High anxiety: how to reduce IT risk

Transcription

1 November 2007 High anxiety: how to reduce IT risk How out-tasking IT maintenance and technical support reduces business risk, speeds time to market and cuts operational costs

2 Page 2 Contents High anxiety: how to reduce IT risk 4 Point break 5 Tightrope 7 Speed 8 Planes, trains and automobiles 9 Choose IBM Managed Support Services 10 IBM Global Technology Services How out-tasking IT maintenance and technical support reduces business risk, speeds time to market and cuts operational costs Panel items 3 Forty-eight hours 7 Reversal of fortune 8 Follow the sun 9 Scream

3 Page 3 Ultimately, it is the client company that pays the price. Maintaining the availability of IT services is now absolutely critical for most if not all enterprises. At the same time, IT departments are under constant pressure to cut costs. Enterprises relying on complex, multi-vendor IT infrastructures are generally concerned with systems availability, balancing the risks and consequential losses of systems failure against operational expenses and business efficiency. Many single-source maintenance vendors claim to offer a comprehensive service at low cost, creating an illusion of effective service by focusing on the most visible elements such as on-site engineers and intensive over-reporting. To ensure their own profitability, these vendors do not invest in the technical knowledge and resources to meet enterprise-class system availability requirements. Ultimately, it is the client company that pays the price. IBM takes a longer-term view, investing in people, resources and management disciplines focused on reducing risk and increasing total system availability. Advanced software, extensive automation and remote diagnosis and repair contribute to lower operational costs and higher business resilience. By understanding the interdependency of components in the infrastructure, applying best-practice approach and delivering a comprehensive service, IBM Managed Support Services offers the quality and value that clients should expect from an external supplier. Forty-eight hours IBM Managed Support Services measures time to fix, not time to respond. When a system is down, offering a four-hour response to a support call provides little more than comfort. The real test is time to fix: how rapidly can the problem be fully resolved, with systems online, meeting service level agreements? Before agreeing a contract with IBM, the first step is to identify systems that actually are business-critical and that merit super-fast recovery. For less crucial systems perhaps a departmental print server then lower levels of response can be contracted. IBM is able to offer specific time-to-fix service level agreements for each system included in the maintenance contract, based on the business priorities. Using maintenance triage to priorities maintenance according to business objectives, within a single contract, can save significant sums while ensuring that essential systems are fully maintained and protected.

4 Page 4 When multiplied across tens, hundreds or possibly thousands of servers, the likelihood of failure moves towards strong possibility. Point break: the possibility of failure The typical enterprise could have dozens of different technologies from dozens of vendors in its IT infrastructure. There are likely to be multiple support and maintenance contracts with a variety of external parties. While these may be able to resolve individual problems rapidly, they are unlikely to be able to address the infrastructure as a whole, nor understand the complex web of interdependent components it contains. As infrastructure grows, the costs incurred in managing suppliers, supervising the inter-relationship between maintenance contracts, and supporting systems themselves, can grow exponentially. Maintenance effort and resources must be directed towards systems according to business priorities, and in complex multi-vendor environments it can become very difficult to ensure that single points of failure and missioncritical systems are identified and supported. Failure of a single system represents a business risk, and the large number of components in a typical enterprise-scale IT landscape multiplies the potential damage. When multiplied across tens, hundreds or possibly thousands of servers, the likelihood of failure moves towards strong possibility. The business risk contained in recovering from failures is measured not only in disruption but also in the time absorbed in deploying staff on essentially unproductive work. Poorly maintained systems tend to be unreliable systems, with unplanned outages or declining performance. Reacting to errors is costly and disruptive, particularly where staff have pressing business requirements elsewhere.

