White Paper. Veritas Configuration Manager by Symantec. Removing the Risks of Change Management and Impact to Application Availability
|
|
- Barnard Whitehead
- 6 years ago
- Views:
Transcription
1 White Paper Veritas Configuration Manager by Symantec Removing the Risks of Change Management and Impact to Application Availability By Brian Babineau Analyst Intelligent Information Management February 2007
2 Table of Contents Table of Contents... 1 Introduction... 2 Change Management Software: The Need for Scale, Automation and Risk Mitigation... 3 Evolution of Change Management Solutions... 3 Automating Change Management... 3 Improving Application Availability with an Investment in Enterprise Change Management Solutions... 4 Expediting Change Management with Veritas Configuration Manager... 6 Veritas Configuration Manager Overiew... 6 Veritas Configuration Improves Application Availability for Customers... 7 A Key Component of Server Management... 7 Conclusion... 8 Page 1
3 Introduction There are several risks IT departments face in order to keep applications and systems online and available. Natural disasters, external security threats such as hackers, internal employees who either mistakenly or maliciously alter configurations and general hardware or software upgrades that do not work as advertised all pose some threat to IT systems, although some are more manageable than others. However, all of these examples, along with other risks, have one thing in common: all cause some level of change to IT systems and software. As infrastructure changes become more frequent, the level of risk to system and application availability also increases, which is driving the need for IT to better manage change and control any adverse impact. One challenge IT departments face involves understanding the current IT system and application configurations. This includes monitoring any changes to these configurations and identifying who made the alterations. Any lack of infrastructure visibility elongates problem resolution when changes are made as IT cannot quickly trace what specific modification was made or identify how to revert back to the previous configuration. Worse, IT may not be able to determine the impact of a configuration change on business applications because they have little insight into when the alteration occurred, who did it, or what applications are dependent on specific systems. When IT upgrades systems, database and application software, the changes are usually made during planned downtime where business applications are taken offline, thereby mitigating the risk that the modifications could cause significant business disruption. Planned downtime occurs because IT cannot accurately model test configurations in line with production environments, making it difficult to determine the potential effect of the modifications. Once completed, validating configuration changes in production environments and ensuring consistency with the test environment also requires additional time and effort. Lastly, without configuration monitoring, IT may make changes to production environments but fail to apply these upgrades to the disaster recovery systems. If a disaster occurs, application failover and other business continuity plans may not work properly. In order to gain control and provide a baseline inventory of IT systems and software, organizations began maintaining spreadsheets of all servers, operating system versions, software licenses and other assets. This concept of tracking IT assets proved that it could help manage expenses and facilitate some change management processes, but it required significant time and resources to maintain these documents. Many solution providers introduced Configuration Management Database (CMDB) software that provided a central repository where configuration information could be collected and stored. With all the information relating to servers, operating systems and other parts of an application infrastructure centralized, IT is able to track its assets and gain a baseline understanding of what systems and software are deployed. However, IT needs solutions that can automate the change management process by populating the CMDB, tracking configuration changes, identifying who made the changes, and reporting anomalies between existing configurations and pre-determined standard configurations. Veritas Configuration Manager by Symantec (VCM), an example of a next generation change management solution, incorporates several features that assist customers by automatically collecting information on application and system infrastructure dependencies, tracking changes made to the infrastructure, and notifying the appropriate individuals when certain elements do not comply with internal standards. As a result of the innovations made in configuration tracking and change management solutions, organizations can reduce the potential risks caused by modifications while improving application availability during alterations. Page 2
4 Change Management Software: The Need for Scale, Automation and Risk Mitigation Evolution of Change Management Solutions During the later part of the twentieth century, IT departments invested millions of dollars and resources in bringing new applications, often electronic commerce or other online initiatives, online. As more and more hardware and software solutions were deployed, IT hired business analysts to maintain large spreadsheets that kept an inventory of systems, software versions, maintenance plans and even system serial numbers and software license keys. These spreadsheets evolved into more than just IT asset management documents. Eventually, IT attempted to map all related systems and software that supported a particular group. Imagine a workbook where one spreadsheet was the master inventory list and other sheets were used to track assets grouped by application, location or business unit. This rudimentary IT inventory process certainly helped monitor infrastructure elements and slightly improved configuration change management operations during upgrades and other modifications as there was one place to observe which systems were connected to certain applications. Unfortunately, the spreadsheets required constant updating and any input errors could prove costly in the future. Every time a change was made, IT had to update the workbook and, of course, there were always multiple copies of the spreadsheets in various locations, making it nearly impossible to know which file represented the latest version. To centralize and automate configuration management as well as track IT asset inventory, several information management software providers developed CMDB solutions. These solutions provide a centralized location where configuration information can be maintained. A CMDB repository resolves the issue of having multiple versions of spreadsheets that contain configuration data as IT now has one central location to update changes. IT can also design processes and roles around a CMDB solution, defining who has responsibility for upkeep and how often updates are made to the repository. CMDB technology provided IT with a better understanding of configurations and an ability to maintain configuration information more easily than previous methods. Despite the evolution of centralized configuration information, the risks associated with ongoing changes to IT infrastructure still exist. When configuration changes are unintentionally made and disrupt application availability, it may take several hours to identify which systems or software were altered. Currently, many change management processes are supported by manual tasks where configuration information is manually gathered, and in some cases entered into a CMDB, making it difficult to track any changes. System logs are used to collect information on who had access to systems when IT is attempting to identify who made hardware or software modifications. Logs are also screened to troubleshoot what changes were made and the impact of these changes. The problem is that IT may need to correlate log files from applications, databases and middleware in the hopes of determining what happened. Lengthy problem identification and resolution may keep critical business applications down for extended periods of time. During changes such as upgrades, IT can avoid any downtime by understanding what applications will be impacted, providing IT with the appropriate insight to plan ahead and minimize the disruption caused by the changes. The risk to application availability associated with change created a need for automated, change management software that went beyond centralizing configuration data. Automating Change Management Change management software can help IT automate the collection, analysis, and reporting of configuration information as well as track attributes associated with configuration changes. Information such as which user makes configuration modifications, what applications are impacted and when certain changes are made can help IT plan for upgrades and mitigate application downtime resulting from unauthorized and accidental alterations. Page 3
