1. itil beginners guide - a six sigma bonus

8/9/2019 1. ITIL Beginners Guide - A Six Sigma Bonus

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Beginners notes

Foundation in ITIL ServiceManagement

This document is a Bonus for Six Sigma Management Kit owners

The Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom owns the ITIL Content.However, the use of ITIL processes is permitted and encouraged.More information on ITIL can be found at www.itil.co.uk

The Art of Service (owners of this document) have a licensing arrangement in place with

Ovitz Taylor Gates, that permits the supply of this document with the Six SigmaManagement Kit. The full ITIL toolkit can be purchased by visiting: www.itil-toolkit.com

e-Learning courses: www.itsm-learning.com

The Art of Service support the purchase of further material supplied by The StationaryOffice (a commercial outlet for Her Majestys Stationary Office (HMSO). Such materialcan be purchased by visiting: www.itsmdirect.com.

This document has been modified slightly.

The Art of Service Pty Ltd 2001, 2002.
http://www.itil.co.uk/http://www.itil-toolkit.com/http://www.itsmdirect.com/http://www.itil.co.uk/http://www.itil-toolkit.com/http://www.itsmdirect.com/


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1 Table of Contents1 Table of Contents........................................................................................................22 Start Here..................................................................................................................4

3 Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management............................................................43.1 EXIN Exam requirements specifications....................................................................4

3.1.1 The importance of IT Service Management and the IT Infrastructure......................43.1.2 The Service Management processes and the interfaces between them....................4

4 IT Service Management ...............................................................................................54.1 Introduction into IT Service Management..................................................................5

4.1.1 ITIL Service Management..................................................................................64.1.2 Business Alignment..........................................................................................64.1.3 Processes........................................................................................................6

4.1.4 Function version processed based......................................................................75 ITIL.........................................................................................................................10

5.1.1 History..........................................................................................................10

5.1.2 Groups involved ............................................................................................116 Implementing ITIL Service Management.......................................................................19

6.1 Introduction........................................................................................................196.2 Cultural change...................................................................................................196.3 Some of the dos and donts..................................................................................196.4 Further reading....................................................................................................20

7 The ITIL Service Management Processes......................................................................217.1 Service Delivery Set.............................................................................................21

7.1.1 Service Level Management..............................................................................21

7.1.2 Financial Management for IT Services...............................................................237.1.3 Availability Management..................................................................................257.1.4 Capacity Management.....................................................................................287.1.5 IT Service Continuity Management...................................................................29

7.2 Service Support Set.............................................................................................357.2.1 Service Desk..................................................................................................357.2.2 Incident Management.....................................................................................377.2.3 Problem Management.....................................................................................387.2.4 Change Management......................................................................................42

7.2.5 Release Management......................................................................................477.2.6 Configuration Management.............................................................................48

8 Tools........................................................................................................................52

8.1.1 Type of tools..................................................................................................528.1.2 The Cost of a Tool..........................................................................................529 Security Management................................................................................................54

9.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................549.1.1 Basic concepts...............................................................................................54

9.2 Objectives...........................................................................................................549.2.1 Benefits.........................................................................................................55

9.3 Process...............................................................................................................559.3.1 Relationships with other processes...................................................................56

9.3.2 Security section of the Service Level Agreement.................................................599.3.3 The security section of the Operational Level Agreement.....................................60

9.4 Activities.............................................................................................................639.4.1 Control - Information Security policy and organisation........................................639.4.2 Plan..............................................................................................................63


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9.4.3 Implement.....................................................................................................649.4.4 Evaluate........................................................................................................649.4.5 Maintenance..................................................................................................659.4.6 Reporting......................................................................................................65

9.5 Process control....................................................................................................66

9.5.1 Critical success factors and performance indicators.............................................669.5.2 Functions and roles.........................................................................................66

9.6 Problems and costs..............................................................................................669.6.1 Problems.......................................................................................................669.6.2 Costs............................................................................................................67

Copyright The Art of Service Pty Ltd, 2002 3

The Art of Service Pty Ltd 2002All of the information in this document is subject to copyright. No part of thisdocument may in any form or by any means (whether electronic or mechanicalor otherwise) be copied, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or

provided to any other person without the prior written permission of The Art ofService Pty Ltd, who owns the copyright.


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2 Start Here.This document is designed to answer many of the questions about IT ServiceManagement and the ITIL Framework.

The document has evolved over many years and offers the reader the chance to quicklylearn through reading and re-reading a lot of the theory behind ITIL (IT Infrastructure

Library). It provides answers, but it will also raise some questions for the reader.

It is a beginners document. It tells stories.

3 Foundation Certificate in IT ServiceManagement

Lets begin with the end in mind. A lot of readers are interested in achieving certificationin ITIL. This document combined with online learning will prepare you to sit for the ITService Management Foundations exam.

This chapter discusses the examination that is set by EXIN. The exam is set and markedby this independent body. You can book and take your exam at any Prometric Testingcentre (www.prometric.comto locate a Test Centre in your area).

3.1 EXIN Exam requirements specifications

3.1.1 The importance of IT Service Management and the IT InfrastructureThe candidate has understanding of the importance of IT Service Management and the ITInfrastructure Library (ITIL).

The candidate is able to indicate the importance of a methodical and systematic approach

to information technology service:

for users and customers of IT Service

for suppliers of IT Service.

3.1.2 The Service Management processes and the interfaces between themThe candidate has understanding of the Service Management processes and the

interfaces between them.The candidate is able to:

Mention the benefits of the Service Management processes for an organisation

Distinguish between ITIL processes and organisational units

Indicate which elements are needed for the ITIL processes.

http://www.prometric.com/http://www.prometric.com/


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4 IT Service Management

4.1 Introduction into IT Service Management

Most organisations now understand the benefits of having Information Technology (IT)throughout their corporate structure. Few realise the potential of truly aligning the ITdepartments objectives with the business objectives. More and more organisations startto recognize IT as being crucial to the service delivery to their customers.When the IT services are crucial to the organisation, you need to be absolutely positivethat the IT group adds value and delivers consistent services.

With this in mind as the ultimate goal for the IT organisation, we should look at theorganisations objectives.

To achieve theseoverarching,

organisationalobjectives, theorganisation hasbusiness processes

in place. Thesebusiness processes

can be anything:sales, admin

support, financialprocesses, etc.Information systemsand technology are

fundamentalrequirements toproviding capabilityfor the organisation

to achieve thesebusiness objectives

by enabling theactivities to becarried out in aneffective an efficientmanner.

Historically, these processes delivered products and services to clients in an off-line

environment (the brick-and-mortar companies). The IT organisation provides support tothe back-office and admin processes. IT performance is measured internally as theexternal clients are only indirectly influenced by the IT performance.

Today, with online service delivery, the IT component of the service delivery can bemuch stronger. The way of delivering the service is IT based and therefore internal andexternal clients measure the performance of the IT group.

Consistent service delivery is more important than the glimpse of brilliance every nowand then. The internal clients (business processes) and external clients need availability

of the IT services and to be able to expect a consistent performance.



