Efficient management of IT Infrastructure implementation and support at enterprise level

Efficient management of IT Infrastructu r e imp lementation and support at enter prise level Bhargav . Ba lakrishnan Sut he rland Global Services # 383, Ve l ache r y Ta mba ra m Ma in Ro ad Vijayan agar am , Ve lachery Chennai - 600 042 Mobil e no – 9840658679 bha rga vbal akr ishn an@gmail.co m Abstract: - Thi s pape r deals wi t h h ow to m anage eff ect iv ely in t he desig n , implement ati o n an d support of a n IT inf ra struct ure a t an enter pri se level . T his parti cu lar management is lac king in to day ’s IT inf rast ructur e scen ar i o . Ju st im p lementat i o n is n ot suffi c ient f or an NON-IT in dust r y , they need a pro per support in the infrastruct ure li k e do cumentat i o n, support w o rk fl o w, t i cket in g s ys t ems ( used f or IT rela t ed is sue e i t her hardware o r software) etc... Many organizat i ons spe nd a l ot o f m o ney for t his support an d t hey expect a l o t f ro m t he pro vi der. Many pro viders s i g n in the S LA that t hey wi ll provi de t h em w i t h an exce llen t support, but 80-90% it doesn’ t happen. Many t imes t hey do n’t m e et t he expect a tions o f t hei r clien t . So how to m ake t hese expectat i ons being m et 100% f or t he c li ent? T hat is what i s going t o b e discussed i n t his pap er w i t h r espect to I TIL f ramewor k an d ot h er t ech nical t ermi no l og i es. INTRODUCTION In t o day’ s wo rl d e ve r y IT a nd n o n - IT organizat i on’s depe nds o n I T f o r t hei r inf rast ructur e . The im por t an t t hin g will be t he do cumentati on o f t he ent i r e inf rast ructure both hardware and software. The do cu m e ntat i on s h ou l d include t he en t ire work fl ow o f its implementat i on i.e. fl oo r pl a nning, net work cabl ing, swi t c h rack diagra m (Suppo rt agreem e n t o f ne t workin g devic es), servers, stor age etc.., s o each pro curem ent will ha ve t h eir o wn warr ant y per i od. This docu mentat i o n is ca lled as a n Asset Ma nagem ent. This as set m anage ment i s not pro pe rly managed in m any e nterpr i s e o rganiz at i ons a nd lic enses are being mi s used by t he adminis t rato r or e m p l o yee o f a n o rganizat i o n. Let us t ake an example o f W i ndo ws XP OS. Nor m a lly an o rganiza t ion at an enter pr i se level will buy not le ss 1000 li censes. In t ha t case if someone misuse, it can b e tr acked eas ily t hrough Micro soft if neede d, b ut t he management hav e t he fait h o n IT support t eam t hat t hey clearly main t a in the reco rds. Wh en i t co m es to t he IT audi t , t hose one o r t w o li censes misused are not cared as t here are n nu mbe rs o f so f t ware’s used at e nterpr i se level a n d due t o lack o f t ime t hey nor m all y skip t his issue. T his so ftware’s sh ou l d be auto m at i cally deplo y ed f ro m M ic ro soft, Inf os ys et c.. , for their product that t hey deal wi t h t heir client. The o rgani zat i on s hou l d o rder t he li ce nses o nline a nd get it depl o y ed automa t ic all y fro m t he resp ect iv e dea lers. Why they g ive t his t o IT -suppo rt wi t h l o t of ex pect at i o ns? The mai n t hing is t im e, w hich is w hat m at t ers a l ot in t o day ’s wo r l d. The t ime y o u take to ins ta ll a n applicat i on is go in g t o con tr ib ut e 0.0000001% of an o rganizat i o n’s pro fi t in d i r ect ly . So IT-Supp ort i s v ery important f o r an or gani zat i o n once after t he implementat i o n is done. So here in t his paper we are go in g to see h ow we ar e goin g t o effect iv e ly balance t h e m a nagement o f