5 Customers should not have to manually enter and maintain configuration information a task that is nearly impossible in many large IT shops due to the number of devices and the high pace of change that occurs in these systems. Change management software can automatically discover several infrastructure elements and associated attributes including server memory, operating system level, file systems, IP addresses, application versions and actively running application services. This insight is needed to make well-thoughtout configuration changes, keeping applications online and available to business users. Enterprises run several thousand servers, support many operating systems and create complex, multitiered application configurations. Each of these elements contains valuable information that change management software can analyze to provide unique insight into configuration dependencies. For example, a three tier web application may be supported by a specific version of middleware. Any changes or recommended upgrades to the middleware tier could impact application availability. A dependency map is critical for IT to understand what infrastructure elements support certain applications that run the business. As configurations are modified, change management software saves the original configuration and tracks all changes in real-time. Enterprise organizations are constantly modifying system configurations as operating system patches are issued, new servers are deployed and applications are upgraded. By capturing changes in real-time, IT staff can be notified that a modification has been made, giving them a chance to minimize the potential disruption and confusion often caused when a system is altered and no one knows what was done, who did it or when the change was made. Also, an enterprise change management solution should permit IT to establish standard configuration parameters and alert IT when certain infrastructure elements fail to meet the predetermined requirements. For example, IT may want all servers supporting the Customer Relationship Management application to run a certain level of an operating system to prevent against security vulnerabilities. Due to application performance concerns, IT may add a new server to balance workload across the CRM application, but the new server does not have the appropriate operating system patch installed on it. As soon as the server is added and compared against the standard configuration requirements, IT can be notified and immediately patch the new server to bring it inline with corporate standards. This capability ensures that there is no risk to the supporting elements of the critical business applications and is not feasible if IT cannot establish standard configurations for certain elements within an application group. The risk posed by configuration changes led to the evolution of solutions from spreadsheets to automated change management software. Along the way, IT has been able to eliminate manual processes that kept applications offline as a result of modifications disrupting supporting systems. With next generation change management software, IT is able to resolve problems associated with configuration changes, translating to increased application availability. Improving Application Availability with an Investment in Enterprise Change Management Solutions There are several benefits for enterprises interested in leveraging the information collected, analyzed and reported on by change management software. Many organizations deploy systems and servers at a second location for disaster recovery purposes. In some cases, these systems are not upgraded in line with those located in the primary data center. IT may make changes to the primary application environment, but fail to perpetuate the modifications to the disaster recovery site. If for some reason there is a disruption to the primary application infrastructure and the infrastructure is designed to fail over to the remote location, the organization runs the risk that the application may not be compatible with the secondary systems. The remote system s configuration may not support the latest version of the application or there could be other compatibility issues that may prevent the failover from working properly. Page 4
6 Organizations that implement disaster recovery solutions should monitor and update remote system configurations as well as test failover operability periodically to ensure that the entire process and systems work as the business expects applications to be available given the costs associated with any technology investment. Change management solutions also enable IT to ensure that development deployments are exactly the same as production environments. In situations that are similar to the aforementioned disaster recovery discussion, it is easy to believe that testing is being performed on the latest application or system upgrades of the same configuration that is currently used in production. Problems may arise when the upgrade or other changes are applied to the production environment and do not work as anticipated because the testing occurred against a different configuration. As a result, the changes may lead to extended periods of application downtime beyond what is already planned. In some cases, IT plans for some downtime, but may not be able to plan for the impact of changes that were inaccurately tested against a configuration that is not in synch with the production environment. The need for planned downtime due to changes made to elements of the application infrastructure can be mitigated. For example, a customer operating a three tier application with web, middleware, and database servers may want to switch middleware servers from a UNIX based operating system to a version of Linux in order to save costs. Before making the change, IT can look at change management software reports to see all of servers that make up the three tier application infrastructure, create a similar test environment to determine if the new Linux servers can support the middleware software and then make the modification to the production environment. If for some reason the change does not work, IT can examine the previous configuration and reconnect the old middleware servers just as they were before the alteration. With change management software, IT can double check test environments ensuring configurations align with those deployed in production. As a result, modifications, upgrades and other development activities can be fully checked and scrutinized prior to production deployment. Once completed, change management software can also be used to validate that the modifications were implemented into production as authorized. This use-case for change management software can prevent significant disruption to applications during normal upgrades and other alterations to production systems, and speed the acceptance