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Further reading on other models and frameworks:

Cobit: http://www.isaca.org/cobit.htmCMM: http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmm/cmm.htmlEFQM: http://www.efqm.org/new_website/SixSigma: http://www.ge.com/sixsigma/Deming:http://www.deming.orgThe Business Balanced ScoreCard:British Standards Institution: http://www.bsi.org.ukThe Balanced scorecard: http://www.balancedscorecard.org/basics/bsc1.html

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IT Service Management is a means to enable the IT group to provide reliable InformationSystems to meet the requirements of the business processes, irrespective of the waythese services are delivered to the external customers. This in turn enables theorganisation to meet its Business Objectives.

Definition:

IT Service Management provides effective and efficient process drivenmanagement of the quality of IT services

4.1.1 ITIL Service ManagementAny organisation that delivers IT services to their customers with a goal to support thebusiness processes, needs some sort of structure to achieve that. Historically, thatstructure was based around functions and technical capabilities. Currently, with the ever-

increasing speed of changes, and the need for flexibility that is no longer an option.

That is why IT organisations are looking for alternatives:

TQM processes and continuous improvement projectsCobit as a control mechanismCMM for control and structure in software (and system) developmentITIL for operational and tactical management of service delivery

Which framework, model or tool you use is heavily reliant on the company: horses forcauses is the adagio you need to keep in mind.

For many IT organisations, ITIL is a very good way of managing service delivery and toperform the IT activities in end-to-end processes.

4.1.2 Business AlignmentBy implementing IT Service Management in your IT organisation you support the IT

objectives of delivering those services that are required by the business. You cant dothis without aligning your strategy with the business strategy. You cant deliver effective

IT services without knowing about the demands, needs and wishes of your customer.This is why IT Service Management supports the IT organisation in the businessalignment of their IT activities and service delivery.

4.1.3 ProcessesIT service Management helps the IT organisation to manage the service delivery byorganising the IT activities into end-to-end processes. These processes cross the

functional areas within the IT group and improve the efficiency.

http://www.isaca.org/cobit.htmhttp://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmm/cmm.htmlhttp://www.efqm.org/new_website/http://www.ge.com/sixsigma/http://www.deming.org/http://www.bsi.org.uk/http://www.balancedscorecard.org/basics/bsc1.htmlhttp://www.isaca.org/cobit.htmhttp://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmm/cmm.htmlhttp://www.efqm.org/new_website/http://www.ge.com/sixsigma/http://www.deming.org/http://www.bsi.org.uk/http://www.balancedscorecard.org/basics/bsc1.html


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A process is a series of activities carried out to convert an input into an output. We canassociate the input and output of each of the processes with quality characteristicsand standards to provide information about the results to be obtained by the process.This produces chains of processes which show what goes into the organisation and whatthe result is, as well as monitoring points in the chains to monitor the quality of the

products and services provided by the organisation.

Processes can be measured for effectiveness (did the process achieve its goal?) andefficiency (did the process use the optimum amount of resources to achieve its goal).The measurement points are at the input, the activities or the output side of the process.

The standards for the output of each process have to be defined such that the complete

chain of processes meets the corporate objective, if each process complies with itsprocess standard. If the result of a process meets the defined standard, then the processis effective. If the activities in the process are also carried out with the minimumrequired effort and cost, then the process is efficient. The aim of process managementis to use planning and control to ensure that processes are effective and efficient.

4.1.4 Function version processed basedMost businesses are hierarchically organised. They have departments, which are

responsible for a group of employees. There are various ways of structuringdepartments, for example by customer, product, region or discipline. IT services

generally depend on several departments, customers or disciplines. For example, if there

is an IT service to provide users with access to an accounting program on a centralcomputer, this will involve several disciplines.

The computer centre has to make the program and database accessible, the data andtelecommunications department has to make the computer centre accessible, and the PCsupport department has to provide users with an interface to access the application.

Processes that span several departments can monitor the quality of a service by

monitoring certain aspects of quality, such as availability, capacity, cost and stability. Aservice organisation will then try to match these quality aspects with the customersdemands. The structure of such processes can ensure that good data is available aboutthe provision of services, so that the planning and control of services can be improved.

A process is a logically related series of activities for the benefit of a defined objective.



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We can study each process separately to optimise its quality. The process manager isresponsible for the process results (i.e. is the process effective).

The logical combination of activities results in clear transfer points where the quality ofprocesses can be monitored. In the restaurant example, we can separate responsibility forpurchasing and cooking, so that the chefs do not have to purchase anything and possiblyspend too much on fresh ingredients that do not add value.

The management of the organisation can provide control on the basis of the quality of the

process as demonstrated by data from the results of each process. In most cases, the relevantperformance indicators and standards will already be agreed upon. The day-to-day controlof the process can then be left to the process manager. The process owner will assess the

results based on a report of performance indicators and whether they meet the agreedstandard.

Without clear indicators, it would be difficult for a process owner to determine whether theprocess is under control, and if planned improvements are being implemented.

Functional oriented organisations often find it difficult to respond to rapidly changing markets,

Functional structured organisation

Characteristics are:

Fragmented

Aimed at vertical and functional matters

Many control activities

Emphasizes high/low relationships

Encourages relation dependence

Exchange loyalty/security

Information is secret

Disadvantages are:

Walls; no further than here Customer focused? We (the IT department) know whats good for you.

Steering people instead of steering activities



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Communication? (Because we have to; we are after all one company)

Political decision making (the political arenas)

Who is IT? Who is responsible for IT?

Processed based organisationCharacteristics:

Entire tasks

Aimed at horizontal processes towards client

Control, as this adds value

Emphasises interdependence and uniting leadership

Emphasises interdependence of independent persons

Security is sought in individually added value

Information is accessible

Advantages are:

No boundaries, but interconnections Customer focused: what is the added value?

Steering activities in stead of steering people

Communication because it is useful (fulfilling the needs of the customer)

Decision making is matching & customising

IT service provision is a process



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5 ITILThe IT Infrastructure Library is a set of books with good practice processes on how tomanage IT service delivery. The library consists of the following books and CD-ROMs:

Service Delivery Service Support

Security Management

The Business Perspective

Applications Management

ICT Infrastructure Management

Planning to implement Service Management

The Service Support, Service Delivery and Security Management books are regarded tobe the core of the framework. These books cover the processes you will need to delivery

customer-focused IT services according to your customers needs, demands and wishes.It helps the IT group to be flexible and reliable enough to ensure a consistent IT Service

Delivery. The other books in the library support the core processes.

5.1.1 History

During the late 1980s the CCTA (Central Computer and Telecommunication Agency) in

the UK started to work on what is now known as the Information TechnologyInfrastructure Library (ITIL).Large companies and government agencies in Europe adopted the framework veryquickly in the early 1990s and the ITIL framework has since become known as an

industry best practice.

ITIL has become the standard in delivering IT Services for all types of organisations.Both government and non-government organisations benefit from the process drivenapproach, regardless of the size of the IT shop.ITIL is used globally; the majority of IT organisations in the following countries use it astheir way of delivering IT services:

UK

The Netherlands Germany


ServiceDelivery

SecurityManagement

Security

Management

TheBusiness

Perspective

ICT Infra-structureMgt.