IT-inf r ast ructure im plementat i on a nd support. MANAGEM ENT OF IT INF RASTRUCTURE IMPLEMENTATION Wh en an I T inf rast ructure i s de signed, a proper case st ud y n eeds to be do ne o n the basic requ i re ments li ke fl o o r d i agram , netwo rk port s requirement (data & vo ice), netwo rk devices requ i red, servers, sto r age an d o t her so f tware’s r equi red n eeded t o b e docu m ented. This sh ou l d hav e pro per app rovals both for procurem ent an d d i sp at ch of the pro ducts. Fig (1) Management and accounts appro val a nd clear an ce pr o cess In the above diagram , i t shows a basic wor k f l o w f o r a pro curem ent o f “ IT-Gadgets”. S im ilar ly t h e pro curemen t needs to b e do ne f o r the e nt i re requirement. T hi s do cu m e ntat i on an d appr oval pro cess w ill be very helpful dur ing t he aud i t . This w ill e nhance t h e clarit y f or t h e m a nagement regardin g t h e asset t ha t t hey have regar ding t he IT . In t he d iagram i t shows t h e appro val f ro m accounts as they are go ing to pro vi de the finance for t he pro curement o f IT gadgets. T hes e t hings needs t o known to the acco unts and manage men t t ha t t he fo l l o w ing gadgets are brought wi t h t heir appro val and i t has been bought w i t hin t he budget o f t hat part i cu lar ye ar. Why ITI L is usef u l he re? ITI L is a f r amewor k as we all know and i t is been univers all y a ccepted. Her e ITI L pl a y s a vi ta l ro le in pr ovid in g a pro per servi ce strat egy , servi ce desig n a nd ser vice t ransi t ions. As t hese t hree st ages are t o b e pro perly p laced t o go ah ead wi t h se r vice operati ons an d co nt in ua l service im pr ovement which comes in suppor t. 1) Strateg y 2) Design IT-i mplementat i o n 3) Transi t i on 1) Operation IT - Support 2) Contin ual ser vice improvem ent Usage of ITIL in implementation How t he fi r st t hree of ITIL i s re l at ed to t he l ast two? Let us d isc u ss this w i t h an exa m ple o f a n organizat i o n which go ing t o start wi t h 40 em p l o yees. At fi r st t he management, fi nance and I T m anager o r t hird part y vendor need t o make an in i t i al do cu m e ntat i o n of w hat i s r equir ed i.e. service st rateg y . This needs t o be refi ned based upo n the quo t a t i o ns pro vi d ed by t wo o r t hree v endors. The se lec t ion o f vendors sh ou l d b e sp ecific t hat i s not hin g but the vendo r shou l d be a n aut h o ri zed dealer o f t he pro duc t s which you are go in g t o procure f r o m t hem . The agree ment t hat is s i g ned s h o ul d be reviewed proper l y by t he top m a nagemen t bef or e pro ceedin g wi t h the pro curem e nt process. Process Flow Case st udy o f t h e requ i r ement -> do cum entat i on for m a nage men t revi ew -> fil t er ing o f based on quo tation an d authori zat i on o f t h e pro ducts that are go in g t o be pro cured -> fi nal documen t ati o n f o r the to p man age ment r evi ew-> o nce appro ved for bot h pro curem e nt a nd support (within w arrant y and a f t er warranty i . e. t hro ugh SLA) -> Cl osure o f LOP The suppo rt provi ded by t he respect iv e v endor o f t he pro duct sh ou l d be a nal y sed o n h alf ye ar ly b asis by the I T-suppo rt t eam a nd h as to be f o rwarded to t he m a nagement for t hei r not i ce. Once t hi s is appro v ed by them, t h en o nly t he renewal f or t he support nee ds t o be done. This needs t o be web based app li c at ion for t he IT- support verti cal. T he updat ion related to a l l t h e v ert ic al needs t o be do ne by t he IT-support which w ill reduc e t h e t im e t o process t hem manually. Al l