Delivering Utility Computing: Business-driven IT Optimization

Description

Learn how to design and deploy utility computing systems to save costs and improve the value that IT delivers.

The economic downturn that occurred after the .com boom and bust has put the cost of IT in the spotlight.  By following the principles of utility computing, also known as on-demand computing, real-time infrastructure, or adaptive enterprise, businesses can improve the IT services they offer, whilst reducing costs and improving agility.  Delivering Utility Computing proposes and documents a methodology for delivering utility computing, and provides detailed advice on its principles and benefits.  The authors describe a complete and step-by-step process for adapting to a utility computing system, based on proven methodology.

 Delivering Utility Computing:

• Provides a comprehensive description of the utility model, offering guidance on design, deployment and maintenance issues, and a strong section on service level agreements (SLAs).
• Explains in detail how to improve efficiencies and achieve cost reduction in the IT department.
• Adopts a thorough approach, taking into account current baselines, phasing, task involved, success factors and best practice principles.
• Presents a method rooted in theory, yet broad-based and practical, illustrated throughout with examples and real-world case studies.

This invaluable text provides CIOs, CFOs, system administrators, IT policy makers and professionals looking to develop utility computing practices in their organizations, as well as researchers in computer science, statisticians, engineers, and graduate students, with an in-depth understanding of the concepts and practicalities of utility computing.

 

Time and IT March on.

About the Authors.

Foreword.

Acknowledgments.

Who Should Read This Book and Why?

List of Figures.

List of Tables.

Part One: Introducing Utility Computing.

1 Introduction.

2 What is Utility Computing?

2.1 Overview.

2.2 The Changing Role of IT.

2.3 Utility Computing.

2.4 Return on Investment.

2.5 Why Now?

2.6 It is Not All or Nothing.

2.7 Further Implications of Utility Computing.

2.8 Summary.

Reference.

3 Historical Trends, or ‘Is Utility Computing Really New?’

3.1 Overview.

3.2 Back to the Beginning.

3.3 Connectivity: The Great Enabler.

3.4 The Web and the Return to Utility Computing.

3.5 Pay-As-You-Grow Data Processing.

3.6 Utility Computing and the Industry.

3.7 Summary.

4 The Utility Model in Detail.

4.1 Overview.

4.2 The Essentials of a Utility.

4.3 The Utility Model in Detail (An Analogy).

4.4 Should Information Services Be any Different?

4.5 Summary.

5 Service Level Agreements.

5.1 Overview.

5.2 An Everyday Event.

5.3 Defining Services and the Service Level Agreement.

5.4 Creating Complex Services.

5.5 Managing Services.

5.6 Sharing Risk with Suppliers.

5.7 Summary.

Part Two: Transformational Modeling.

6 Project Justification and Focus.

6.1 Overview.

6.2 Business Drivers and Project Justification.

6.3 How to Find Where to Start.

7 The Utility Computing Reference Model.

7.1 Overview.

7.2 The Service Layer.

7.3 The Process Layer.

7.4 The Organizational Layer.

8 A Maturity Model for Utility Computing.

8.1 Overview.

8.2 The Maturity Levels in Detail.

8.3 Creating a Utility Computing Scorecard.

8.4 Moving Up the Maturity Model (Generic Tasks).

9 A Transformational Approach.

9.1 Overview.

9.2 The Prepare Phase.

9.3 The Model Phase.

9.4 The Transform Phase.

9.5 The Operate/Innovate Phase.

10 Technology for Utility Computing.

10.1 Overview.

10.2 Virtualization.

10.3 Performance Monitoring.

10.4 Reporting.

10.5 Automation.

10.6 Chargeback Accounting.

10.7 Service Level Management.

10.8 Hardware.

10.9 Summary.

Reference.

Part Three: Implications of Utility Computing.

11 Cultural Implications.

11.1 Overview.

11.2 What to Expect, Getting Ready for Transformation.

11.3 Moving From Asset Ownership to Service Level Agreements.

11.4 Effective Corporate Communications.

11.5 Summary.

12 Developing a Successful Adoption Strategy.

12.1 Overview.

12.2 Types of Adoption Strategy.

12.3 Choosing a Partner.

12.4 The Comparison to Outsourcing.

12.5 Security.

12.6 Good Targets for Utility Computing Adoption.

12.7 Brown Field Versus Green Field Opportunities.

12.8 Using IT Consolidation as a Starting Point.

12.9 Summary.

13 Future Trends.

13.1 Overview.

13.2 Standards.

13.3 Packaged Solutions.

13.4 Service-Oriented Architecture.

13.5 Virtualization.

13.6 The End of Applications as we Know Them?

13.7 Grid Computing.

13.8 The Future: An Object Application Environment?

13.9 Summary.

14 Afterword: Avoiding the Pitfalls.

14.1 Overview.

14.2 Returning to Chaos.

14.3 Innovation.

14.4 Summary.

Appendix A: Case Studies.

A.1 Case Study: Dartmouth College's Campus-Wide Backup Utility.

A.2 Case Study: Digital TV Co’s Disaster Recovery Utility.

A.3 Case Study: Arsenal Digital Solutions’ Information Storage Utility.

A.4 Case Study: A Telecommunications Server and Application Utility.

Appendix B: Utility Computing Planning Forms.

B.1 Baselining.

B.2 Baselining 2.

B.3 User Department View.

B.4 IT View.

B.5 IT Technology Support.

B.6 IT Planning.

B.7 Cost Savings.

B.8 Hard Metrics.

Appendix C: Initial Utility Computing Reference Model Assessment.

C.1 Utility Reference Model Assessment.

C.2 Plotting Your Utility Assessment Results.

Appendix D: Stakeholders and Objections.

Glossary.

Index.