Planning to Implement Service Management

Applications Management

T

h

e

B

u

s

in

es

s

Th

ServiceSupport


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Further reading on ITIL:

ITIL website: http://www.itil.co.ukOGC website: http://www.ogc.gov.ukBuy the ITIL books: www.itsmdirect.comExamination boards:

EXIN: http://www.exin-exams.comISEB: http://www.bcs.org.uk/iseb/

ITIL Portal: http://www.itil-itsm-world.com/

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France

USA

South Africa

Australia

In 2000 the British Treasury set up the OGC Office for Government Commerce todeal with all commercial activities within the government. This also includes all activitiesformerly done by CCTA (Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency). Eventhough the CCTA no longer exists, we still mention it in this syllabus because they were

the original developers of the ITIL framework.

In 2000, Microsoft used ITIL as the basis of their Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF)to support the launch of their Datacentre product.

In 2001, ITIL version 2 was released with the Service Support Book and the Service

Delivery book. The other books (and CD-ROMs) are currently being published.

5.1.2 Groups involved

http://www.itil.co.uk/http://www.ogc.gov.uk/http://www.itsmdirect.com/http://www.bcs.org.uk/iseb/http://www.itil-itsm-world.com/http://www.itil.co.uk/http://www.ogc.gov.uk/http://www.itsmdirect.com/http://www.bcs.org.uk/iseb/http://www.itil-itsm-world.com/


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ITIL is a Public Domain framework, meaning that even though the copyright rests withOGC, every organisation can use the books to implement the processes in their ownorganisation. This also supported the growth in the number of supporting services like

training, tools and consultancy services. The important part is that the framework isindependent of any of the vendors.

EXIN and ISEB are the examination bodies that organise and control the entirecertification scheme. They guarantee that the personal certification is fair and honest andindependent from the organisations that delivered the course. EXIN is based in theNetherlands and ISEB is part of the British Computer Society. Both bodies give outaccreditations for training organisations to guarantee a consistent level of quality in thecourse delivery.

The personal certification is the only type of independent certification in regards to ITILService Management. There is no independent tool certification or organisational

certification (yet).

People and organisations that wish to discuss their experience with ITIL ServiceManagement implementation can become a member of the IT Service ManagementForum. The ITSMfshould be independent, just like ISEB and EXIN, to stimulate the bestpractice component of ITIL and to support the sharing of war stories and tips. There isan ITSMf chapter in every country that is actively involved with ITIL ServiceManagement.

EXTRA READING (elective)Case study: Service Management implementation: British Telecom

The Emergence of BT.

British Telecom (BT) is an international private sector company operating in the field oftelecommunications. From 1912 telecommunications was as part of the Post Office, heldin public ownership. It was originally nationalised to ensure the provision of anintegrated telegraphic and telephonic service . British Telecom was split off from the PostOffice in 1981 as a prelude to its own privatisation three years later. The aim was tomake it easier for the management of the two organisations to focus on the businessstrategies of their respective operations.

Since 1981 BT has undergone major changes first with privatisation in 1984 and thenbecause of Project Sovereign in the early 1990s. What follows concentrates on the buildup to and changes associated with Project Sovereign from the late 1980s. It is arguablehowever that this represents some continuation of the earlier corporate restructuringthat surrounded privatisation. The climate for these changes continues to be shaped byseveral significant factors including: the development of new technology which haschanged the nature of telecommunications work; the opening up of the market fortelecommunications to competition and the requirement for BT to be able to exploit newinternational markets for information technology.

BT no longer enjoys the monopoly it once had. At home, competition from Mercury, thecable industry, and an increasing number of niche telephone operators is taking its toll.For example, it is estimated that 40,000 customers v a month are being lost to the cable

companies who offer cheaper calls, connections and rentals, as well as clearer lines andthe advantages of new technology. Cable firms claim to have won 470,000 customers in



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the three years since they were permitted to offer telephone services. InternationallyBT's rivals, such as AT&Tand France Telecom, are battling for the custom of the multinationals that want onesupplier to service all their telecommunication needs.

As well as new competitors such as Mercury and the cable companies who are attacking

BT on price, the regulatory regime is also becoming harsher. OFTEL have recently statedthat prices on BT's basic services must now be kept to 7.5% below the rate of inflation.

Although many of the same pressures affect BT's rivals, BT argues that it suffers mostbecause it maintains a network that runs the length and breadth of the UK.

SymptomsProject Sovereign and change of culture in BT.

BT have launched several initiatives to transform the company however the mostsignificant was the Project Sovereign which involved both adopting total qualitymanagement values and encouraging employees to focus on customers needs. In March1990, the Chairman of BT announced fundamental changes to the organisationalstructure of BT. These emerged from the findings of the Scoop Project undertaken by a

team of BT Senior Managers into how the company should tackle the telecommunicationsbusiness of the 1990s. This suggested that BTs existing structure would prevent thecompany from achieving its full potential. Based largely on geography rather thancustomers or markets, it lacked the flexibility and integration necessary to meetchanging market conditions.

The plan for change was called Project Sovereign because according to the Chairman itwas:

The single most important thing that we are ever likely to do because it putsthe customer at the top of our organisation".

Over the following 12 months the old structure of BT based on geographical districts andproduct divisions gave way to 3 customer facing divisions: Business CommunicationsDivision to serve the needs of business customers; Personal Communications Division tomeet the requirements of the individual customer; and a Special Business Division tomanage a range of facilities such as Yellow Pages and Cellnet.

These new customer facing Divisions were to be supported by a division withresponsibility for the co-ordination of BTs portfolio of products and services; a World-wide Networks Division to plan, build, operate and maintain the switching andtransmission network in the UK and globally; a Development and Procurement Divisionto provide a broad spectrum of technical services including research, development anddesign, fabrication, testing, problem-solving,

planning and consultancy. In addition, this division was given responsibility fordeveloping and managing a group wide supplier strategy and procurement service.Finally functions such as strategy, finance, personnel running across the business wereto be handled by Group HQ.



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Figure 1 summarises the organisation structure introduced under Project Sovereign.

Customers/Markets

BusinessCommunications.

PersonalCommunication

s

SpecialBusinesses.

Products and Services Management

World Wide Networks.

Development and Procurement.

Group HQ (Strategy, Finance, Personnel, etc.)Figure 1. Organisational structure on 1 April 1991.

In a briefing session on the changes, given by BT Directors to top BT managers, the

factors, which shaped the new structure and its essential features, emerged. The new BTrequired radical change and a more flexible approach to organisation and management.The Group Finance Director explained that:

BT is seeking a fundamental change in its approach to the markets it serves - it is amassive change and not tinkering at the edges. Moreover, it is ultimately linked to achange in our cost base - a leaner organisation and flatter management structure. Themost successful telecommunications company in the world has to be flexible around alow cost-base.

In a presentation entitled Management and Culture BTs UK Managing Director arguedthat surveys in the company showed that many employees wanted radical change and

the opportunity to contribute more to the company. Managerial leadership he suggestedwould need to release these pent-up energies. The key will be providing the managerialleadership that will release and make use of these pent-up energies. However, he noteda substantial reduction in the numbers of managers will be inevitable in order to flattenthe companysmulti-layered pyramidal organisation and quicken response between management andworkforce. Project Sovereign has reduced the total number of layers of management inBT from twelve to six.