the bills shou l d be made we b b ased so that it ca n be ma de a c e n t rali z ed pr ocess f o r bot h accounts and m a nagement. Process Flow Support pro vi ded by X dea l er f o r six m o nths -> IT-suppo rt r evi ew – Sat i sfied ( in t h e scale o f 5) (4) -> auto m at i cally sent t o m a nagement a nd a ccount st aff -> re view w i t h t he vendor why 100% suppo rt was not m et -> r eason o f both IT and vendor are j ust ifie d-> cl osure f o r re newal (Decisi o n by t he management) Decisi o n will be based on if t he v endor has pr ovided 100% capac i t y and availabili t y mana gement for t he c li e nt even t hen t he r equi red t arge t i s not m et. The ot her r eason w il l be pro vi d in g less capac i t y and a vail abil i t y manage ment and reso lvi ng t he issues t hat can be o nly upto to t hei r l evel i . e. capac i t y . I n t he se cond reaso n t he capac i t y i .e. n o o f t echnical suppo rt ex ecut ives was less a n d t hey were a bout to giv e 1 00% efficien cy f o r t h eir capacit y , so ei t her ways t he vendor ha s not me t t he c li e nt t arget. This is t he p lace w here t he o rganizat i o ns have not g one into in dept h a n alysis. T here had been lot o f l o ss f or the or gani z at i o n d irect ly a nd indi r ect ly in t hei r pro fi ts and t arget s that they have set f or that parti cular year at l east by 1 - 2% diff ere n ce. T hi s ca n be pro perly fra med wi t h a lot of review at t h e service strateg y st age i t sel f . T he vendor has pr o vi ded a pr oper docum e ntat i o n t h at i s w hat ev er is r equi red by a new or gani zat i o n is quo t ed wi t h pro per supp o rt both during warrant y a nd a f t er, along w i t h t he resour ce h e wou l d provide for t he support. E xam p le TCS provid in g suppor t f o r Ashok Leyland. His maj o r co ncern will his cor e application, email a n d we bsi t e which needs be active t hro ughout t he year w i t hout any issues a s i t i s go in g t o grow his business. When ever t h e applicat i o n s go do wn o r any issues w hich ar e maj o r in t hat c i rcu mstances he w ill expect t h e pro per r esource from t he support o rgani zat i on. These k inds o f mis t ake in many s i t uat i o ns hav e lead t o closure of t heir cont ract al o ng w i t h lo ss f or t he o rgani zat i on. These t hin g s nee d to be pro perly f ramed a nd approved by management. Fig (2) Im po rt an ce o f a desi g n pro cess Af t er t hi s pro cess w ill be des ign o f t he inf r ast ruct ure, which will b e do ne based upon the pro curem e nt done at t he ini t ial st age. The man agement, IT s t aff s a nd vendor nee ds to m ake a cl ear a n alysis t hat how t he desig n o f the infrast ructure needs to be do ne . T he fl o o r d i agra m , ne t wor k di agra m et c.. .base d upon which t he p ro curem e nt i s do n e. The des ign shou l d inv o lved t he appro vals fro m t h e management l e vel before implement in g a ny t hin g li ke DB, t el ep hone e xchange box, t runkin g o f ca bles a s in pr esen t wo r l d t here ar e lot rul es a nd norms t h at nee ds t o be f o ll o wed w hile sett in g up a n inf ra structur e an d each co m ponent has it’s o wn space. The DB w hen i t is set , t he total l oad requ i red f o r t he o ffi ce will be ca lculated separate ly a nd f o r ser ve r ro o m i t w ill be dedicat ed one. The po wer o f t he fl oo r o r building sh ou l d not be given t o server roo m as i t is a ro o m t h at requi res l o t o f safet y . I t i s c a ll e d a s t he he art o f an o rganizat i o n. This is w he re t he design sh ou l d be do n e pro perly , i t invo lve s a n I T in bot h e lectri