of changes into production. Organizations may choose to utilize change management software to facilitate compliance with information privacy regulations. When changes to certain systems are made, IT can easily determine if the alterations may increase system vulnerability, thereby increasing the risk of a security breach. In addition, as discussed above, an organization may establish internal standard configurations to assist with compliance. By developing audit trail reports on historical changes and identifying who performed the modifications, organizations can constantly monitor any events that lead to a security breach. Organizations can develop standard configurations and constantly compare existing configurations against them. Reports can be generated to highlight periods when certain configurations are out of compliance with the standard, allowing IT to take action quickly. Complying with internally developed standards can also enable IT to monitor and maintain application service levels, a growing best practice for several organizations that utilize ITIL to help improve IT service management efficiencies. The biggest benefit of maintaining up-to-date development environments is mitigating the impact of change on critical business applications and the associated supporting infrastructure in order to keep applications online and available to business users. Change management software can help IT plan for upcoming modifications. However, in some cases, IT may not be aware of changes that occur. Employees may accidentally modify configuration files within applications or middleware software, server operating system patches may be deployed without testing or there could be hackers trying to access systems and alter permissions in an attempt to steal information. Whatever the case may be, whether it is accidental or intentional, if IT does not know change is coming, the impact to applications can range from minor disruption to extensive downtime. Change management software, because it monitors all changes in realtime, can generate alerts when any modifications are made. IT can compare the new configurations with Page 5
7 previous ones, quickly identifying what was altered and determining which applications may be impacted. IT can also easily discover who made the changes, allowing them to judge whether they were intentional or accidental. Most importantly, IT can respond swiftly, resolving any problems that may arise. Expediting problem resolution due to planned or unplanned changes keeps applications available as the impact and issues resulting from the change are minimized. Expediting Change Management with Veritas Configuration Manager Veritas Configuration Manager Overiew As organizations look to benefit from change management software, the feature set and scalability of Veritas Configuration Manager (VCM) can help customers automate change management processes and control the impact of configuration changes on applications. There are several features that allow VCM to scale across an enterprise. First, VCM provides a central location to aggregate information from up to 15,000 servers. When collecting information, VCM identifies commercial and custom applications and then gathers data about an application, including the version and active processes. From the physical server, VCM collects the location, operation system, operating system version and patch level, file system, memory, CPU profile and network connectivity. All of this information can be automatically detected and collected from applications, middleware, web, database servers and associated software no manual discovery or data input is required. Once all of the information is gathered and analyzed, VCM dynamically creates dependency maps between running applications and supporting hardware and software. Figure One depicts a screenshot of the dependency mapping within VCM. Customers can group servers by application, business unit, or data center location depending on how service levels are measured as well as how infrastructure elements are deployed. This feature allows IT to track, audit and report on all configurations and configuration changes by specific group, providing application owners with information regarding the infrastructure elements that are most meaningful to them.. Figure One: A Screen Capture from VCM s Dependency Mapping Capability Page 6
8 Customers can establish gold configurations and compare what exists against the standard. By making these comparisons, IT can constantly measure configurations to ensure consistency across the environment and drive compliance with corporate and regulatory standards. As changes are made to servers, software and other application infrastructure elements, VCM tracks all the changes that are made, when they are made, and who made them - all in real-time. IT can view a history of configurations in case a problem occurs and necessitates a referral to a historical deployment to resolve the issue. Alternative technologies capture changes during periodic scanning of the IT infrastructure elements, which can help alert IT that certain modifications were made. However, if disruptive or noncompliant changes are made outside of the periodic scanning, IT will only know after the alternative product s next scheduled scan. Veritas Configuration Improves Application Availability for Customers Many IT departments spend significant amounts of time trying to diagnose a problem after an upgrade or system configuration change, and in some cases, applications are offline during these exercises. VCM can help identify all changes made to a configuration, which could be the potential source of the problem, and then provide IT with the last known good configuration so the changes can quickly be rolled back or updated. Faster problem resolution, such as reverting back to working configurations, mitigates the risk of conducting large scale changes. VCM customers can utilize the solution to compare existing configurations with historical changes in order to quickly identify and resolve problems, reducing the risk that applications are unavailable for several hours or worse, days. IT can also use VCM to monitor development and disaster recovery implementations, helping IT complete planned changes as quickly as possible and mitigating the impact of unplanned disruptions to configurations. By tracking all changes in real-time, VCM can generate alerts and reports if a configuration fails to comply with a gold standard. With the Datasync API, VCM can propagate configuration information and relationships to a higher-level IT framework system such as HP OpenView and IBM Tivoli. Real-time notification of changes made to an application infrastructure can prevent application downtime as IT is immediately made aware of a configuration infraction when compared to the gold standard. In some cases, reporting capabilities can help IT identify particular configuration changes that increase susceptibility to system security breaches as well as identify internal employees that may be maliciously attempting to hack into applications. In addition to faster problem resolution, VCM customers can utilize the solution to manage server and software inventory. The benefits of knowing exactly how many servers are running specific software manifests themselves in not overpaying for licenses and maintenance renewals. The comprehensive coverage of VCM means that IT does not need multiple solutions to manage an inventory of applications, server hardware, operating systems, database software and other infrastructure elements. As customers become more familiar with VCM, they can utilize more of the configuration and change management features to garner additional benefits such as improving application availability during upgrades or disaster recovery planning that go beyond IT inventory control. A Key Component of Server Management Change management is one challenge that IT departments must control and VCM facilitates the automation of several steps of the configuration change management process. With VCM, IT can develop standard configurations and constantly monitor production, development and disaster recovery environments, ensuring consistency. If certain configurations fail to meet the standard, IT may need to deploy operating system patches, upgrade application software, or introduce high availability deployments such as clustering to help keep applications online and available. With the appropriate solution, IT can automate patch deployments and utilize VCM to test upgrades and software updates in a development environment that is in synch with production. Page 7
