-on. If properly implemented, each process should have a positive effect on your customer or end-user satisfaction.
Let's learn more about the exciting world of ITIL!
To better understand ITIL, you must first learn some of the terminology used.
Some basic terms to get you started.
All hardware, software, data communications, procedures, and documentation required to provide the IT service.
Management is the supervision and control of the IT Infrastructure. Supervising means maintaining the status and deployment of the infrastructure. All activities that contribute to the proper function of the IT Infrastructure is the controlling factor.
Commercial Operation is providing the IT Infrastructure to users at a justifiable cost, achieving the level of service required to meet the business requirements.
We use this term to describe both users and clients. Someone who "consumes" IT services.
The logical package of services that an IT organization offers, supplies and supports in order to satisfy the consumer's needs.
Total of management and commercial operation of the IT infrastructure.
The organizational unit that delivers and supports IT services
The next step in understanding the ITIL approach is to develop a customer-oriented approach to delivering IT services. Your IT organization should be a service provider to your consumers. ITIL does not allow "the tail to wag the dog"; rather the dog and tail are one.
Help Desk or Incident Management
We all have had experience with some type of Help Desk. The better ones ensure the users satisfaction with the service provided. Most of us expect courteous, quick, and effective information and help. While it might be difficult at times to provide all three, the successful Help Desk will at least ensure the information is provided in a courteous manner. Is your Help Desk called the "Helpless Desk" or "IT resist"? If so, the ITIL approach to Help Desk may be the answer.
Help Desk objective:
The activities associated with Help Desk are:
All ten of the processes described by ITIL are interactive. The success of the overall approach is dependent upon how well each process works with the others. To view Help Desk or Problem Management as a single process will provide a measure of success, but results will be very limited. With this in mind, let's move to the next process, Problem Management.
Before we go too far into Problem Management, there are some terms you should become familiar with.
Problem
Often the term "problem" is used to describe a negative change in an otherwise working environment. To better grasp the Problem Management process, you have to understand the difference between a "problem" and an "incident". As described, an incident is any deviation, fault, or disruption in the use or implementation of an IT service.
On the other hand, an incident is termed a problem if one or more of the following conditions exist:
Known error
If an incident meets one of the above qualifications, it becomes a problem. This event begins the Problem Management process. Additionally, once the actual cause of the incident becomes known, a problem is then classified as a "known error". Let's take a graphical look at the flow from an incident to a known error.
Figure 2: incidents, problems, and known errors
Each incident is a result of an error in the infrastructure. Identifying a problem begins the process of determining the cause of the incident. Once the actual cause is identified, the problem becomes a known error. A known error will generally result in a request for change to remove or replace the problem component. If the change is successful, the error should be removed, once again providing stability to the environment.
Problem Management objective:
The activities associated with Problem Management are:
In many environments I have assessed, one key process regularly circumvented is change management. In most cases, the process is either seen as too restrictive, creating barriers to a fast paced environment, or the process itself is just too loose. Having little to no control with changes being made whenever and by whoever thinks a change is required.
Many environments will have an outstanding process that is documented and understood throughout the organization, yet it isn't always followed and when circumvented, the root cause can often be traced to upper management or the business unit pushing the IT organization to rapidly respond, resulting in a less stable environment.
Change Management objective:
The activities associated with Change Management are:
Configuration Management
Configuration Management is the control necessary for an effective IT infrastructure. How often in your environment do you really know what you control? Additionally, do you really know the status of each and every component in the environment?
Configuration Management is not an easy process to implement. In many cases the scope of control is designed too large and deep. Another words, a company will try to control and record all items in the infrastructure, the entire Wide Area Network and all systems, network devices, and communication lines, along with each piece, i.e., the mouse of a workstation, to a depth that is impossible to manage.
Configuration Management objective:
The activities associated with Configuration Management are:
Software Control and Distribution
In many successfully managed environments, software is very controlled. The production environment is almost locked away from any piece of software that has not been properly tested and installed to perfection. Additionally, if a change is required such as a patch, it is applied only in a controlled manner.
Software Control & Distribution (SC&D) objective:
The activities performed in SC&D are:
Service Level Management
This process is the key to successfully managing an IT environment. Service Level Agreements and the process used to effectively create and maintain them will ensure proper alignment of IT and the business requirements. In many cases an IT infrastructure has to provide too much service for too little money. The user community expects 100% availability but only provides the funding necessary for 50%. Without an effective Service Level Management process IT has very little control or negotiating power to keep this from occurring.
Service Level Management objective:
The activities associated with Service Level Management are:
Availability Management
Is the service available for use when the customer requires it or not? And if it is available, is the quality good enough to be effective? The customer or user will determine if the service is in fact available and of sufficient quality. The process of Availability Management is used to ensure both of these qualifiers are met at a justifiable cost.
Availability Management Objective:
Terms used in Availability Management:
The activities associated with Availability Management are:
Capacity Management
Do you face a traffic jam each time you drive to and from work? If so, do you think the problem is too many cars or not enough freeway? Did the highway engineers plan for the ultimate demand or did they meet the need at the time the highway was built? Proper capacity management requires both steps of immediate as well as future requirements be met.
Capacity Management objective:
The activities of Capacity Management are:
Contingency Planning
What would happen to your company should it have to rely on paper and pen to do business? Can it survive a disaster? How long can your IT infrastructure be unavailable? How much does the outage cost? All of the questions must be answered to ensure your company's success in today's environment.
Contingency Planning objective:
Contingency Planning activities are:
Cost Management
Do you know or have visibility to the cost of your environment? Additionally, do you charge your customers for your service? The process of Cost Management will assist you in determining the cost and if necessary how to charge for the services your organization provides.
Cost Management objective:
Cost Management activities are:
There is much more information available regarding ITIL. This paper skims the surface, providing a tantalizing peek into this process-oriented approach to successfully managing your environment.
The first step in ensuring the viability of your IT infrastructure is an honest assessment. Looking into your current environment, determine how effective you are in each of the process areas. It is often better to have an outside view to ensure you are seeing the forest, not only the trees. There are many different organizations available to assist you in this endeavor.
The ultimate goal is to provide your consumers or users with the most effective environment at a justifiable cost. Ensure your IT infrastructure adds to, not detracts from your company's success.