ca l a nd ca bli ng design f or an o rganizati o n. The I T st affs s hou l d fix t he ser vers, stor age and swi t ches o n t o t h e rack, t h en calculate t he l o ad i t i s s h o win g o n a n a verage. Then t h e l oad shou l d be a ll o t t ed doubl e o f i t. Thi s p lan has t o be sent to m a na gement and j ust if y why t hey need this load and how t hey got t hi s value. T hes e t hings need to properl y do cum ent with a fi na l co py . Then co m es t he netwo rk cabli ng a nd i t also varies based upo n t he management r equi re men t also. Som et im e f or t he co nf erence r oo m t hey will go IP pr ojec t or, vi deo co nference and po rts t h at are place d o n t he conference t able f or t hei r cli ents to use. All t hese t hings need t o be pro pe rly fixed bef or e go in g a hea d f or fi nal executi o n o f netwo rk cabli ng. T he data a nd vo i ce port s nee d t o be pr oper ly do cumen t ed as in l o ng run t his wi ll be ea sy to tr ace. Whenev er t h ere i s da mage in a po rt i t can be ea sil y t ro ubl es h o oted by t he suppo rt t ea m . The mana gement shou l d r efine a ll t hese requ irements, validate i t an d appr ove. Then t he I T t eam can go a hea d a nd f i n ish the d esign. T h e IT t eam sho ul d check t he l o ad o f t he server ro o m s o n a regu l ar b asis t ha t i s dur ing peak a nd non-peak ho urs. According t he DB u sage c an be see n on regu l ar basis. T hese do cum entat i ons s houl d be g iven t o t he mana gement t o j ust ify t hem t h at wha t ev er is done at t he st age o f str ategy and design h as be en pro perly ut ili zed. Ba sed upon t he t ri al t hat is do ne by I T t ea m sa y f or a b o ut 3 to 4 months per i o d t he c ha nge requ i red in t he des ign, ins ta ll at i on and do cumen t ation ca n be pro vi d ed to t he m a nagemen t . Then t hes e ch anges need to be properly do cu m ent ed wi t h pro per j u st ifi cat i o n. CHANGE M ANAGEMENT Then f inal s tage of im p lementat i on i s the c hange which dep e n ds o n t he per i o d ic repo rt gen erat ion o f t he inf rastr uctur e whi ch ca n b e bot h h ar dware and so f t ware. T he chan ge depen ds o n t he require ment but t here is a pr oper appro ach behind i t w hich are ment i o ned bel o w 1. Downt i me (which can affect t he business by s to ppin g t he ser vice t h at needs up gradat i o n) 2. Risk invo lv ed ( inf o r mati o n in perspect iv e in l oss and confide n t iali t y) 3. Docum ent ati o n updat i o n and test run bef or e execut ing i t o n li ve. So t he change s hou l d b e bought as and w he n we requ i r e. It n eeds t o be approved by t he mana gement by s eeing the a bove cr i ter ia’s and o ther factor i nvo lv ed b ehind i t . They wo u l d see w hat wo ul d be investment o n ret urn if t he change i s b ro ught ab out . Wha t are t he o t her sol ut i o ns for t hi s app lica t ion? I s t here a ny o t her app li cat i on f o r perf or ming t his t ask? Ho w i t gets in t egrat ed and who i s t he pr ovider o f t his? C an t his be provided by t he sa me developer say TCS, Wipro? What w il l be t he co st involved? These are so m e o f t h e po in t s t hat needs to documen t ed w i t h pr oper j ust ifi c at i o n and then sent across to m a nagement to go ahead w i t h t h e chan ge. Once t ha t is do ne w i t h t he t ask nee ds to be scheduled a nd in t imated to t he st affs at l east 72 h our s before and do cum entat i on shou ld be s ent wi th a screenshot t hat where t he ch ange is brought ab o ut if i t an sof t ware o r a hardware. This do cu m e ntat i o n s h o uld b e updated o n a wh o le w i t h a ll t he c h anges