looking at the challenges that face a large heterogeneous it infrastructure, in terms of security,...

Looking at the challenges that face a large heterogeneous IT infrastructure, in terms of security, scale, communication, IT literacy / competence, autonomy v standards, total cost

of ownership, etc. This will be a mainly interactive / discussion based session giving the students the opportunity to reflect on the IT

challenges within their own organisation.

Alistair Sandford

UFEEP4-15-M – Week 5

Theory Look at a range of infrastructure challenges

Practical Evaluate which infrastructure challenges affect

your organisation and the resulting impact

UFEEP4-15-M – Week 5

Alignment to the needs of the business Flexible Allow the business to effectively respond to

change Responsive to the needs of the business and

deliver change in a timely manner Cost effective

Help overcome the disconnect between the business and IT

The organisational change/IT infrastructure disconnect: an opportunity for corporate performance gain The Bathwick Group, 27th March 2006

UFEEP4-15-M – Week 5

Technology Sprawl Number of Computers: desktops, laptops Applications: number of apps, platform requirements Data centres: servers, storage, power, cooling Network: miles of cabling, multiple switches, routers Geographical: sites(inc SOHO), time zones, languages

Number of users (employees & customers) Administration, support, identity management,

permissions

UFEEP4-15-M – Week 5

Caused by evolution of infrastructure Piecemeal expansion, plugging gaps, papering over

the cracks, tactical development rather than strategic No individual person (or team) understands

every area Integration at all levels is often ‘flaky’ Multiple systems perform similar functions

UFEEP4-15-M – Week 5

Large attack surface ‘Trust’ is more difficult to achieve Increased risk of accidental error More administrators - “too many cooks spoil

the broth” Harder to achieve appropriate levels of

security (functionality v lockdown) Security policies become overly complex,

which then becomes restrictive

UFEEP4-15-M – Week 5

There is often little recognition of the value of the IT infrastructure? (until it breaks!)

There is routinely a disconnect between the business and IT

There are many drivers / stakeholders users (employees and customers), business

and IT strategy, competition, IT industry, managers ...)

Very rare that everyone agrees (politics)

UFEEP4-15-M – Week 5

Diverse range of IT skills Continually changing skills profile IT does not allow users to stand still Differing opinions of skills level

UFEEP4-15-M – Week 5

Many factors affect TCO Support, Capital (hardware, software, services),

Recurring costs (maintenance), Downtime, Environmental, Training

Some factors are hidden / difficult to calculate No individual stakeholder owns all of the

affected budgets and relevant SLA’s

UFEEP4-15-M – Week 5

People generally resist change Majority prefer to avoid it Some proactive try to block it

Infrastructure changes often provide no obvious benefit, just new ways of doing the same thing.

Different parts of the business may respond differently to each change dependant on needs and benefits

Managing change is key to IT success

UFEEP4-15-M – Week 5

Difficult to identify and achieve the balanceDifficult to identify and achieve the balance Correctly applied standards Correctly applied standards

Ease support burden, increase user confidence, reduce Ease support burden, increase user confidence, reduce TCO, improve service levelsTCO, improve service levels

Overly strict standardsOverly strict standards Restrict usability, inhibit business agility, increases TCORestrict usability, inhibit business agility, increases TCO

Full autonomyFull autonomy Offers unlimited usability, gives individual satisfaction, leads Offers unlimited usability, gives individual satisfaction, leads

to chaos, causes confusion, inhibits business agility, to chaos, causes confusion, inhibits business agility, increases TCOincreases TCO

Getting the balance right is an enabler - getting it Getting the balance right is an enabler - getting it wrong can be a business disablerwrong can be a business disabler

UFEEP4-15-M – Week 5

Knowing who to communicate with Identifying which communication tools to use Finding the best time to communicate Avoiding communication overload Getting your message heard above the noise Most people are not interested in IT

UFEEP4-15-M – Week 5

?alistair.sandford@uwe.ac.uk