One of the first changes to take effect with Sovereign was the integration of the UK andinternational marketing and sales organisation under a unified management structure.This was intended as a very visible indicator of the customer orientation of Project

Sovereign. This was stressed by the Sales and Marketing Director:

This change allows our people to direct their energies towards meeting customerneeds and nowhere is this more true than with the marketing and sales communitythat we will be bringing together into one structure. This group of people will be at theforefront of the organisational change, demonstrating our determination andcommitment to put the customer first.

In summary, Project Sovereign was to lead to: A flexible market-driven structure for business and personal customers, with thenecessary technical and commercial functions to meet their needs. A single interface for all BTs customers backed up by systems and specialised support. An increased sales revenue through protection of BTs largest business customers,capturing the substantial opportunities available in the smaller business market and fromthe information-intensive personal customer.



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An integrated approach for business customers, to meet their rapidly expandinginternational needs. Consistency for both business and personal customers, with the target to deliveruniform excellence across the customer base. Integrated product management, removing duplication, eliminating gaps and managing

potential conflicts to the benefit of customers and the company.

Cultural change and the impact on employment in BT.

BT, in common with many other telecommunications companies, has been faced withhaving to make the transition from a vast state-owned, public-service, bureaucracy to aflexible and responsive, private sector, high-technology company. The challenge oftransforming an organisation that was rumoured to have more vehicles than the Red

Army is huge. Not only do work practices have to be changed, but the culture also has tobe shifted so that the staff are focused on providing services demanded by customers.

In practice, this cultural shift has involved in a huge reduction in staff numbers. Many

employees who did not like the new ethos, or found it difficult to adapt, simply left in oneor other of the company's generous redundancy programmes.

As a consequence of the increased competitive pressures outlined above costs have hadto be reduced and the company has to move faster and become more flexible. BT, likemany other companies are finding that speed is now a crucial competitive weapon andthat several layers of management can slow down the decision making process.

Another source of pressure on management jobs stems directly from the job losses lowerdown the hierarchy. Technology has had an important role here, as the company nolonger needs as many operators, and consequently, it no longer needs as manymanagers to supervise them. Similarly, as junior staff have left, the company has found

itself with too many managers at higher levels. BT currently employs 32,000 managersto organise its workforce of 153,000. The ratio of managers to staff has fallen to one tofive although BT plans to lowerthat to one manager to ten workers.

When the company was privatised in 1984 it employed 244,000 people and reached apeak of 245,700 employees in 1990. In 1994 it employed 185,000 people. Between 1992and 1994 almost 28,000 engineers and telephone operators, more than 5,000 middlemanagers and 876 senior managers accepted voluntary redundancy.The Voluntary redundancy schemes, Release 92 and 93, proved to be run awaysuccesses.For example, BT indicated that it wanted to shed 20,500 jobs under Release 92. JohnSteele, BT's personnel director, later commented in a newspaper article:

We were told we would never get rid of 20,000 jobs in a year We were told it'simpossible, it's never been done before In fact, as many as 45,000 applied to gowith 85 per cent of the formal complaints, registered after the redundancy programme,coming from those who were not selected to leave.

Release 92 in particular proved to be almost too successful. Incentive payments to leavebefore the end of July, worth 25 per cent of salary, caused 19,500 staff to leave on thesame day almost causing the company's administration to collapse under the weight ofwork and causing severe disruption to customer services. More than 16,000 people wererejected for severance and courses to maintain morale were instituted in those areas,

mainly the operator service and telephone customer contact jobs, that were particularlyoversubscribed.



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Redundancy payments range from 40 weeks' pay for 10 years of service to a maximumof 72 weeks' pay for 14 years. Staff who were with the company before 1971 get threeyears' pay.

An engineer with long service could qualify for a payment of 60,000 while a manager on

35,000 could receive more than 100,000. Most schemes involved a combination oflump sum and early pension entitlement. The average package of benefits for thoseleaving cost BT is about 38,000, although a small number of senior managers arebelieved to have received more than 200,000.

The scheme cost an estimated 1.15bn. Although BT has not revealed a final price of thescheme it did explain that even with more than 40 per cent more people being acceptedfor severance the total bill did not rise in proportion as the unit cost was lower than BTexpected .

Publicly BT has always said that it tried to make the package of benefits attractive to allages.

However, in 1993, unions representing workers at BT claimed that the company hadintroduced a grading system that could be used to target older staff. The system wasbased upon an individual's annual performance assessment, their attendance recordsand whether or not disciplinary action has been taken against them. The proposal thatage should form part of the points system was dropped by BT after complaints from theNational CommunicationsUnion and the Society of Telecom Executives. At that time 15,300 people under 45 hadtaken severance, of the older workers, 4,000 were aged 45-50 and 10,000 were 50-60.The company's standard retirement age is 60. In January 1994 the chairman, Sir IainVallance was able to state :

It is now almost exactly 10 years since BT was privatised, the natural turnover of staff

means that many staff have never worked in the public sector. We now have theyounger more responsive workforce that this industry needs.

In 1992 and 1993 the majority of the cuts were voluntary and had fallen on lower andmiddle management, operators, clerical staff and engineers. However in March 1994 BTannounced that 6,900 senior managers out of BT's 32,000 management-gradeemployees will be targeted for significant compulsory reductions as not enough werevolunteering to leave under its job reduction programme. It also announced that it wasconsidering compulsory redundancies for its most senior managers as part of a drive tolose 35 of its 170 managers at director level.

All managers at this level earn over 50,000 a year with the average wage being76,000 a year.

Although the logic of de-layering and downsizing may be clear, it seems that managersthat are more senior are reluctant to go and, until recently, BT has been loath to sackthem. The reluctance to accept voluntary redundancy may be because senior managershave more agreeable, and better-paid jobs or it may be because they are more worriedabout finding another job elsewhere - although figures from the International LabourOffice xv show that only 3% of professionals and only 5% of managers in the UK areunemployed in comparison to 13% of plant and machine operators and 13% of craftworkers.

The Customer Service System (CSS).

In the late 1970's, BT (then part of the GPO) had six mainframe sites and very little local

computing. When BT split from the Post Office in the early 80's BT began to set up localcomputing centres. Each area had set up its own databases and soon similar information



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was being held in two or even three different places. The cost of attempting to keep allof this information consistent and up to date was spiralling out of control.

The decision was taken to centralise all of the information at a district level andtelephone areas began to be amalgamated into districts. This process marked the

beginnings of CSS. Essentially CSS was conceived as a Customer Service System, i.e.the aim was to provide a single source for all of the information relating to a singlecustomer. An operator could access all relevant information for that customer bytelephone number, address or name and could call up the customer's details on to ascreen almost instantaneously.

After privatisation BT looked at several systems from a number of vendors and begansetting up CSS's in 1985. People from the districts were seconded to the headquartersand a National User Group (NUG) formed to aid the setting up of the various CSS's.