every q uater for an e nterpr i se o r gani zat i on w hich gives t he pro fi c iency o f a n o rgani zat i on in main ta ining t he IT r ec or ds. Thi s w ill w ha t is goin g to help in t he support stage whi c h is go in g to di sc ussed in t h e next and t here we will see how t h ese stages build a f oundat i on f or t he suppor t ver tical. Fig (3) Pr o cess inv o lv ed i n tr an si t i o n Change Process Flow The change ad vis or y board is go in g t o deci de the c hange t hat is go in g t o b e ma de in a part i cu lar so ftware or hardware . The ch ange manage m e nt tea m s h o ul d c heck t he f o ll o w in g cr i t eria’s like r is k inv o lved, downt im e, a nd bugs if i t o ccurs what’s t he alternat e applica t ion etc... Thes e t hings needs to n eeds t o docum e nts and appro ved by t he head o f t he cha nge advis or y dep art m e nt hear t o t he board o f d i re cto rs. T he do cumen t a tion sho uld be prec ise t ha t is i t t el l what i s requ i red, all cr i t er i a’s, n eed for change, al ternate sol ut ion’s, i nves t m ent o n ret urn , j ust ifi cat i o n f o r change. O n ce appro ve d shou l d d i r ect a copy t o t he vendor, ch an ge advis or y and fi na nce depart m e nt. Onc e i t go es to t he finance depart m e nt t hey need to check on t he b udget a nd t he e mergency o f t he c hange. Based upo n t he t im e frame ne eds t o be set an d t he change n eeds t o b e brought about. Change is like a bridge between im plementat i on an d oper ation’s so t hat i s go in g t o play a vi t a l ro le. Do cum entation in t his st age is go in g to tell a bout the changes t hat wer e m ad e ear l ier on any part i cu lar app licat i o n. T he strategy , de sign is t he f o u ndat i o n of a n or gani zat i o n’s star t but t ransi t i on is go ing t o stay w i t h t he o rganizat i o n f o re ver. Eve r y decisi o n is go in g t o be carr i ed o ut based upo n t hi s st age. The t hings ar e loo ked by swapping t h e inf o r m at i on’s t h at are stored in t he do cumen t ati o n o f t his st age. How to m ake t his st a ge a perfect one? T here are peo ple f ro m a ll t he departments in t his stage, b ut t here s hou l d be a t eam w hich s hou l d conso li dat e t he o pini o ns o f a ll the mem ber, m ake a pro per a documen t ati o n o n t he e nt i r e tr ansact i o n o f ea ch change r ight f ro m appro ver, vendor, t he area of cha nge, t h e bugs t ha t were inv o lv ed in c han ge, t he so l ut i on f or t hat bug, t he im port ance o f t h at b ug, t he do wntim e c aused due t o t hi s bug, t he depart m e nt a ff ected by t his bug et c.. All ne eds t o be do cumented and se nt as a a lert m e ssage to t he t ea m members o f t ha t depart m e nt. Wh en t he change is being carr ied o ut, t he s y stem ad ministrato r sh oul d c heck t hat al t ernate applica t ion i s wo rking pro perly and t hat da y’s wo rk i s not been d is tur be d by t his c hange o f t hi s appl i cat i on. I mm ediate ly a f t er t h e change, the test run shou l d be done by using t he dummy input val u e and then w i th the appr oval f or rel e ase t he app licat i o n s h o ul d be m oved on to live. This approval shou l d be wi t hin 2-3 hours. Once done t he u sers shou l d be in t ima t ed ab out t he l o cation where t he change that ha s b een made. Change m anagement shou l d b e care fully han dled by t he management as t he changes made sh ou l d be o ne t ime; i t s hou l d be t est ed in t hat way . Ther e s hou l d be no bug t ha t is 99% t hat sh ows t he per fec t ion a nd pro fi ciency of t he vendor in pro vi d ing a change at t he t im e o f need. That i s what