9 Clustered servers for high availability may be part of a standard configuration for running mission critical applications and can also be tracked by VCM. Inconsistencies in clustered nodes can prevent successful failover from occurring, but VCM can enable notification of changes to these mission critical environments, helping to guarantee the performance of high availability clustered solutions. After configurations are up to date, IT may want to optimize server resources by moving applications to better performing hardware. The movement of applications can also assist in business continuity planning as any server failure can be mitigated if an application can be automatically moved to another device with the appropriate resources. Customers that standardize, optimize and increase availability during normal standard server management activities can benefit from VCM as well as other solutions within the Veritas Server Foundation family. VCM delivers the benefits of tracking configurations, which is extremely important and can help IT make decisions when altering configurations with patches and other updates. In addition, VCM can assist in the locating of servers that may not be implemented with the appropriate failover software. To mitigate risk of application downtime caused by hardware failure, IT can deploy application resource optimization and clustering software, both of which are part of the Veritas Server Foundation family. Customers can work with one vendor to automate server management while keeping applications available as modifications are made. Conclusion Whether it is maintaining a disaster recovery site, deploying new servers to increase application performance or trying to complete database software upgrades, changes in the data center increase the risk of application downtime and pose unique challenges for IT. As configuration changes are planned, it is necessary to identify what applications will be impacted, determine if the new configuration complies with internal security policies, and most importantly, try to mitigate the impact to applications caused by the modifications. To mitigate this risk to IT systems and business applications, it is key that the proper staff members have access to the appropriate configuration information in order to properly test upgrades and patch updates, and to prepare for changes. In some cases, IT simply cannot plan for configuration changes. Employees may make alterations to certain software or upgrade an operating system without notifying data center managers and other IT administrative staff. When unplanned changes are made, IT goes into fire drill mode and attempts to identify what happened and how to fix it. Without the appropriate insight, IT cannot determine what applications may be impacted or the potential risks associated with certain modifications. As configuration change management challenges worsen, innovations in software solutions to automate configuration information collection and analysis were introduced. Change management software enables IT to understand what they have, how it is configured, when changes are made to these configurations and who made the changes. By tracking configuration changes in real-time, IT can easily determine what applications may be impacted by certain alterations, and swiftly resolve any issues that might result from the modifications. Change management software also allows IT to maintain development and disaster recovery deployments that are consistent with production, further mitigating the risk of application downtime caused by configuration changes. Symantec s Veritas Configuration Manager, a change management software solution, scales to support thousands of application, middleware, database and web servers. By collecting and tracking configuration information in real-time, VCM provides customers with the ability to test upgrades within a development configuration that is the same as production. VCM s dependency mapping features allow IT to ascertain what applications will be impacted by planned or unexpected configuration changes. Real-time configuration tracking ensures that IT is immediately aware of any changes that are made and if those Page 8
10 changes pose risk to application availability, IT can identify the modification as well as who made it and then begin problem resolution. While many organizations are not aware of changes made to application infrastructure because of the manual processes associated with tracking configuration data, VCM customers, on the other hand, can begin to improve other aspects of server management such as optimizing performance or increasing system availability. All of the above examples may require some change, but with VCM, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of application downtime when making these improvements. All trademark names are property of their respective companies. Information contained in this publication has been obtained by sources The (ESG) considers to be reliable but is not warranted by ESG. This publication may contain opinions of ESG, which are subject to change from time to time. This publication is copyrighted by The, Inc. and is intended only for use by Subscribers or by persons who have purchased it directly from ESG. Any reproduction or redistribution of this publication, in whole or in part, whether in hard-copy format, electronically, or otherwise to persons not authorized to receive it, without the express consent of the, Inc., is in violation of U.S. copyright law and will be subject to an action for civil damages and, if applicable, criminal prosecution. Should you have any questions, please contact ESG Client Relations at (508) Page 9
The Economic Benefits of Puppet Enterprise
Enterprise Strategy Group Getting to the bigger truth. ESG Economic Value Validation The Economic Benefits of Puppet Enterprise Cost- effectively automating the delivery, operation, and security of an
More informationIBM Tivoli Endpoint Manager for Software Use Analysis
IBM Endpoint Manager for Software Use Analysis Rapid, granular inventory insights and always-on asset management enhance license compliance Highlights Identify licensed and unlicensed software with drill-down
More informationImplementing ITIL Best Practices
REMEDY WHITE PAPER Implementing ITIL Best Practices Mapping ITIL to Remedy Applications WHITE PAPER Table of Contents Introduction.................................................................... 1
More informationA technical discussion of performance and availability December IBM Tivoli Monitoring solutions for performance and availability
December 2002 IBM Tivoli Monitoring solutions for performance and availability 2 Contents 2 Performance and availability monitoring 3 Tivoli Monitoring software 4 Resource models 6 Built-in intelligence
More informationBMC - Business Service Management Platform
1 Value proposition BMC - Business Service Management Platform Service Stability and Process Control Self Service. Service Desk. Problem Resolution. Asset Management. Change and Release. Identity Management.
More informationTitle: HP OpenView Configuration Management Overview Session #: 87 Speaker: Loic Avenel Company: HP
Title: HP OpenView Configuration Management Overview Session #: 87 Speaker: Loic Avenel Company: HP What we will cover in this session What is the HP OpenView configuration management solution for enterprises?