5 Page 5 Optimise IT infrastructure, software and systems management, not only to deliver cost savings but also to provide greater system average uptime and achieve faster time to market across the enterprise. Tightrope Balancing risk against premium Failure of each system will represent a different business risk, ranging from insignificant to critical. Multiple vendor maintenance agreements make it extremely difficult to ensure that an accurate balance has been achieved between maintenance effort, operational expense and business risks. Technical expertise Many reseller maintenance providers include the explicit reference to escalating issues to manufacturers, which is an oblique way of passing the buck. IBM devotes significant resources into developing in-depth knowledge on all leading manufacturers, including Cisco Systems, Compaq, Dell, EMC, HP, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and NCR, to name but a few, ensuring that as many issues as possible are resolved quickly and effectively within the IBM teams. Essential responsibilities With multiple maintenance contracts, triangular it s-not-my-fault arguments arise, which absorb management time for resolution even while the business continues to suffer. A single maintenance provider agreement simplifies management and introduces clear lines of responsibility. Defining scope A number of maintenance providers achieve low headline charges by taking the risk of avoiding the capital investment costs associated with maintaining an up-to-date parts inventory. By holding the right parts with the latest firmware backed up by trained engineers and worldwide logistics, IBM Managed Support Services has access to the back-office parts and services needed to honour the front-office commitments. Time to market Personnel diverted to reactive maintenance and support tasks on failing, failed and offline systems will frequently be drawn from other teams working on projects elsewhere. Short-term, unplanned reallocation of staff can have direct impact on time to market for new business and service offerings, causing delay and disruption.

6 Page 6 Deliver operational cost efficiencies across the multi-vendor environment Why IBM Managed Support Services? IBM Managed Support Services helps to optimise IT infrastructure, software and systems management, not only to deliver cost savings but also to provide greater system average uptime and achieve faster time to market across the enterprise. The IBM model can deliver operational cost efficiencies across the multivendor environment, with clear service level agreements. IBM offers a combination of technical excellence and business-level understanding of the balance between risk and optimum operational performance. To achieve these objectives, the IBM strategy centres on advanced remote monitoring, management and resolution. As far as possible, maintenance is preventive rather than reactive, and concentrates on delivering the agreed service levels. By improving system reliability through effective maintenance and management, valuable IT personnel can be redirected from non-core, reactive incident management towards added-value business projects. With more people released for application development and proactive ventures, enterprises are able to bring new services and offerings to market more rapidly. Availability management IBM recognises the direct link between service availability and robust, mature systems management disciplines. Integrated IT systems are best considered as a complex mix of hardware, software, services and processes. As well as technical competence, effective maintenance requires a correspondingly complete understanding of the relationship between components. Third-party maintenance vendors are unlikely to have the resources to be able to match the breadth, depth and global scale offered by IBM. From business processes and systems integration right down to component microcode, IBM offers qualified specialists with ITILcertified skills and industry experience, with access to the worldwide support provided by IBM Global Technology Services. IBM Managed Support Services enables IT departments to rely on maximised system availability, allowing more time to be devoted to strategic business development, with the shared goal of enhanced business performance.

7 Page 7 IBM deploys much more efficient, effective and economical advanced remote support techniques. Speed IBM continually invests in support infrastructure with dedicated specialists and full manufacturing and technical back-up. The service is not dependent on one or two key individuals, and instead takes a team approach that is resilient, utilises best practice in workload management, and is available worldwide, 24x7. Modern self-diagnosing systems and high-speed connections mean that many maintenance issues can be identified, isolated and resolved without a physical site visit. Although the presence of on-site engineers might seem reassuring, using advanced remote support is far more efficient and ensures that business systems are back on line as soon as possible. Maintenance services that depend principally on site engineers often look good, with high-profile presence and plenty of comforting activity. In many cases, the first site visit tends to be for assessment and diagnosis, requiring a second appearance with the appropriate software or hardware remedy all eating up time and money, delaying full system recovery. This is an outmoded, expensive and ineffectual way to operate. Remote diagnostic, management and maintenance allows experts to engage with problems straight away, down the line, so to speak. In many cases the diagnostics and repairs are automated, and the business is able to continue uninterrupted. Reversal of fortune IBM is currently providing Managed Support Services to a number of selected companies in the Fortune 500, with the following benefits: l One global telecommunications customer has reduced cost over prior vendors by 20 per cent (around 5 million) and is enjoying additional savings in annual administrative expenses l One large US based retailer with almost 600 stores is saving up to 15 per cent annually, and has eliminated the work associated with handling around 18,000 vendor invoices a year l One central US state has reduced maintenance costs by 1 million per year and achieved additional administrative cost-savings estimated at 150K - 250K per year l Two UK banks are seeing significant support savings of up to 20 per cent across their IT estate. Both banks are looking to IBM to take a broader role in order to understand what further savings can be realised.