t he No n IT or gani z at i o n e xpec t s from an IT o r gani zat i on. For t hi s t hey spe n d in t h o usan ds a n d t he expectat i on w ill be er ro r f re e. Once t hat is met then t he 75% o f t he S LA agreemen t is met. Chan ges are t he o ne t hat i s mainly seen by a ny o rganizat i on and how wel l i t is do cu m e nted a nd suppo rt ed in t he t ime o f need. These do cumen t ations are t he o ne t hat i s going t o provi de a pro per reso l ut i on f o r any i ssue an d a lso reduces t he t im e spe n t in t r acin g t h e l o cat i on o f t he issue. I f t he er ro r o ccurs, fi r st w ill check is t here an er ro r in t he c hanges t h at is being t hen pro ceed in depth in to the app licati o n and fi x t he issue. This is w hat that ne eds t o l o o ked i nto whil e b r inging ab out t he change. Fig (4) Pr o cess Fl ow of change management Sample output o f t he appl i cat i on (Web Based) Fig (5) Home Page for s t r a t egy Fig (6) Requi rement det ail (. XLS file) Fig (6) Procurement (F or Management) Fig (7) Appro v al Process (Mana gement appro val ) Fig (8) Appro val St a tus Design Phase Fig (9) Not if icat i on o f appro val to ven do r Fig (10) Vendor notificat i o n email Fig (11) Appro val for desi g n pro cess Fig (12) Documen t ati o n f or transi t i on Fig (13) Appro val Transi t i o n The a bove shown samp le scree nsh ot s describ es t he important pro cess fl o ws invo lve d in the implementat i o n st age o f a n IT- inf r ast ructure. Once it is do ne w i t h t h en i t mo v es t o t he next stage of IT-support. IT-OPE RATION Support Support is pure ly based how good an im plementati o n and do cum entat i on are do ne. Wh en t he documen t ati o n is do n e as per t h e fl ow t hen it makes it c le ar f or a syste m ad min t o t ake o ve r t h e t ask w i t hin a week’s t ime . Let m e pro vi de y o u with a n e x ample o f a do cu m e ntat i o n o f a serv er. Server: (1) Na m e – HP P roli ant DL 380 G5 ( 8 SAS HDD wi th each 146GB capacit y ) (2) Co nfi guration – Xeon pro cessor/ 2.73 GHz/ 8GB RAM (3) Operat in g S ys t em – Windows 2003 (R2) serv er OS (4) Applicat i o n – ADS( User acco unts, gro up p olici es), DNS, DHCP, Pr in t S erver (5) Ant i V i rus – McAfee 8.5 (6) Po li c ies Applied - i – Pre vent accessin g contro l panel ii – Pre vent mod ifyi ng dat e an d t ime iii) So f tware Dep l o yment (Ms O ffice 2003, McAfee 8.5, Wi n Zip, A dobe, Internet ex plorer 8.0) (7) DHCP Range set – 192.160.2.10 – 192.160.2.225 (8) Pr in t S erver – HP Col our LaserJet 4600n, HP LaserJet 4100n The a bove ment i oned is t he pr ocedure how a do cumen t ati o n shou l d be made. T his shoul d be precise a nd w ill help t h e support t eam to main t a in t he updat i on pro per ly in t his o rder. Every day t he l o gs needs t o be gene rat ed f o r eve r y t ask like secur i t y , we b acc ess repo rt, appli cat i o n l o g, NT authent i cat i on l og s etc. .. Once t his is d o ne w i t h t hen t he support process w ill be sm oot h and t he co n t inual ser vice im pr ovem ent will b e there f o r the or gani zat i o n as the ven do r i s meet in g t he t arget t ha t he h as agr eed t o deli ver t o the client w i thout any flaw. T here will be a fa u l t t o l erant but in the range of max 0.5- 1%. Support is w hat go in g t o deci de the co n t inual i mprovement m anagement an d furt he r t ransi t i o n is go ing t o come . Because w henever t he support documentation t hat are prepared sh ou l d be checked a nd based upo n w hich t he c hange needs t o be carr i ed. I f a user acco unt in A ct ive d irect or y services, t h e S yste m A dmin ist