More informationActionable Information Instantly Delivered
ALARMPOINT SOLUTIONS BRIEF Actionable Information Instantly Delivered Building on the ITIL FOundation Increasing Application Availability Service Delivery - Optimizing Operations Alarm utilizes CMDB asset
More informationCarahsoft End-User Computing Solutions Services
Carahsoft End-User Computing Solutions Services Service Description Horizon View Managed Services Gold Package Managed Services Packages Options # of Desktops to be Managed Desktop Type Duration of Services
More informationIBM Tivoli Endpoint Manager for Lifecycle Management
IBM Endpoint Manager for Lifecycle Management A single-agent, single-console approach for endpoint management across the enterprise Highlights Manage hundreds of thousands of endpoints regardless of location,
More informationSapphireIMS 4.0 ITAM Suite Feature Specification
SapphireIMS 4.0 ITAM Suite Feature Specification Overview Organizations are realizing significant cost savings and improved planning capabilities through integration of the entire asset lifecycle. Strong
More informationChange Management Methodology
Change Management Methodology Salesforce, Summer 15 @salesforcedocs Last updated: June 22, 2015 Copyright 2000 2015 salesforce.com, inc. All rights reserved. Salesforce is a registered trademark of salesforce.com,
More informationSOLUTION BRIEF EU GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION COMPLIANCE WITH RSA ARCHER
EU GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION COMPLIANCE WITH RSA ARCHER ARRIVAL OF GDPR IN 2018 The European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which takes effect in 2018, will bring changes
More informationVULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT BUYER S GUIDE
VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT BUYER S GUIDE VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT BUYER S GUIDE 01 Introduction 2 02 Key Components 3 03 Other Considerations 10 About Rapid7 11 01 INTRODUCTION Exploiting weaknesses in browsers,
More informationHP Service Manager. Software Version: 9.40 For the supported Windows and Unix operating systems. Processes and Best Practices Guide (Classic Mode)
HP Service Manager Software Version: 9.40 For the supported Windows and Unix operating systems Processes and Best Practices Guide (Classic Mode) Document Release Date: January 2015 Software Release Date:
More informationSOLUTION BRIEF EU GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION COMPLIANCE WITH RSA ARCHER
EU GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION COMPLIANCE WITH RSA ARCHER ARRIVAL OF GDPR IN 2018 The European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that takes effect in 2018 will bring changes for
More informationIntegrated Service Management
Integrated Service Management for Power servers As the world gets smarter, demands on the infrastructure will grow Smart traffic systems Smart Intelligent food oil field technologies systems Smart water
More informationData Classification Why, When and How
Data Classification Why, When and How Primary Author: Steve Duplessie, Senior Analyst, Secondary Author: Heidi Biggar, Analyst, October 2005 Executive Summary Executive Summary Data classification has
More information2 ebook Increase Service Visibility
Increase Service Visibility Establish a single system of record for IT with better visibility into business-critical services and the systems that power them Start You get the call. A critical business
More informationCisco s Digital Transformation Supply Chain for the Digital Age
Cisco s Digital Transformation Supply Chain for the Digital Age The Cisco Supply Chain: Global, Complex, and Diverse Cisco s global supply chain extends across 13 countries and more than 25 locations.
More informationCisco Enterprise Agreement: Meeting the Challenges of Shifting Business Trends
Enterprise Strategy Group Getting to the bigger truth. White Paper Cisco Enterprise Agreement: Meeting the Challenges of Shifting Business Trends How Product and Service Purchasing Must Evolve to Meet
More informationIBM QRadar SIEM. Detect threats with IBM QRadar Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Highlights
IBM Security Data Sheet IBM QRadar SIEM Detect threats with IBM QRadar Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Highlights Use IBM QRadar Security Information and Event Management, powered by the
More informationIBM Tivoli OMEGAMON XE for. WebSphere Business Integration. Optimize management of your messaging infrastructure. Highlights
Optimize management of your messaging infrastructure IBM Tivoli OMEGAMON XE for Highlights Simplify management with a single tool for monitoring IBM WebSphere MQ, IBM WebSphere Business Integration Message
More informationBest Practice Configuration Management Database (CMDB) Migration
Best Practice Configuration Management Database (CMDB) Migration Migrating to or standing-up a new Configuration Management Database (CMDB) provides the perfect opportunity to federate the valuable asset/configuration
More informationArticle from: CompAct. April 2013 Issue No. 47
Article from: CompAct April 2013 Issue No. 47 Overview of Programmatic Framework and Key Considerations Key elements Description Items to consider Definition and identification of EUCs The statement that
More informationCapacity Management from the ground up
Capacity Management from the ground up Starting as a team of one Starting a capacity management function has a beginning, and that can be starting from scratch with one person. Determining where to start
More informationRelease & Deployment Management PinkVERIFY
RDM-11-G-001 General Criteria Does the tool use ITIL 2011 Edition process terms and align to ITIL 2011 Edition workflows and process integrations? RDM-11-G-002 Does the tool have security controls in place
More informationOracle Linux Management with Oracle Enterprise Manager 13c Cloud Control O R A C L E W H I T E P A P E R M A R C H
Oracle Linux Management with Oracle Enterprise Manager 13c Cloud Control O R A C L E W H I T E P A P E R M A R C H 2 0 1 7 Introduction 2 Oracle Enterprise Manager 13c overview 2 Managing Oracle Linux
More informationThe Symantec Approach to Software Asset Management
SOLUTION BRIEF The Symantec Approach to Software Asset Management Symantec has a unified approach to software asset management consisting of 5 key phases: discover, record, reconcile, deliver and enforce.
More informationSecurity Monitoring Service Description
Security Monitoring Service Description Contents Section 1: UnderdefenseSOC Security Monitoring Service Overview 3 Section 2: Key Components of the Service 4 Section 3: Onboarding Process 5 Section 4:
More informationOracle Systems Optimization Support
Oracle Systems Optimization Support Oracle Systems Optimization Support offerings provide customers with welldefined packaged services. Let Oracle Advanced Customer Support help you make the most of your
More informationReducing EMR and Clinical System Downtime
Reducing EMR and Clinical System Downtime An Everbridge White Paper Introduction The majority of hospitals and large physician practices have implemented electronic medical records (EMRs) along with other
More informationIBM QRadar on Cloud. The amount payable for the IBM SaaS is specified in a Transaction Document.