At a national level Setting up CSS involved creating 29 databases for the 29 separatedistricts that existed at that time with each database containing information about 12

specific areas such as customer records, line records, billing information, etc. Each CSSneeded to hold the details of over 1 million customers and service around 2000terminals. The installation of CSS into the various districts was spread over severalyears.

The CSS system was initially created as a system to support operations within individualdistricts and although CSS was almost universally acknowledged as a great help in

providing customer support many felt that the management information aspect of thesystem appeared to have been added almost as an afterthought. While CSS was anefficient in certain respects, such as tracking installations or repair work, it did not really

provide the information neededby managers or, if it did, it was in a form that was of little use to them.

The announcement of Project Sovereign in 1990 and the move to three new customerfacing divisions:

- Personal Customers (PC),- Business Customers (BC)- Special Businesses (SB) provided a new impetus to the development of CSS although

this was not without problems.

Previously every CSS had been set up on the basis that all customers were treated inmore or less the same way. There was no distinction made between, for example,

business customers or personal customers. The amount of time and effort that had goneinto setting up theexisting CSS, and the technical problems of splitting the 29 existing databases into three one for BC, one for PC and one for SB - meant that another way had to be found tomake the existing Information Systems work within the new company structure. Thesolution was to keep the same databases but give more access to people who required it.Thus the decision to create three new divisions meant that in order for CSS to continueto function managers, even at relatively junior levels, had to have the ability to havevisibility of other work areas.

Previously there had been a bureaucratic system of passwords and access codes thatlimited access to the various areas of a CSS. However, once the principle of greatervisibility was established improvements in technology opened other areas for

organisational change. It now became possible to switch automatically informationbetween districts so that a person based in one district could update or amend records



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held in another district. Similarly it also became possible to monitor work loads andallocate resources across the functional and geographicdivisions in BT.

Although all of this was now technically possible, some organisational problems remained

as, in the past BT had relied on local expertise and each region had done things in aslightly different way. CSS provided an infrastructure that was relatively tightlycontrolled in terms of what it allowed a manager to do. However, in order to bring aboutsome of the proposed new changes it would, in some senses, need to be even moretightly controlled as every region would now have to operate in the same way.

The need to ensure consistency between regions lead to some dissatisfaction with thespeed with which the system could be changed or modified. In the past when the systemneeded to be changed or updated this could often be accommodated at a local level, nowhowever, each change or update needed to be worked out and agreed across the wholeof the national network.



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6 Implementing ITIL Service Management

6.1 IntroductionITIL Service Management is something that impacts the entire IT organisation.Implementing end-to-end processes can have a big impact on the way things are doneand can initiate a lot of uncertainty and resistance with staff. For these reasons, it isimportant to implement ITIL Service Management with a step-by-step approach thattakes things slowly but steady.

Developing ITIL processes is a fairly easy job to do making sure everybody understandsthe processes and uses them is more difficult and requires serious planning.It is to be advised to use a project management approach to ITIL Service Management

implementation and stay focused on the end result.

6.2 Cultural change

10% of the implementation project will be about process design and the moreinstrumental things in organisational change; 90% will be about cultural change and

personal motivation of staff to use the end-to-end processes as the better way to dobusiness.

People (YOU!) will feel vulnerable and out of control, the perfect breeding ground forresistance know that it is coming and work with it.The most important thing in this stage of the ITIL implementation is to keep the focus onthe reason why your organisation needs ITIL Service Management in the first place.

6.3 Some of the dos and donts



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DO:

Perform a feasibility study first

Use what is already good in the organisation

Take it slowly

Stay focused

Appoint a strong project manager with end-to-end focus to drive thisimplementation program

Be brave enough to ask for help when you need it

Keep in mind that you are dealing with personal issues Keep communicating WHY your organisation needs this

Measure your successes continuously

Enjoy the milestones and share them with the IT group

DONT:

Try to mature all the processes at the same time

Start with a tool

Start without management commitment and/or budget

Force ITIL upon people

ITILISE your organisation, keep thinking

Rush, take your time to do it well Do ITIL without a reason

Blindly follow the herd

Pretend you are a Greenfield site

6.4 Further reading

The OGC book: Best Practice for Planning to Implement Service Management.



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7 The ITIL Service Management ProcessesThe following diagram represents the most well known components of ITIL. ServiceDelivery and Service Support. These processes are the discussed futher.

7.1 Service Delivery Set

7.1.1 Service Level Management

This process provides the contact point (or hinge) between the IT organisation and thecustomer. Within the ITIL books, the customer is defined as being the person who paisfor the services. It should therefore be someone with decision-making authority, e.g.business manager.

Service Level Management is the process that ensures that the IT organisation knowswhat services they can deliver and organises that the IT group and the customer agreeon the levels of service that need to be delivered.

It also ensures that the IT group can consistently deliver these services to the customerby ongoing monitoring the service achievements and report these to the customer

Extra readingTo report or not to report



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A lot of the organisations that start implementing Service Level management fall into thetrap of over-reporting. Everything is monitored, and all results are reported back to theclient.Negotiate the reporting strategy with your customer during the SLA-negotiations. Areport is only valuable if your clients use it for their own work.

Another pitfall is the fact that some people only report when things are going wrong. Theimage you build with an agreement like that is a negative one. The client only hears fromIT when there is a problem or when service levels arent met. ALWAYS report on the

positive things as well!

Its OK to say NO

Often, when you start implementing Service Level Management in your organisationyoull find that you cant deliver a lot of the users requests. You cant deliver becauseyou dont have the underpinning processes in place, you dont have enough budget anda lot of other reasons.

And thats OK, as long as you discuss it with your clients. Service Level Management isall about managing the expectations of your clients.

Internal and external agreements

The beauty of implementing ITIL is that everybody in the organisation speaks the samelanguage, and therefore you need to be very strict with your choice of words. A ServiceLevel Agreement is an internal agreement with your clients and an agreement with anexternal party is an underpinning contract.Dont talk about service level agreements with vendors and suppliers because that isconfusing everybody.



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7.1.2 Financial Management for IT ServicesWhen Service Level Management agrees with the customer on Service Levels, it has toknow how much money is involved in delivering this service. Especially when the cost for

IT services is charged on to the customer.Financial Management creates awareness of the total cost of the service both within the

IT group and with the customers, and provides opportunities to increase the efficiency ofthe IT organisation.

This information comes from Financial Management for IT Services. It basically dealswith 3 areas:

- Budgets

- IT Accounting

- Charging

The sub-process of charging is implemented, subject to the company policy of internal

invoicing structures.

Financial Management needs input from all other processes in regards to the activitiesthat form part of the service delivery. It will also deliver input in the other processes,e.g. financial information for the cost-benefits analysis within Problem Management andChange Management.

EXTRA READINGSince when did IT and finance merge?

Q. Why is business financial management important to the IT professional?

Isn't that the CFO's responsibility?

Competent financial management is critical to the success and very survival of a widevariety of organizations. In the technology community, it is common to select the chieffinancial officer or the chief information officer for advancement to the CEO position.For the CIO professional looking for a promotion or a greater understanding of the ITarena, an understanding of the basics of financial management has become invaluable.