8 Page 8 Remote support specialists curiously have more experience than field engineers, handling and resolving more situations and spending less time in planes, trains and automobiles. Planes, trains and automobiles Free from geographic restraints, remote support specialists curiously have more experience than field engineers, handling and resolving more situations and spending less time in planes, trains and automobiles. As your first port of call, the engineers log in to systems exactly as if they were sitting in the server room, determine where the problem resides, use advanced online software to handle updates, and deploy the resources necessary to resolve the issue efficiently and effectively. There is no travel delay, no waiting for the previous job to finish and no exploratory first visit followed by second attendance. Where physical attendance is required, remote pre-diagnosis ensures that in some 90 per cent of cases the engineer will already know where the problem lies, and the visit is to implement an agreed solution quickly, rapidly and cost-effectively. IBM Managed Support Services specialists are located in the UK in Glasgow and Farnborough with local knowledge on the likely time-toarrival of support technicians, armed with software, replacement parts and, more importantly, an agreed plan of action to bring services back on line. Follow the sun Few maintenance organisations are genuinely able to offer a follow-the-sun service or match the strength and depth of IBM technical expertise. IBM Managed Support Services uses IBM s own worldwide support resolution database, available 24x7 from any IBM location. Every incident on every system type, including the solution technique, is recorded and indexed on the database, including escalation routes right back to microcode and manufacturing data. Using remote support turns the global nature of IBM to your advantage. Somebody, somewhere in IBM has almost certainly seen your problem before, and there will be a resolution record to consult. All IBM engineers, in the office or in the field, are able to interrogate these global, comprehensive resources and bring issues to a swift conclusion. If a software engineer is needed right now, someone in IBM is starting their day, ready to help you, worldwide. Very, very few third-party maintenance vendors, hand on hard heart, can say this.

9 Page 9 IBM Managed Support Services helps to reduce business risk, increase system total availability, optimise IT operations, and contributing to business success. Choose IBM Managed Support Services Out-tasking non-core maintenance and technical support activities to IBM frees up personnel to be deployed to proactive and added-value projects. IBM is uniquely placed to provide comprehensive maintenance and technical support for multi-vendor environments, with an advanced delivery model that focuses on enterprise performance. IBM Managed Support Services offers the quality and value that clients should expect from an external supplier, helping to reduce business risk, increase system total availability, optimise IT operations, and contributes to business success. Scream Third parties that provide maintenance and support services regularly resort to calling IBM when unable to resolve a problem themselves. To avoid technical issues where only a manufacturer can help, third-party maintenance vendors often keep equipment back level, and rely on work-arounds such as swapping parts or even, in desperation, implementing a compatible second-user machine. In one instance, a third party was repeatedly swapping out failing disk hardware and charging the customer until IBM was called in. The IBM team found that the problem was with microcode compatibility. Had the microcode been kept up to date, the customer would have avoided the problem in the first place, the update would have improved the disk performance, and the customer would have seen considerable savings. IBM does not have formal support agreements with third-party maintenance companies.

10 Page 10 IBM Global Technology Services supports every conceivable combination of platform, operating system and application server. IBM Global Technology Services IBM Global Technology Services offers unrivalled experience and technical competence in outsourced IT operations. With clients of all sizes in numerous industry sectors, IBM Global Technology Services supports every conceivable combination of platform, operating system and application server. The IBM Global Technology Services division focuses purely on the provision and delivery of infrastructure excellence, from the application stack through middleware and operating systems to physical monitoring and management of processors, disks, networks and switches. The IBM service offers highly granular contracts that enable clients to tailor provision to their exact requirements. By selecting IBM Global Technology Services, your business will gain access to worldwide IBM resources, operating 24/7. The international reach offers greater reliability and resilience, with the ability to respond to new demands from rapidly available internal resources at lower costs and without margin-on-margin use of external providers. For more information on how IBM Global Technology Services can reduce your infrastructure costs, improve service levels and tighten up compliance, please contact your IBM Business Partner, IBM representative, or visit ibm.com/uk/services or

11 More information For more information on infrastructure solutions from IBM Global Technology Services, please visit: ibm.com/uk/services IBM United Kingdom Limited Upper Ground South Bank London SE1 9PZ The IBM home page can be found on the Internet at ibm.com IBM and the IBM logo are trademarks of International Business Machines in the United States, other countries, or both. Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. References in this publication to IBM products or services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates. Copying or downloading the images contained in this document is expressly prohibited without the written consent of IBM. This publication is for general guidance only. Copyright IBM Corporation 2007 All Rights Reserved. Contributing Editor John Burchill Business Development Executive IBM Global Technology Services Maintenance and Technical Support Services MTW03001-GBEN-00 (11/07)