Many are using the ITIL Service Management framework as a means to implement an IT Governance program. There are issues associated with this process, but most feel it is worth the effort, and it is! However, the framework is based on best practices and most of the best practices relate to putting a solution into service. There are few best practices for once the solution is in service – even though the majority of IT costs are related to the post implementation processing.
Until now, no product has integrated the Capacity Management of systems along with the cost of those systems to provide an information basis that can be used as part of the IT Governance process. Business management currently partners with IT in the governance process, and they are generally only concerned with the decisions leading up to the implementation of a service. Once the service is online, the governance process for all practical purposes stops – even though this is the phase that will drive home the “Value of IT” to business management.
RG Solutions® was specifically designed for use in the post implementation governance process. It is a low cost alternative to any monitoring program that is primarily being used for governance issues.
Key Business Values
- Measures IT for the Business. Provide cost information in “business friendly” terms.
- Customized to the business units and/or activities for better business alignment.
- Allows for the recognition of service and processing costs to those that use them.
- Includes the CxOs in the IT Governance process.
Asset Lifecycle
Information Technology performs two business functions: Asset Development and Asset Conservancy. Asset Development is the process of creating a new or improved computing solution that will be used by the business. While this is usually software, it is not always the case. Regardless, there is always dead-lines, schedules, resource allocations, and other related actions that occur as part of the development process. In all cases, the costs associated with the development are budgeted, measured, and controlled. There are many programs, techniques, and processes available that assist in Asset Development. The available solutions are quite robust as this is the best defined area of the ITIL framework.
Asset Conservancy on the other hand is the process of nurturing the implemented services that form the computing engine of the business. These services generally take the form of purchased equipment and related expenses. Unlike Asset Development, Asset Conservancy has few programs, techniques, and processes available for its management. In fact, most of what is available deal only with the "buy decision" of a capital asset.
The computing services of a business enterprise are typically composed of many computer systems of varying types and sizes. Many of these systems were purchased under the guise of a “Capital Expenditure”. In most organizations this means the purchase is made with a "buy decision" evaluation and then the investment is moved to the “company’s books”. Rarely does the capital investment become part of the IT Budget (maybe as a depreciation expense) nor is it in the scope of any IT reporting. This means that much of the IT costs are quite literally “off the IT radar”. One may argue that the all service costs are represented in the IT budget through maintenance, power, and other related costs. However, these costs are only the additional annual costs associated with the solution and are not related to the solution’s Total Cost of Ownership.
Conservancy Issues
In the IT Governance process, there are several issues that need to be factored into the on-going service delivery process: Fiscal, Demand, Strategic, Lifecycle, and Risk. All areas of concern require input from the business side, but likewise they also need input from the IT side. RG Solutions® provides this information in a form that is useful for the IT Governors (both business and IT).
Fiscal: For Fiscal information, RG Solutions® provides “quota” information that is similar to budget information. A “quota” is nothing more than a projected usage level that is much like a forecasted budget line item. Like a budgeted item, the quota has an actual value and a “variance” from the quota. Like budgets, positive variances are good and negative ones are bad. For metered systems, the difference between quota and actual forms the “surplus” or savings.
Demand: It is important to understand the present and future demand requirements in terms of the current processing. The two key values to this type of information are volume and cost. From these two values any comparison can be made as well as “back of the envelope” forecasts.
Strategic: The strategic focus is generally concerned with new initiatives within the business and their impact on the current systems. These initiatives can be based on an expansion of a current solution or the implementation of new solution. In either case, the demand information can be supplemented with additional RG Solutions® information regarding future requirements. Once complete, the results can be overlaid on the existing equipment to see if any change in equipment is needed.
Generally this process is not routinely reported on, but rather initiated by the IT Governors in order to understand the cost and consequence of actual and/or possible strategic decisions. RG Solutions® provides the answer to the question of “what will it cost”.
Lifecycle: The lifecycle focus is like the strategic focus, and needs only be done on a review basis. The purpose of the review is to evaluate where a system is within its lifecycle expectation. As that lifecycle nears its end-of-life, it becomes necessary to supplement, replace, or repurpose the system. RG Solutions® has a Resource Catalog that maintains lifecycle information that easily allows for the evaluation of system lifecycles.
Risk: The final focus area is like the previous two in that it only needs to be reviewed on a regular basis. One of the main IT risks of any business is not having a good fall-back position in the case of equipment failure. Generally speaking, all IT groups have (or should have) a fall-back plan ready to go in the event of a processing emergency. The main shortcoming of any such plan is falling-back to a system that cannot handle the required processing.
In order to keep any fall-back plan current, it is necessary to periodically evaluate source processing and how it relates to the target fall-back system. These are not always a one-to-one relationship, and even slight changes in service demand on a source system can result in severe consequences during a fail back scenario. Due diligence is required, and RG Solutions® provides the information to make the analysis quick, easy, and correct.
Business Benefits
RG Solutions® provides the opportunity for business management to have a more active role in IT decisions. Post implementation decisions are usually highly technical, and in the past these decisions were made by individuals who did not communicate well with business management. It was a highly complex process and the results were not structured for a business management mindset. RG Solutions® reduces the technical complexity and injects cost information for more business relevance. The following are just some of the benefits that can be realized using RG Solutions®:
- Business costs and Service Delivery data are integrated for a true understanding of Service Delivery.
- Business management can actively understand and participate in routine strategic and lifecycle related IT decisions.
- Risk assessment of fall-back equipment can be routinely monitored for confident contingency plans.
- Full business management participation in the IT Governance process for all pertinent IT activities.
