Optimizing Technology In The Enterprise:

Building A Common Infrastructure Environment

PURPOSE & OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this White Paper is to describe an approach and set of techniques that can be applied in examining and then implementing an Enterprise-wide Common Infrastructure Environment Program. It is intended as an overview of the activities leading to a successful implementation.

The objective is to implement a program of "capabilities" that will ensure a business’ technology infrastructure, including communications systems provide the best, optimal level of support to the enterprise, where cost, time and professional staff resources are critical factors.

ASSUMPTIONS

Businesses may have in the past and still may be currently addressing some or all of the following assumptions:

  1. The business has gathered data on its existing inventories of hardware and software; complete validation of that information is still in progress.
  2. For most business-developed application software, current versions of source code will be available, either on-site or as off-site backup.
  3. Where current version source code is not available for business-developed application software, a suitably recent version is available, along with change-request documentation, which describes changes to the prior version leading to the current version.
  4. Communications networks, internal and external, are a part of a Common Infrastructure Environment.
  5. A Common Infrastructure Environment will ensure that, to the reasonable extent practical, that all desktop devices operate with a common environment.
  6. A Common Infrastructure Environment will ensure, again to the extent practical, that all desktop PC "package" software is consistent
  7. All servers will be in a Common Infrastructure Environment, including hardware, operating system, and utility software. Where not productive, upgrade/replacement products will be purchased.
  8. Data repositories will be a mixture of structures and designs.
  9. Facilities and support resources are available, including connections to all systems, and LAN bandwidth, desktop units, desks, and any necessary other support infrastructure.
  10. Business staff with knowledge of all application systems is available.
  11. Budget is constrained, but will be adequate to the tasks that must be completed.
  12. Activities in this paper operate in parallel, except where sequential activities clearly prevail.

OVERALL APPROACH

From a top-level perspective, the approach to optimizing a business’ common and consistent technical operating environment contains the following set of activities:

  1. Development of a preliminary program plan, reflecting scope, objective, resources, and timeline.
  2. Inventory of current systems, both hardware and software
  3. Prioritization and ranking of system criticality, within the context of:
    1. Any mandated requirements (such as regulatory-agency mandated reporting/compliance)
    2. Business operations, mission-critical systems, providing key data integral to the daily operations of the enterprise
    3. Internal "business operations" systems
  4. Refinement and detailing of a formal Program Plan
  5. Firm commitment from executive and senior enterprise leadership
  6. Stabilization of program team membership and allocation of tasking
  7. Performance of activities
  8. Periodic review forums and organization coordination
  9. Pre-conclusion Program review and results consensus
  10. Implementation of course adjustments
  11. Wind-up activities and conclusion briefings

INVENTORY

The inventory establishes a baseline of existing systems, along with their merits and deficiencies. This inventory will include:

During the gathering of the above data, all information will be recorded, which specify (as appropriate):

The servers, PCs, and peripheral devices along with their instruction-set software, operating system, and package software will be identified as Common Infrastructure Environment supporting/non-supporting. In the event of non-supporting, remedial solutions are identified and presented to the project sponsors. It will be the responsibility of the Common Infrastructure Environment Program to track, and subsequently validate that all technology is supportive, and integrated into a Common Infrastructure Environment.

The data stores for mainframes, servers and PCs will be ranked using the above data. Depending on the level of the Common Infrastructure Environment issue involved, remedial solutions will vary. Where mainframe system applications (and potentially some server and PC-based applications) have a Common Infrastructure Environment issue, and source code is unavailable, an assessment will be made as to the extent of the Common Infrastructure Environment remedial effort. Such effort will result in:

PRIORTIZATION & RANKING OF RECOMMENDED ACTIONS

Prioritization and ranking of recommended actions supporting a common infrastructure environment will be a function of multiple variables:

PROGRAM PLAN

One of the most important aspects of a common and consistent technical operating environment is the creation of a program plan. The plan will include creation of a program schedule incorporating:

  1. A rank ordering of the relative importance of each system, using a set of variables described in the previous sections which ranks by criticality, level of effort, time to implement and cost.
  2. Ranked according to "core" functionality required to conduct business’ operations.
  3. Reflect a structure that lists each application program, set of activities (such as hardware replacement), the elapsed time (such as ordering and installing), and the associated level of effort (labor-weeks/months).
  4. Reflect a comprehensive integrated schedule that blends all activities showing week-by-week milestones (or day-by-day, if appropriate), and the corresponding level of effort required to conduct all activities, as a consolidated program
  5. To the extent that costs are immediately known (such as labor), which will be associated with the schedules.
  6. A critical path, which shows the core systems that must be completed to maintain schedule and provide the required business’ functionality.
  7. The initial level of detail will be at the 3rd to 4th level of detail. As the program progress and the precise schedules are developed they will be integrated into the "master" schedule; the level of detail will expand to manage all common infrastructure environment program activities on a weekly/daily basis.

The program plan will describe the allocation of effort and remedial outcomes. It will identify the types of skills needed to successfully accomplish the objectives.

PROGRAM TEAM CREATION

The program team will be created based on the requirements initially identified during the Inventorying Phase and the development of the Program Plan.

However, due to the nature of the business’ systems and the actions that can be anticipated, some skill sets may continue to be identified throughout the project’s duration. When a majority of skill set requirements are identified, the team will commence being built. Individuals who can technically "walk" across various operating systems and programming languages will be required.

Once the project is fully underway, depending on the scope and complexity of the project, multiple sub-teams may be created to tackle the differing types of actions, such as data stores, application specific code, interfaces, or communications devices. The multiple teams will be controlled and managed using an integrated team approach.

Full advantage will be made of automated messaging tools to facilitate communication among the team, including:

REVIEW FORUMS & ORGANIZATION COORDINATION

This is accomplished by utilizing existing business practices, and if appropriate, recommending new procedures.

At a minimum, periodic status reports will be provided and briefed to the senior managers. Reports will detail:

Reviews should be conducted on an established basis (semiweekly or monthly) and provide a detailed understanding of all activities. The audience at the meetings will be business’ senior management.

In addition, a wide range of practices are available that can be leveraged to share information to stakeholder individuals and organizations. These include:

SUMMARY

The discussion in this White Paper has focused on the broad outlines of implementing and managing a Common Infrastructure Environment Program for a business. Each of the discussion sections will necessarily be presented in greater detail during the course of developing a Program Plan.

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