Implement Systems Management to Improve Availability and Visibility
Without sound systems management practices, you don’t control outages, they control you.
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Without formal systems management, you experience:
- Excessively disruptive unplanned outages
- Inability to predict availability
- Loss of credibility with stakeholders
A systems management solution will help you establish:
- The ability to identify and resolve issues before they affect users
- Increased stability and predictability
- Better relationships with stakeholders
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Onsite Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn’t enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our Project Workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a road map in place to complete your project successfully.
Book NowModule 1: Establish systems management priorities to ground your business case
The Purpose
- Prioritize services and systems to target for improvement.
- Define SLAs, targets, and goals.
- Identify risks and potential causes of service disruption.
- Target quick wins by taking action on underperforming systems.
- Make the case for investing in systems management.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A measured (or estimated) performance baseline for identifying priorities and goals.
- A prioritized list of services and systems to target for improvement.
- Analysis of systems and components most affecting service levels.
- Estimate of the value of systems management.
| Activities: | Outputs: | |
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| 1.1 | Determine criticality of IT services by evaluating business dependencies. |
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| 1.2 | Quantify the value of improving systems management to build a stronger case. |
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| 1.3 | Map dependencies between systems and services to evaluate the criticality of subsystems and components. |
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| 1.4 | Estimate or gather current performance data to identify problematic components or subsystems. |
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| 1.5 | Drill down from the service level to identify systems and components inhibiting performance. |
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| 1.6 | Prioritize performance gaps to maximize value of the systems management project. |
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Module 2: Assess current systems management capabilities to identify opportunities and challenges
The Purpose
- Focus time and energy where it will have the most impact (people, processes, or tools).
- Begin developing or acquiring the necessary skills for systems management success.
- Identify opportunities to improve systems management processes before investing in tools.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A capability assessment that shows overall maturity and specific gaps (people, processes, or tools).
- List of available and required skills.
- Process diagrams.
| Activities: | Outputs: | |
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| 2.1 | Evaluate process capabilities to identify critical focus areas. |
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| 2.2 | Strike a balance between people, processes, and technologies for all management disciplines. |
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| 2.3 | Perform a skills inventory and identify any expertise gaps. |
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| 2.4 | Map your processes to identify inefficient activities and opportunities to improve effectiveness. |
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| 2.5 | Estimate measurable improvements in processes to establish targets. |
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| 2.6 | Assess the effectiveness, quality, and value of systems management tools currently in use. |
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Module 3: Develop a systems management project plan
The Purpose
- Keep the systems management project on track.
- Mitigate resistance to change and centralized visibility and control.
- Make a business case for investing in a systems management solution.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Concrete goals and well-defined scope for keeping the systems management project on track.
- Team buy-in on high-level project decisions.
- A compelling business case for your systems management project.
| Activities: | Outputs: | |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | Determine targets and scope of the implementation project to ensure you’re solving the right issues. |
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| 3.2 | Build a high-level project timeline that leads to a realistic success scenario. |
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| 3.3 | Assemble your project team and arrange participation to ensure buy-in and project success. |
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| 3.4 | Plan your approach for process improvement to keep the project grounded in clearly defined goals and scope. |
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| 3.5 | Outline high-level technical requirements for the systems management solution. |
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| 3.6 | Develop a planning-level cost-benefit business case to ensure project costs stay within the value threshold. |
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| 3.7 | Document decisions using the Systems Management Project Charter Template and present to management for approval. |
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Module 4: Evaluate and select systems management tools
The Purpose
- Focus on the solutions that are best suited for your organization’s needs.
- Expedite the evaluation and selection process in order to get to pilot and deployment phases faster.
- Evaluate and select a systems management solution.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Defined requirements for a systems management solution.
- A shortlist of systems management solutions to evaluate.
- An RFP or demo script to expedite evaluation and selection.
| Activities: | Outputs: | |
|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | Establish the selection committee. |
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| 4.2 | Define requirements to guide selection. |
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| 4.3 | Determine which type of solution is best for your organization. |
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| 4.4 | Decide which vendor solutions to evaluate. |
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| 4.5 | Review and revise the business case to ensure expected costs are still within the value threshold. |
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| 4.6 | Create and submit an RFP using Info-Tech’s RFP Template. |
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Module 5: Deploy the systems management solution
The Purpose
- Consistently manage and continuously improve systems management processes.
- Track benefits and value of the systems management project.
- Sustain and continuously improve your systems management implementation.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A visual SOP for systems management.
- Project milestones and targets.
- Plans for dealing with challenges and potential setbacks.
| Activities: | Outputs: | |
|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | Create a visual standard operating procedure (SOP) to consistently manage and improve processes. |
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| 5.2 | Schedule milestones to measure the progress and value of the systems management implementation. |
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| 5.3 | Measure the value of the systems management implementation. |
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| 5.4 | Track performance of systems and components to proactively identify issues and problems. |
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| 5.5 | Discuss possible implications and remedial actions for underperformance. |
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