The goal of business financial management is to maximize the value of the firm.Successful financial management requires a balance of a number of factors, and thereare no simple rules or solution algorithms that will ensure financial success under allcircumstances. The overall goal toward which corporate financial and IT managers

should strive, is the maximization of earnings per share, subject to considerations ofbusiness and financial risk, timing of earnings, and dividend policy.

The basic concepts of the fundamental principles of accounting, analytical techniquesfor interpretation of financial data, basic budgeting concepts, financial planning andcontrol, and the analysis of long-term investment opportunities are applicable to IT aswell as finance. Financial and IT professionals who can profitably harness the principlesand techniques of financial and information resources will be able to manage theirorganizations more effectively than their competitors.

Exchanging wooden dollars?

Many organisations decide not to do a physical charge out to their internal clients becauseit would only add up to the administrative procedures within the organisation.



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Financial management in this type of organisations is used to gain insight into the costinvolved in the delivery of IT services and to raise the awareness with the clients. Insteadof invoicing the client, a monthly report is sent out to update the client on their IT-expenditure.

Even though charging is not used, financial management has a lot of benefits toorganisations like this.



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7.1.3 Availability Management

Contrary to what many believe, Availability management really deals with ensuring that

the SERVICE is available according to the agreed levels with the customer. It is really notset out to guarantee the maximum level of availability, nor is it about reporting on server

availability as a stand-alone issue. This process ultimately links all IT componentstogether and manages the links and weaknesses between the IT components and IT

areas to ensure the availability of the service delivery to the customer.

Availability works closely together with Capacity Management, as you cant ensure theavailability of the service when the capacity is insufficient to deliver the IT service. Thereis also a close link to Problem Management as the availability expert will be part of manyproblem-team.

EXTRA READING

Distributed Availability

IntroductionDistributed availability is the ability to ensure predictable, reliable user access to keyapplications and computing resources. Maintaining distributed availability inclient/server environments is a complex and expensive proposition, yet it plays acritical role in maximizing your investment in client/server computing.Businesses that have embraced and deployed client/server computing face majorchallenges such as keeping mission-critical applications up and running. This documentaddresses why this is difficult, compares different approaches to solving this challengeand describes why Tivoli's automated solution to distributed availability is uniquelysuited for enterprise client/server management.

Distributed AvailabilityClient/server computing puts mission-critical computing resources such as systems,databases and applications in the hands of those who need them most, end users.However, without the proper management tools, it is difficult to maximize theavailability of these crucial resources.Providing distributed availability gives information technology (IT) staff an efficient,automated way to ensure the high availability of key computing resources. It allows ITstaff to meet its service-level commitments. It ensures that company personnel whodepend on uninterrupted access to mission-critical business applications are more

productive. It allows organizations or individual business units to minimize lost revenueopportunities that can occur when mission-critical applications and computing resources

are not up and running efficiently.

Why It's DifficultLeading global corporations have embraced distributed client/server computing as theirvehicle for implementing mission-critical applications. However, distributedenvironments and applications are much more complex and dynamic than theirmainframe predecessors.It is easier to track the performance level of computing resources in a centralized datacentre environment because there are only a few large systems--typically from onevendor and located in one place. In contrast, the distributed client/server environmenthas a large number of dispersed, heterogeneous systems that grow and change at arapid rate. For example, IT staff are often unaware that individual workgroups haveinstalled their own systems or reconfigured their environments.With many remote sites, different types of systems from multiple vendors and aconstantly changing environment, the challenge is to provide application and computer



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resource availability without requiring system administration experts at each remotesite.Providing distributed availability includes the following activities:

Automatic configuration and deployment of policy-based resource monitors andactions

Automatic problem detection through distributed monitoring Automatic preventive and corrective actions

Traditional SolutionsThe major problem with most of today's monitoring tools is that they are not scalable--they simply do not work in a large, distributed client/server environment.While a mature set of mainframe performance tools exist, these tools only work well formonitoring a centralized computing shop. They are simply not designed to handleenterprise-wide monitoring.With the advent of LAN computing, a second type of monitoring tool has emerged.LAN-based monitoring tools typically focus on presenting many, often hundreds, ofalerts per system. These tools work within one LAN segment and assume that a server

or workgroup administrator exists for each LAN. This scenario is suitable for smallcomputing environments but does not work for an enterprise with hundreds of LANs atmany remote locations.

Typical problems with LAN-based monitoring tools include:

Many tools focus solely on alerting

Filtering capabilities are often absent, causing alert-information overload

IT staff must handle each alert manually

Tools must be configured individually on each monitored machine at the remote site

Many tools can not initiate automatic corrective actions

Most tools are not extensible, restricting the addition of monitors or correctiveactions

Many tools are SNMP-based. These tools work well monitoring network devices butare dependent on a central collection point, are not secure and not scalable.Further, they generate polling and network traffic.

Most existing monitoring tools have severe limitations in distributed client/servercomputing environments, especially in the areas of scalability and efficient centralconfiguration. The limitations of existing monitoring tools make it difficult to monitora large, dynamic computing environment.

The Right Approach for Client/Server

Tools that work for mainframe or for individual LAN environments do not provide ascalable solution for large, distributed computing environments. To meet the uniquerequirements of client/server computing, the solution must:

Configure and deploy monitoring agents from a central site Be easy to configure so that deployment does not become labour-intensive

Provide alarm filtering at the source

Avoid generating an excessive amount of network traffic

Provide a method of automatically correcting repetitive problems at the source

Alert staff only for serious exception conditions

Allow you to build policy for monitoring a group of similar systems or applications

Allow you to build policy for corrective actions on a group of similar systems orapplications

Be easily extensible, allowing you to add customised or third-party monitors

Provide an easy method to launch third-party debug or performance tools on anexception condition



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ConclusionProviding distributed availability in the client/server environment can be a complex andexpensive proposition; yet it plays a pivotal role in the maximisation of anorganisation's investment in client/server computing. Without the proper managementtools, it is difficult to maximise the availability of these distributed resources.



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7.1.4 Capacity ManagementCapacity Management has the task to ensure that the right amount of capacity is at theright location, for the right customer, at the right time and at the right cost.

It may sound a bit weird but this captures the essence of Capacity Management.

Capacity Management optimises the amount of capacity needed to deliver a consistentlevel of service to the customers. Without over-delivering to one customer and under-

delivering to another customer or wasting money on excess capacity that is unnecessary.

Capacity Management has a very close relationship to Availability Management,Configuration Management and Service Level Management.

EXTRA READING

Why a Capacity Plan?With cheap hardware prices, capacity planning may seem unimportant; you can alwaysupgrade later. A simple guess-timation of the capacity of the system should besufficient, right? Why give this subject any more thought?There are two main concerns that make capacity planning critical. The first is the rateof technical change in the distributing computing sector. We now measure progress in"Internet years" -- equivalent to about 90 days of a calendar year. The second is withInternet/Intranet at the helm. Todays systems are primarily being developed within a3-tier architecture. This rapid change, coupled with the increase in complexity of 3-tierarchitecture, is causing system designers to pay closer attention to capacity. Five yearsago, a C/S designer could roll out a new system with a rough estimate of capacity and

performance. The system could then be tuned or more capacity added before all of the

users had been converted to the new system. The process was reasonable because thesystems were typically not mission-critical.

