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The IT Infrastructure LIbrary |
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Most organisations still approach Infrastructure Management without a long-term strategy. Hence when Infrastructure (e.g. Data Centre) problems do occur they are typically resolved reactively i.e. on a less than streamlined needs-be-basis. And typically rely on continual heroics from a few specialised individuals (who will eventually leave). Unfortunately,
experience tells us this reactive and short term planning will eventually fail.
Thus causing heavy outages, poor client service levels and huge business costs.
As part of proactively addressing the problem ITIL was born. What
is ITIL? ITIL
is an acronym for “IT Infrastructure Library”. Basically it’s a framework
(series of six core volumes), originally defined by the UK government (the OGC),
which is dedicated to refining IT Service Management (ITSM) best practices. Note: Although ITIL was originally defined in the UK, ITIL is becoming the defacto global standard for ITSM and has strong support in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia. Below
we describe the core focus of ITIL (i.e. the volumes): 1.
Service Support Promoting
key service support disciplines i.e.:
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Configuration Mgmt (i.e. Identification, Control, Status Accounting and Audit) +
Problem Management (Defect tracking, Issue Tracking and Resolution) +
Change Management (Change Control, process, authorization etc) +
Help Desk (Primarily Incident Control and Communication) +
Software Control and Distribution (Packaging, Deployment) Note:
ITIL’s terminology separates Configuration Management from Change Management
and Deployment etc. This typically differs from the more holistic definition
that exists within the software community. 2.
Service Delivery Promoting
key service delivery mechanisms i.e.:
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Service Level Mgmt (meeting client needs, defining Service level agreements etc) +
Capacity Management (sizing infrastructure to meet operational/business needs) + Contingency Planning (proactive and reactive measures to recover from disasters) +
Availability Mgmt (defining and delivering required availability of systems etc) +
Cost Management for IT Services (effective purchasing of IT infrastructure)
3.
Planning to Implement Service Management Supports
key ITSM planning steps i.e.:
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Reviews ITSM Planning Issues +
Provides guidelines on implementing mature IT Service
Provision +
Provides
guidelines on evolving existing IT Service Provision 4.
ICT Infrastructure Management Promotes
best practices in key Infrastructure Management activities i.e.:
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Network service management +
Operations management +
Management of local processors +
Computer installation +
Acceptance +
Systems management. Focuses
on the Software Development Lifecycle. Focus
on helping the business understand IT service provision e.g.:
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Business relationship management +
Partnerships and outsourcing +
Continuous improvement +
Exploitation of information +
Communication +
Technology for business advantage Want to know more, try the official ITIL site: http://www.itil.co.uk/index.htm
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