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IT Organization: Building A Worldclass Infrastructure
- By Harris Kern, Stuart D. Galup, Guy Nemiro
- Published Feb 15, 2000 by Pearson.
Book
- Sorry, this book is no longer in print.
Description
- Copyright 2000
- Edition: 1st
- Book
- ISBN-10: 0-13-022298-4
- ISBN-13: 978-0-13-022298-5
It is painfully clear that few companies are achieving their goals for client/server reliability, availability, and serviceability. It is becoming equally clear that the problems are not technical, but organizational. How does one structure an IT organization that can achieve today's business goals using today's tools and architectures? This book takes on the challenge, and offers realistic, specific answers based on the experiences of more than 40 leading companies. You'll learn exactly what not to do, which lessons to draw lessons from the success of the traditional data center, and most importantly, how to design for the 21st century paradigm of "any data, anywhere, anytime." Learn what it really means to treat your network like you treat your data center; to organize your enterprise around mission-critical support instead of specific technologies; to maintain both centralized control and decentralized operations; to establish standards without imposing rigidity, and to bring discipline without bureaucracy. The book is concise, but the diagnoses are specific -- and so are the solutions.
Extras
Related Articles
Aligning IT to the Business: Managing Customer Expectations
Building a World Class IT Infrastructure
Managing the Internet Business Model
Principles of Organizational Design
Production Control = Infrastructure QA
Satisfying the King (Otherwise Known as the IT Customer)
The Enterprise Infrastructure Services Organization
Web Services Part 1: Existing Problems
Web Services Part 2: Current Technologies
Web Services Part 3: What Are Web Services?
Why You Need the Production Control Function
Sample Content
Downloadable Sample Chapter
Click here for a sample chapter for this book: 0130222984.pdf
Table of Contents
1. Introduction.
IT Infrastructure Assessment. What Is the Infrastructure?
2. What We Found in Our Travels.
What's Wrong with Client/Server? The Problems. The Excuses. Applications Development Is Not an Issue. The Impact. Processes Are Not First.
3. The CIO's Role.
Executives Out of Touch with Their Infrastructure. How Can the Infrastructure Catch Up Quickly? Lack of Time and Resource. Assure That Your IT Budget Provides for RAS. Marketing and Selling IT Services. Duplication of Efforts.
4. Case Studies.
The Problems Short-Listed. Current Organizational Structures.
5. The Problems Short-Listed.
The Top Three Missing or Broken Processes. The Other Issues. Internal Support Agreement.
6. Learn from the Past to Build the Future.
The Organization. Processes.
7. Building a World-Class Infrastructure.
Start Simple. Designing and Adhering to Your Key Methodologies. Know That Success Equals the Change You Manage.
8. The New Order.
Splitting the Technologies. Who's in Charge?
9. The Organization for the Twenty-First Century.
Enterprise Services. Mission-Critical vs Non-Mission-Critical. Structuring Technical Staff. Functional Responsibilities. Epilogue The “World-Class” Infrastructure.
Appendix A: Frequently-Asked Questions.
General. People. Process. Technology.
Appendix B: Infrastructure Assessment Program.
The Industry Problem. People Issues. Process Issues. Technology Issues. The Program. Customer Requirements. The Deliverable. The Cost.
Appendix C: Service Level Agreements.
Information Systems Services Cost Options Definitions.
Appendix D: Internal Support Agreement.
Root Authority. Server Availability Hours. Backups. Support Responsibility.
Appendix E: Marketing Materials for an Internal Audience.
Enterprise Center. Systems Management. Quality Assurance. Customized reports. Data storage. Mission. Enterprise Center Tours. High-Tech Equipment. Information Technology Survey. Consulting Services. Bibliography.
Index.
Preface
Preface
Structure, Not TechnologyThis book brings an urgent message for any Information Technology professional who is responsible for planning, implementing, managing, and supporting client/server (or networked) computing environments. If you want to survive in the networked, client/server world, you must stop, analyze, reorganize and prioritize your infrastructure now.
We spent two years analyzing 40, cross industry Fortune 1000 companies. We were engaged to assist IT organizations in their quest for reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) with client/server environments. This book is based on these case studies.
We found that organizations everywhere have serious latent infrastructure issues. Too often IT managers deal only with the symptoms of their problems by blaming technology, the complexity, or the architecture of client/server environments. The fact is that all of these companies have infrastructure issues that inhibit their ability to have RAS in client/server environments.
All of the companies we analyzed are committed to client/server computing and the transformation to the new paradigm (i.e., any data, anywhere, anytime) which is becoming more prevalent every minute in Internet time. IT organizations must get their acts together to support their business requirements, but the terrifying fact is that IT organizations aren't prepared for the onslaught of the networked world because of the organizational problems we highlight.
The first section highlights the issues and problems of networked computing we found in our travels around the world. This section highlights what not to do.
The second section tells you how to look at the past for answers to the problems in today's environments. This section also shows you how to build that elusive world-class infrastructure.
The third section deals with how to structure your IT organization for the twenty-first century and how to give it a competitive advantage in the "dot comming" world.
And last, but so very important, are the questions we are asked most frequently by IT professionals during our travels.
This book is different than any other book we've written and any other books in the marketplace on IT organization structures because of the 40 case studies. This book is about the non-technical issues that IT organizations need to address to succeed in a client/server environment. This book is about basics-how to structure an organization so that it works. Through case studies and recommendations, we'll show you how to set up procedures, policies, and metrics to make sure the organization is effective.