Today, theres no time for this approach. Once systems are in place they become anintegral part of the overall C/S design. Downing the system for upgrades becomesincreasingly expensive in both time and resources. In addition, the added complexity ofthe environment typically requires more care, due to the interdependency betweenvarious C/S application components.

Capacity planning is driven purely by financial considerations. Proper capacity planningcan significantly reduce the overall cost of ownership of a C/S system. Although formalcapacity planning takes time, internal and external staff resources, software and

hardware tools, the potential losses incurred without capacity planning are staggering.Lost productivity of end users in critical business functions, overpaying for networkequipment or services and the costs of upgrading systems already in production morethan justify the cost of capacity planning.



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7.1.5 IT Service Continuity Management

Availability Management focuses on ensuring the availability of the service as part of the

daily routine. IT Service Continuity Management prepares for the worst case scenario tooffer an appropriate disaster recovery option when a disaster occurs.

The ultimate choice of which option to choose, is made by the customer as part of the

SLA agreements. All options are possible, but they all have a different price tag.

In the current global situation, a structured approach to IT Service ContinuityManagement becomes more and more important. The business processes rely more onthe IT Services and the IT components are more under attack than ever before.What a disaster is is something the IT organisation needs to define with the customer, asthis might be different for every organisation.

EXTRA READING

Availability Solutions: What Do You Need? (source: www.contingencyplanning.com)

Run New Search by: Bill MerchantzPages: 22-25; September, 2002

There are many options available to you when selecting a managed availability solution.The following review of products, services, and technologies will help you choose thebest one for your needs.

The previous articles in this series have provided the foundation for choosing a managed

availability solution. As they explained, the search for availability solutions begins with a

thorough understanding of the nature of the problem. How much does an hour of

downtime cost? Are your needs application-centric or data-centric?

What is the absolute and relative importance of recovery time objectives (RTO) and

recovery point objectives (RPO) in your business? The answers to these and other

questions determine the appropriate size of your managed availability investment and

where you should direct it.

Once the objectives and scope of your solution are defined, a wide range of services,

foundation technologies, and products are available with which to build it. In fact, someof the foundation technologies, such as journaling, may already be available in your

database management or operating systems but have been deemed, until now,

unnecessary or inappropriate for implementation in your systems. When developing a

managed availability solution, all options and approaches should be carefully considered

in order to build the optimum solution.

Services

Assessment The first step in managing availability is to assess the current

environment and seek availability options. Using an outside vendor to provide this

http://www.contingencyplanning.com/article_index.cfmhttp://www.contingencyplanning.com/article_index.cfm


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service adds an objective viewpoint and a wealth of preexisting knowledge, skills, and

experience.

Planning In addition to a high-level plan that describes the overall direction and

desired end goal, a program also needs separate plans for each step along the way.

Education, Training, and Documentation Human error is a major contributor to

unplanned downtime. Education, training, and documentation on the use and

maintenance of each system and its components can help reduce this type of problem.

Auditing Business requirements constantly evolve in ways that directly impact internal

systems. Add staff turnover into the equation and the result is a volatile environment

that can create unexpected availability exposures. A partial- or full-system failure will

certainly highlight these new vulnerabilities, but a less-costly approach is ongoing

vigilance through regular audits of the managed availability plan and its implementation.

Foundation Technologies

Backup and Restore The most basic level of data protection is to back up data so that

it can be easily restored. Backups are generally performed on a regular schedule, such

as nightly.

Journaling Database journaling allows a destroyed database to be recovered up to the

last committed transaction. Journaling eliminates the problem of orphan data data

added or updated since the last backup preceding a destruction event. Of course, like

backup data sets, journals must be stored separately (preferably remotely) from the

production database to ensure that both are not destroyed in the same disaster.

Commitment Control The commitment-control function of most commercial database-

management software protects the integrity of transactions in general by rolling back to

their previous state any specific transactions that were not completed at the point of an

outage. The complete series of updates can then be reentered upon system recovery.

Products

Uninterruptible Power Supplies Power outages are the most common cause of abrupt

system failures. Therefore, uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) go a long way toward

reducing downtime frequency. When configured properly, they can also reduce the

duration of downtime. When a primary power outage occurs, the UPS can maintain

system operation long enough to save main storage, thus protecting data and simplifying

system startup when the power returns.



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Fault-Tolerant Hardware Some hardware includes internal redundancy, along with the

means to monitor each components operating status and seamlessly switch to a backup

component when necessary. Inoperable components can typically be replaced without

stopping the system.

RAID (Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks) RAID spreads enough information

across multiple disks to allow the disk subsystem controller to recalculate any missing

information in case of a disk failure. It does not, however, protect against the failure of

other disk-related hardware, such as a controller, an I/O processor, or a bus.

Disk Mirroring When properly configured, disk mirroring can eliminate single points of

failure. Often used in combination with RAID5, this approach requires that data be

concurrently written to each unit in a set of identical disks, incurring minimal CPUoverhead or increase in system complexity. However, mirroring all data requires at least

twice as many disks.

Alternate Communication Paths Core business functions often depend on a variety of

systems and sites. For example, a company may take orders at one facility and fulfill

them at a remote warehouse, with order data transmitted between the two over

communication lines. If the line is disrupted, orders will have to be sent to the

warehouse manually or, worse, not transmitted at all. The only way to combat these

exposures is to maintain alternate communication paths.

Redundant Systems A multiple-systems approach that continuously maintains real-

time replica systems offers the highest possible level of availability. It duplicates

applications, user data, and system data on two or more systems that may be

geographically dispersed. In addition, it can quickly switch users from the primary

system to a backup system when necessary. Thus, unlike backups and disk mirroring,

this approach can eliminate all types of user-processing interruptions.

Redundant systems can be coupled with third-party software assuming full

responsibility for system resiliency. Or, they can be tightly coupled in a cluster, with the

operating system assuming primary responsibility for monitoring and managing the

cluster.

Although a backup system can be located in the same building or on the same site as the

primary system, it is highly recommended that the backup system be located in a

geographically distant location so that an event or disaster affecting a wide area, such as

a storm, flood, or earthquake, will not affect both systems.



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Because such disasters are rare, most companies justify the investment in redundant

systems based not on disaster recovery but on their ability to provide continuous

operations. In a single system environment, database saves and reorganizations may

shut down applications or, at best, severely impair their performance. Worse, hardwareand software upgrades can shut down applications for hours or even days. These

problems are avoided in a redundant-system environment. Users are simply switched to

the backup system whenever the primary system requires maintenance. Furthermore,

database saves and read-only access tasks, such as query and reporting jobs, can be

done on the backup system, thus eliminating their burden on the production

environment.

When considering a replication solution as part of a full managed availability solution,

include these questions in your evaluation worksheet:

Does the solution allow for seamless, real-time replication of data to a backup system?

Does the solution also replicate system objects? If not, it may not be possible to

recreate the application and user environment on the backup system. If, for example, a

user profile is changed on the primary system, that change should be reflected on the

backup.

Is the replication technology application-independent? If not, costly and error-proneapplication modifications will be required.

