Multi-layer ICT Management

Presented by

Andy Park

Andy Park

Introduction

• There is no one RIGHT way to manage ICT.

• There is no WRONG way to manage ICT.

• The ideas presented here are personal.

• They have taken shape over many years.

• ICT management is often erratic.

• ICT management can be organized.

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How do you think it should be done?

• Hierarchy?

• Divisions?

• Departments?

• Groups?

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Whichever way you look at it:

• Identify “blocks”.

• Set up communication between “blocks”.

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Have you considered layers but with good communication?

• Divide ICT management into layers.

• Good communication is essential.

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Firstly

• Each layer involves HW, SW and people.

• And the layers are:

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1) The user layer

• The (end) customer.

• Everything needed to look after the customer.

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1a) The customer could be:

• A group of users.

• A department.

• A company.

• Company relations (EDI).

• Developers.

• The outside world (via internet etc.).

BISL “Focus”

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1b) Looking after the customer

• User management.

• Customer relations.

• Security.

• Helpdesk.

• Maybe even sales, marketing of ICT services.

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2) The application layer

• Everything the users directly interacts with.

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2a) The application layer

• Office tools.

• Printing, plotting, scanning.

• General applications.

• ERP/MRP/CRM.

• Development tools and compilers.

• ICT support tools.

• Factory/Laboratory automation software.

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2b) The application layer

• Functional application management– Functional specification

• Technical application management– Software development– Software management (SW C&D)

ASL “Focus”

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3) The data layer

• Data is what the applications process.

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3a) The data layer

• Database management.

• File and disk management.

• Tape management / backups.

• HSM, RAID, SAN, NAS.

• File shares.

• Middleware (data access) products.

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4) The system layer

• The basic environment to run the applications.

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4a) The system layer

• Clients (Terminals, PC’s, Tablets, Smartphones, Virtual Desktops, ATM’s).

• Servers, CPU, Memory.

• Operating systems.

• Special peripherals.

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5) The infrastructure layer

• Everything to connect the pieces.

– Network.

– Environment.

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5a) The network

• Network management.

• Cables, switches, routers, hubs, bridges.

• Firewalls.

• TCP/IP, SNA, DECnet, OSI.

• Telephone.

• WWW.

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5b) The environment

• Electricity, gas, water. (Coffee?)

• Cooling, heating.

• Rooms.

• Fire prevention.

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To summarize

• The user layer.

• The application layer.

• The data layer.

• The system layer.

• The infrastructure layer.

• But this is not the end of the story!

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Major advantages

• Good foundation for costing.– € per m2, per CPU unit, per GB, per application

• The right experts working together.

• Experts doing their own job.

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Major disadvantages

• Requires trust that each layers does its job.

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(Management) Communication

• The layers are not independent.

• Without some sort of communication nothing happens.

• You need to recognize and understand the processes involved.

• Each process covers ALL the layers.

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ITIL

• Information Technology Infrastructure Library.

• A set of concepts on which to design your own ICT management processes.

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ITIL groups

• The service support group.– daily work.

• The service delivery group.– vision for the future.

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Service support

• The processes involved with the day to day running of ICT.

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Service support

• Configuration management.

• Incident management.

• Problem management.

• Change management.

• Software control and distribution.

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Configuration management

• What are our assets (HW, SW and People)?

• What are the relations between assets?

• What needs registering?

• Keeping information up to date.

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Incident management

• Identifying incidents (by tools).

• Identifying incidents (from customers).

• Helpdesk - contact with customer.

• Keeping track of who is “solving” incident.

• When is an incident a problem?

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Problem management

• Working out what is the real problem.

• Finding solutions.

• Defining “Known errors”.

• Generating “request for change”.

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Change management

• Processing Request for change.

• Planning.

• Is it worth doing?

• What are the consequences?

• What are the priorities?

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Software control and distribution

• Keeping track of SW versions.

• Who needs which version?

• Who has which version?

• How to get new versions where they are needed.

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Service delivery

• The processes involved with the long term.

• Where are we going?

• What are our goals?

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Service delivery

• Service level management.

• Customer liaison.

• Cost management.

• Capacity management.

• Availability management.

• Contingency planning.

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Service level management

• Analysis and evaluation of services.

• Creation of “service catalog”.

• Creation of “Service Level Agreements”.

• SLA is the result of discussions between customers and ICT.

• Setting up reporting.

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Customer liaison

• General discussion with customer at high level.

• Future plans.

• What’s going wrong.

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Cost management

• Identify what everything is really costing.

• Calculation of what (new) things will really cost. (not just purchase price).

• Possibility of invoicing customers.

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Capacity management

• How are resources being used?

• Identification of when expansion will be required.

• What will a new service need?

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Availability management

• When are services required?

• When can we do maintenance?

• How reliable do things need to be?

• What are the consequences if something's not available?

• Security issues.

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Contingency planning

• What can go wrong?

• Should we allow for it?

• What are we going to do about it?

• Everything from just making a backup to having hot standby external computer sites.

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Map ITIL on management layers

The User Layer (BISL)

The Application Layer (ASL)

The Data Layer

The System Layer

The Infrastructure Layer I T

I L

I T

I L

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Summary

• Now you know what you are managing and how.

• What = the ICT management layers.

• How = the ICT processes.

• Do you have the knowledge, tools, and people to “get organized”?