IBM Terms of Use SaaS Specific Offering Terms IBM QRadar on Cloud The Terms of Use ( ToU ) is composed of this IBM Terms of Use - SaaS Specific Offering Terms ( SaaS Specific Offering Terms ) and a document
More informationWhy You Should Take a Holistic Approach
Why You Should Take a Holistic Approach to ITIL and Service Support best practices WHITE PAPER Table of Contents Executive Summary...1 Moving to a Holistic Service Support Approach...2 Optimize and Integrate
More informationCCV s self-service payment solutions drive PCI-DSS-compliant security
CCV s self-service payment solutions drive PCI-DSS-compliant security White Paper July 2016 1. Introduction This white Paper discusses the basic differences between the current PCI-DSS and the P2PE rules
More informationQuantum Artico Active Archive Appliance
Enterprise Strategy Group Getting to the bigger truth. ESG Lab Validation Quantum Artico Active Archive Appliance Simple Tiered Archive Storage for Complex Workflows By Tony Palmer, Senior ESG Lab Analyst
More informationMoving data successfully: Take 10 for a smooth transition to new storage
EXECUTIVE WHITE PAPER Moving data successfully: Take 10 for a smooth transition to new storage A lot can transpire between the time you take delivery of your new storage and the day it s fully integrated
More informationWHITE PAPER. BPM for Structural Integrity Management in Oil and Gas Industry. Abstract
WHITE PAPER BPM for Structural Integrity Management in Oil and Gas Industry Saurangshu Chakrabarty Abstract Structural Integrity Management (SIM) is an ongoing lifecycle process for ensuring the continued
More informationAchieve greater efficiency in asset management by managing all your asset types on a single platform.
Asset solutions To support your business objectives Achieve greater efficiency in asset by managing all your asset types on a single platform. Obtain an entirely new level of asset awareness Every company
More informationMoving to the cloud: A guide to cloud business management technology
Moving to the cloud: A guide to cloud business management technology 2 Contents This guide is for companies considering moving to a cloud business management system or cloud ERP. Using researched evidence,
More informationAn Overview of the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework
An Overview of the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework Version 2 February 2017 2017, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Notices This document is provided for informational purposes
More informationVeritas Velocity Brings Copy Data Management to NetBackup Environments
Enterprise Strategy Group Getting to the bigger truth. SOLUTION SHOWCASE Veritas Velocity Brings Copy Data Management to NetBackup Environments Date: January 2017 Authors: Jason Buffington, Principal Analyst;
More informationThis topic focuses on how to prepare a customer for support, and how to use the SAP support processes to solve your customer s problems.
This topic focuses on how to prepare a customer for support, and how to use the SAP support processes to solve your customer s problems. 1 On completion of this topic, you will be able to: Explain the
More informationThe Appliance Based Approach for IT Infrastructure Management
The Appliance Based Approach for IT Infrastructure Management This white paper examines the key issues faced by IT managers in managing the IT infrastructure of their organizations. A new solution using
More informationTOP 6 SECURITY USE CASES
Solution Brief: Top 6 Security Use Cases for Automated Asset Inventory page 1 SOLUTION BRIEF TOP 6 SECURITY USE CASES for Automated Asset Inventory Solution Brief: Top 6 Security Use Cases for Automated
More informationThe Business Benefits of Managed IT Services
The Business Benefits of Managed IT Services WHAT ARE MANAGED IT SERVICES? WE DEFINE IT AS REMOTE MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT OF IT SYSTEMS AND DEVICES BY A THIRD-PARTY CONTRACTOR. THE MANAGED SERVICE PROVIDER
More informationIBM Tivoli Monitoring
Monitor and manage critical resources and metrics across disparate platforms from a single console IBM Tivoli Monitoring Highlights Proactively monitor critical components Help reduce total IT operational
More informationTechnology company turns big data into insight
Technology company turns big data into insight Statistica customers using SupportAssist benefit from a world-class analytics platform that consolidates, manipulates and analyzes streams of data to fix
More informationVeritas 360 Data Management Suite. Accelerating Digital Transformation Through Multi-Cloud Data Management.
Veritas 360 Data Management Suite. Accelerating Digital Transformation Through Multi-Cloud Data Management. When digital transformation is done right, it s like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly,
More informationService Management for the Mobile Mainframe Delivered via Cloud Lunch and Learn
Service Management for the Mobile Mainframe Delivered via Cloud Lunch and Learn Mike Baskey, DE, Cloud and Smarter Infrastructure IBM August 15, 2013 Session 14345 Mainframe applications increasingly used
More informationinvest in leveraging mobility, not in managing it Solution Brief Mobility Lifecycle Management
MOTOROLA MOBILITY LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT invest in leveraging mobility, not in managing it If you have any doubt about the impact of mobility on your future, consider this: In a recent Broadsoft survey of
More informationConsiderations when Choosing a Managed IT Services Provider. ebook
Considerations when Choosing a Managed IT Services Provider ebook Contents Considering Managed Services?...3 Consideration 1: Depth...4 Consideration 2: Proactive...5 Consideration 3: Knowledge & Processes...6
More informationThe Co- operative Food enhances PCI DSS compliance
The Co- operative Food enhances PCI DSS compliance Boosting endpoint security with more effective patch management Overview The need The Co-operative Food wanted to develop a more unified approach to patch
More informationDesign, Install and Manage System Center 2012 Operations Manager
Design, Install and Manage System Center 2012 Operations Manager Course 55004-55006 5 Days Instructor-led, Hands-on Introduction This five-day instructor-led course combines the content found in two System
More informationBusiness Driven Automation: An Introduction to IT Process and Runbook Automation. AJ Dennis
Business Driven Automation: An Introduction to IT Process and Runbook Automation AJ Dennis Terms of This Presentation This presentation was based on current information and resource allocations as of October