Does the solution provide system monitoring to automatically detect failures?

If the solution provides monitoring, can it automatically initiate a failover to the backup

system in case of an outage on the primary system, without the need for any user or

operator intervention?

Does the solution offer a way to quickly and easily switch to a backup system, with

minimal user interruption, when maintenance is required on the primary system?

Does the solution enable activities normally associated with planned downtime, such as

software and hardware upgrades or database reconfigurations, to be conducted in the

background while applications stay in production and users stay online?

Blended Products/Services

Third-Party Recovery Sites The purchase and maintenance of a complete set of

duplicate hardware and software and the off-site facility to house them is cost-prohibitive



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for many companies. Third-party recovery sites, which share costs among a number of

customers, provide an affordable alternative.

Data Vaulting Journaling does not fully protect orphan data, since a disaster that

destroys a system would likely also destroy the journal files in the system. Data vaulting

eliminates this vulnerability by capturing changes made to production databases and

immediately transmitting them over a network to a recovery site. If no problems occur

during the day, the vaulted data can be discarded when a new backup tape arrives at the

recovery site. Should a disaster occur at the primary site, the vaulted data can be

applied to the recovery sites database after the most recent backup tape has been

loaded. The result is a database that is current up to the point of failure.

Solutions that FitBecause of the diversity of data topologies, hardware, software, and application

platforms, few elements in the managed availability toolkit can be delivered as a shrink-

wrapped offering. A purely off-the-shelf product would have to be so generic as to be far

from optimal in any installation. Therefore, companies should look for a total solution

that includes methodologies, software, processes, training, support, and services that

allow them to effectively tailor and adapt the solution to their unique environments.

Foundation Questions

Clearly, business needs and technology architecture determine the optimal managed

availability solution. However, planners should ask some general questions about each of

the options they evaluate:

Is the solution a comprehensive, end-to-end offering built upon a proven methodology,

incorporating the software, services, support, documentation, and overall expertise

necessary to provide full managed availability?

Does the solution manage all operation-critical elements of application availability (e.g.,

data, objects, security, work management, and user connectivity) and server

requirements (e.g., environment configuration and power)?

Is the solution proven and supported by the companys platform manufacturer(s)

and/or application developer(s)?

Does the solution support new and emerging technologies?

Is the solution capable of handling the full-transaction volumes and complexity of the

companys systems? Is it scalable and flexible enough to keep pace with growth?

How long has the solution been in the market? What is its market share?



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Has the solution been rigorously proven in a number of real-life installations? Can

reference sites be visited?

Addressing these questions can help planners ensure that they select the solutions that

best fulfill their organizations requirements. The next article in this series will take the

process one step further by providing some suggestions on evaluating solution providers.

About the Author

Bill Merchantz is the founder, president, and CEO of Lakeview Technology, a provider of

managed availability software solutions. He has many years of hands-on experience as a

customer/manager of IT solutions.



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7.2 Service Support Set

7.2.1 Service Desk

The end-users need a single point of contact with the IT organisation as well. Thebusiness users / end-users need IT services to improve the efficiency of their ownbusiness processes. When they cant use the IT services, they have trouble achievingtheir objectives.

The Service Desk should be the single point of contact for all end-users. This is whereALL questions, issues and requests are logged and recorded.

The type of service Desk you need depends on the requirements of your customer base.

After all, they need to pay for the service!

You can choose one of the skill levels:- Call Centre

- Unskilled Service Desk

-Skilled Service Desk

- Expert Service Desk

And combine it with an organisational structure:- Centralised Service Desk

- Distributed Service Desk- Virtual Service Desk

- Split Function Service Desk

EXTRA READING

Question: How do you calculate the cost of a call?Jana Johnson - 3/26/01 3:26:00 AMHow do you calculate your cost of call or cost of a service request? What types ofcosts do you include in the total and how often are the costs measured?

Answers:Pam Erskine - 3/28/01 7:25:00 AMSeveral years ago, I purchased a white paper from Help Desk Institute, whichreviewed different calculations for cost per call. While the paper is somewhatoutdated, it does give you an idea of some basics. Our cost per call includes: salaries,benefits, utilities, rent, insurance, phones, training, office supplies, etc. Basically we

include any cost related to the support centre. We complete the calculation quarterly.

Justin Farmer - 3/29/01 2:46:00 PMEvidently the META and Gartner Groups have done studies to show that passwordreset calls cost somewhere between 25-35 dollars per call that lasts an average of11.5-14.5 minutes. Furthermore, depending on security policies, an employee has anaverage of 3-4 reset requests per year. So, the average cost in that area is fairlyeasily definable.

Alec Norrie - 4/1/01 9:45:00 AMSuggest you take a look at the "Interactive Help Desk tool" recently posted in the HDISuperstore. The tool calculates the cost per call for given Service Levels very quickly

and accurately.

Ronald Franklin - 4/2/01 11:36:00 AM



36/67

GPO 2673

Brisbane, QLD 4001


Fax: (07) 33 196 172Version 4.0

In addition to the departmental costs that can apply to all departments, a few otherfactors must be taken into consideration. These include length of call, quality ofassistance received, whether the issue was adequately resolved, and whether or notthe user must call back for additional assistance. For example, if the user must callback and has to rehash the situation, costs escalate and are difficult to control. If,

however, the support technician is continually and adequately trained, even if hemust stay on the phone for some time to resolve the call, this will result in a lowernumber of calls, a higher number of satisfied users, and an overall lower help deskbudget.

Dominick Miliano - 4/4/01 3:29:00 PMWe use a simple calculation that works well for us. We take the entire dollar value ofmy annual budget and divide it by the number of customer contacts we have. Thisincludes all inbound e-mails, voice mails and phone calls. In addition, we add in thenumber of outbound phone calls we make to get a problem resolved. Using just theinbound calls, we average $13-$16/call. If we add in the outbound calls (a very largenumber - representing a significant amount of time and therefore money) we are

under $9.00/customer contact. This calculation method may not be "according to thebook," but we have used it for years and as I said earlier, it works for us.

Dick Szymanski - 4/10/01 12:35:00 PMOne thing most help desk organizations do NOT do in calculating cost per call is,include the support cost beyond the help desk (i.e. second and third level supportwhether captive or outsourced). This leads to misleading and even detrimentalmanagement information.In the extreme, the lowest cost per call would be seen in the help desk thatdispatched out the most of their service incidents the quickest, thus saving greatly ontheir own labour and phone costs while driving total costs up as the inefficienciesfrom buck-passing creep in. Any cost per unit measurement that focuses only on a

portion of the whole is worthless without the full picture.

James Cundall - 4/11/01 4:59:00 PMOne individual mentions the cost for handling a password reset and one suggestionfor handling such calls would be to give your users the option to do the resetthemselves via an IVR, which is what we do. It thus lowers the cost per such call toless than a dollar versus it being done thru the help desk, that cost is in the 7.50range. Our IVR is our first level of support for the client with the Response Centrebeing the 2nd level and so on. Our cost per call is calculated based on the totalmonthly expense for running the Response Centre, which includes salaries, fringe,supplies, etc. This versus the total n

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