More informationMoving Beyond Information Life Cycle Management
WHITE PAPER Moving Beyond Information Life Cycle Stephen Widen Product Marketing Manager June 2004 Executive Summary Information life cycle management (ILM) is one of the most widely discussed initiatives
More informationGuardian Support for AMS Suite
Guardian Support Services Data Sheet July 2012 Guardian Support for AMS Suite An innovative service for achieving peak availability, sustainability and performance of your AMS Suite system. Guardian Support
More informationIT Management Maturity. Phase 3: Moving from Proactive to Aligned
IT Management Maturity Phase 3: Moving from Proactive to Aligned IT Management Maturity Model for Mid-sized Enterprises: Proactive to Aligned To help IT leaders in mid-sized enterprises advance their IT
More informationFrom configuration management database (CMDB) to configuration management system (CMS)
From configuration management database (CMDB) to configuration management system (CMS) Utilizing an integrated CMDB to enable service asset and configuration management Table of contents Introduction....3
More informationAdvanced Support for Server Infrastructure Refresh
Advanced Support for Server Infrastructure Refresh Transitioning to new server technology can deliver massive performance and availability improvements. However concerns about the migration process and
More informationBusiness Risk Intelligence
Business Risk Intelligence Bringing business focus to information risk It s a challenge maintaining a strong security and risk posture. CISOs need to constantly assess new threats that are complex and
More informationNetwork maintenance evolution and best practices for NFV assurance October 2016
Network maintenance evolution and best practices for NFV assurance October 2016 TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS RESEARCH, INC. 2 CONTENTS 3 Introduction: NFV transformation drives new network assurance strategies
More informationThe CipherTrust Cloud Key Manager for Software-as-a-service
Enterprise Strategy Group Getting to the bigger truth. Solution Showcase The CipherTrust Cloud Key Manager for Software-as-a-service Date: December 2017 Author: Doug Cahill, Senior Analyst; and Leah Matuson,
More informationExecutive Summary WHO SHOULD READ THIS PAPER?
The Business Value of Business Intelligence in SharePoint 2010 Executive Summary SharePoint 2010 is The Business Collaboration Platform for the Enterprise & the Web that enables you to connect & empower
More informationOracle Enterprise Manager 13c Cloud Control
Oracle Enterprise Manager 13c Cloud Control Oracle SOA Management Pack Enterprise Edition MANAGEMENT FOR ORACLE SOA SUITE AND ORACLE SERVICE BUS APPLICATIONS Oracle Enterprise Manager is Oracle s integrated
More informationThe CMDB: The Brain Behind IT Business Value
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP WHITE PAPER The CMDB: The Brain Behind IT Business Value By Gerry Roy, Director of Solutions Management for BMC Atrium and BMC Service Support, BMC Software TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE
More informationQuantifying the Value of Software Asset Management
1 Executive Summary Over the past few decades, employees have come to rely more and more heavily on software solutions to automate and enhance a variety of core business activities from sales order entry
More informationThe End of Legacy: An Easier, More Agile Alternative to BMC
The End of Legacy: An Easier, More Agile Alternative to BMC There is obvious value for organizations that can tightly integrate both IT Service Management (ITSM) and IT Operations Management (ITOM). Each
More informationHow Can I Better Manage My Software Assets And Mitigate The Risk Of Compliance Audits?
SOLUTION BRIEF CA SERVICE MANAGEMENT - SOFTWARE ASSET MANAGEMENT How Can I Better Manage My Software Assets And Mitigate The Risk Of Compliance Audits? SOLUTION BRIEF CA DATABASE MANAGEMENT FOR DB2 FOR
More informationCA Network Automation
PRODUCT SHEET: CA Network Automation agility made possible CA Network Automation Help reduce risk and improve IT efficiency by automating network configuration and change management. Overview Traditionally,
More informationBest practice license models in the context of the Cloud Date: 22 October 2013 Track 2: Reduce the cost of ICT and accelerating service delivery
Satish Babu Best practice license models in the context of the Cloud Date: 22 October 2013 Track 2: Reduce the cost of ICT and accelerating service delivery Contents Cloud and it s potential Trends of
More informationIBM Tivoli Workload Automation View, Control and Automate Composite Workloads
Tivoli Workload Automation View, Control and Automate Composite Workloads Mark A. Edwards Market Manager Tivoli Workload Automation Corporation Tivoli Workload Automation is used by customers to deliver
More informationManaged IT Services. Eliminating technology pains for small businesses
Eliminating technology pains for small businesses Having a complete IT department is not a viable solution for most small businesses, and very few small companies can afford to deploy even one permanent
More informationThe Next Generation of Local Government: Transforming Non-Emergency and 311 Call Center Solutions to a Complete Constituent Experience
The Next Generation of Local Government: Transforming Non-Emergency and 311 Call Center Solutions to a Complete Constituent Experience An Oracle White Paper February 2013 The Next Generation of Local Government
More informationProficy * Plant Applications. GE Intelligent Platforms. Plant Performance Analysis and Execution Software
GE Intelligent Platforms Proficy * Plant Applications Plant Performance Analysis and Execution Software As a production manager, the key to unlocking the full performance potential of your manufacturing
More informationCustomer Support Guide. Customer Support Guide
Customer Support Guide August 8, 2017 August 8, 2017 WingArc1st Inc Table of Contents Table of Contents... i WingArc Customer Support Plan... 2 Support Policies... 3 Definition of a Support Case... 3 Eligibility
More informationChoosing Between Private and Public Clouds: How to Defend Which Workload Goes Where
Choosing Between Private and Public Clouds: How to Defend Which Workload Goes Where Why are you here? We ll venture five guesses as to why you are reading this document. You want to: A. Find answers about
More informationKey Benefits of Novell ZENworks 10 Configuration Management. Enterprise Edition
Key Benefits of Novell ZENworks 10 Configuration Management Enterprise Edition ZENworks 10 Configuration Management Enterprise Edition Manage your endpoint devices: ZENworks Configuration Management supercedes
More informationUnleash the Power of Mainframe Data in the Application Economy
Unleash the Power of Mainframe Data in the Application Economy Data Drives the Application Economy Data is the most valuable asset a business has, and the most important data lives on the mainframe. This
More informationOracle Banking Enterprise Collections
Oracle Banking Enterprise Collections Oracle Banking Enterprise Collections is an enterprise class innovative solution designed to meet the complex requirements of financial institutions. It enables financial
More informationManaged IT Services. Eliminating technology pains in small businesses
Eliminating technology pains in small businesses Having a complete IT department is not a viable solution for most small businesses, and very few small companies can afford to deploy even one permanent
More informationControlling Virtual Machine Sprawl
Controlling Virtual Machine Sprawl How to better utilize your virtual infrastructure Dell Ganesh Padmanabhan THIS WHITE PAPER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, AND MAY CONTAIN TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS AND
More informationCentral Management Server (CMS) for SMA
Central Management Server (CMS) for SMA Powerful virtual machine for appliance management, resilience and reporting SonicWall Central Management Server (CMS) provides organizations, distributed enterprises
More information5 Tips for Improving Collaboration
5 Tips for Improving Collaboration Introduction 2 As a business leader, you re constantly anticipating and responding to the evolving needs of your employees. Because of that, you may be under pressure
More informationGuardian Support for AMS Device Manager
Service Data Sheet Guardian Support for AMS Device Manager Risk management Lifecycle management Incident management Subscribe to an innovative service for achieving peak reliability and performance of
More informationPredictive Analytics for Pumps, Valves and Seals Experience In Motion
Intelligent Performance Solutions Predictive Analytics for Pumps, Valves and Seals Experience In Motion Driving step change in reliability The Flowserve IPS suite of products, software and services helps
More informationDriving Greater ROI From ITSM with The Future of SAM. Martin Prendergast, CEO Concorde
Driving Greater ROI From ITSM with The Future of SAM Martin Prendergast, CEO Concorde IT Service is the understanding that IT should focus on (internal & external) customer requirements by promoting a
More informationSimplify and Secure: Managing User Identities Throughout their Lifecycles
PRODUCT FAMILY BRIEF: CA SOLUTIONS FOR IDENTITY LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT Simplify and Secure: Managing User Identities Throughout their Lifecycles CA Identity & Access Management (IAM) Identity Lifecycle Management
More informationChange Management Process
Change Management Process Version 2.0 Version Date: 1 May 2017 Revision Date: 2017-05-01 Page 1 of 11 Table of Revisions Revision Number Description of Change Date of Change Reviewed / Revised By 1.0 Formal
More informationIntroducing FUJITSU Software Systemwalker Centric Manager V15.0
Introducing FUJITSU Software Systemwalker Centric Manager V15.0 < Version 1.0 > November 2013 FUJITSU LIMITED Contents Integrated Monitoring Required in Virtualization/Server Integration Characteristics
More informationSarbanes-Oxley Compliance Kit
Kit February 2018 This product is NOT FOR RESALE or REDISTRIBUTION in any physical or electronic format. The purchaser of this template has acquired the rights to use it for a SINGLE Disaster Recovery
More informationBuilding a Foundation for Effective Service Delivery and Process Automation
Building a Foundation for Effective Service Delivery and Process Automation Agenda Service Management World Tour IBM Service Management Customer Challenges Overview of Service Delivery and Process Automation
More informationSureService Program. Benefits. Introduction. Service Data Sheet November Best-in-class system reliability. Preventive maintenance package
Service Data Sheet SureService Program Best-in-class system reliability Preventive maintenance package Confidence in your control system Time to focus on your core business SureService provides you with
More informationDatabases to Oracle Exadata: The Saga Continues for Oracle Enterprise Manager Based Patching
Databases to Oracle Exadata: The Saga Continues for Oracle Enterprise Manager Based Patching Presented with Brian Bong, Director, Database & Analytics Architecture, Walgreens Corp Dee Hicks, Manager, Database
More informationThingWorx Manufacturing Apps
ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Remotely monitor KEPServerEX for integrated factory floor visibility, proactive issue resolution, and data-driven decision-making. ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps provide real-time
More informationEMC Navisphere Management Suite
Data Sheet EMC Navisphere Management Suite Your window into the award-winning EMC CLARiiON storage platform The Big Picture Discover, monitor, and configure all CLARiiON storage systems via a secure, easy-to-use,
More informationFulfilling CDM Phase II with Identity Governance and Provisioning
SOLUTION BRIEF Fulfilling CDM Phase II with Identity Governance and Provisioning SailPoint has been selected as a trusted vendor by the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) and Continuous Monitoring
More informationAbstract. Background. ESG Lab Review. Figure 1. Top Eight Benefits of Deploying a Converged Technology Solution
Abstract This ESG Lab Review documents the benefits of leveraging Dell EMC converged infrastructure systems, the Dell EMC Release Certification Matrix (RCM), and Dell EMC Vision Intelligent Operations
More informationManaged IT Services. Eliminating technology pains in small businesses
Eliminating technology pains in small businesses Having a complete IT department is not a viable solution for most small businesses, and very few small companies can afford to deploy even one permanent
More informationWindows Server 2003 migration: Your three-phase action plan to reach the finish line
WHITE PAPER Windows Server 2003 migration: Your three-phase action plan to reach the finish line Table of contents Executive summary...2 Windows Server 2003 and the big migration question...3 If only migration
More informationAlloy Navigator Enterprise 8
PRODUCT DATASHEET Alloy Navigator Enterprise 8 ITIL based IT Asset Management and IT Service Management Solution Navigate IT easily! Alloy Navigator Enterprise is an ITIL-based IT Service Management and
More information