rator sh o u l d c h eck what app li cat i on is requ i red t o t h at user, what permissi o n needs be s et that i s t he gro up po li c ies, access restr i ct i ons based upon w hich t he budget i s normally calculated for I T f or a y e ar. There sh ou l d be f o reca st r ep ort t hat needs t o b e gen erat ed by t he HR a nd t hat s houl d be map w i t h t h e account ’s budget. These put to ge t h er shou l d ask f o r t he hardware spec t h at is needed fro m t h e v endor . Then this s hou l d go f o r approval a nd get t ha t fi xed. Wh at i s t he ro l e o f suppor t he re ? Suppo rt has to moni t o r even t his r equi re men t as he is see ing t he li ve o perat i on and t he gro wth i n t he r equirement. The asset i s b eing mana ged by t he admi nistrato r and asset mana gement tea m together. Once t he repo rts are generated o n a quart erly basis, i t w ill be easy f or a n o rganiza t ion t o t ake any d ec isi o n o n I T-budget. That is o ne o f t he m ajor ro l e o f support. Support o peration shou l d fo ll ow t he fl o w o f process that i s Issue -> Analyze the iss ue -> pro vi de appro pri at e so l ut i on -> Case creat i on + do cum e ntat i o n -> closure if r eso lve d nor escalate to Lev el 2 or 3 based o n t he e m erge nc y o f t he issue. How t he do cum e ntat i o n o f t his sh ou l d be done. The do cum e ntat i o n shou l d be c l ea r an d prec i se t hat is as f o ll o ws 1. Wh at i s t he is sue? 2. Username an d IT tag n o ( As set management # whi ch is a l so t he com puter name) 3. Root cause of the i s sue (If ident ifi ed fro m t he previ o us do cumen t ati o n ) 4. Risk Level ( Mark t he em ergency o f t he i ssue, t ag th e m accord in gly) 5. Reso l ut i on (If reso lv ed) 6. Cl osure/appr oval (depe nds on t he ty pe o f issue – So lv ed / pro curem ent of any applica t ion f ro m t he vendor) Thes e are some o f the not able do cumen t ation contents t ha t are made by the suppor t. The arrangements o f all t hes e issues put toget he r are go in g t o reduce t he downtime while resolving t he any issues. I f a i ssue is not gettin g resolved by a speci fic reso l ut i on, t he suppo rt t ri es so me o t her appro ach a n d if it get r eso lv ed, t hen t hat n o te ha s to f o ll o w t he previ ous o ne. This is how t he continual ser vic e improvement an d r equire men t s f o r more servi ces w ill be put forward by t he cli ent t o the ve ndor say TCS, Wi pr o. I f t his is get t in g fai led a nd every t im e if t he issue is fixed as a pat ch t hen i t is no use in pro viding furt her service rat h er sw i t c h t hi s suppo rt o pera t i o n to som e ot her bett er organi zat i on. A go o d exam p le w ill be Orac le, many o rganizat i o ns support orac l e implementat i on. I f a x o rganizat i on implements w i t h a l ot of bugs and above that t he re is l o t o f fa i lure in suppo rt then it is matt er o f appro val t o m ake a ch ange t o an ot he r ven dor Y who al so dea ls with o rac l e but here what matt ers is t he what was investm ent o n ret urn. They wi ll now make a l ot of st udie s a nd a nalysis o n t he c hange t hat i s going to be t aken as the exi st in g X has not provi ded a sat i s facto ry service. Once t h at i s cl eared t hen they w ill step f o rwar d f or a change. A vendor decisi o n by a n or gani zat i on shou l d be c l ear a nd w i t h pr oper approvals. What ar e t h e services t hey pr ovide, o t her services ca n be got from t hem if t he service pro vided by them i s sat isf actor y and h as met t he l e ve l o f agreemen t need t o analyse bef o r e t ak in g a dec isi o n . O nce t ha t i s do ne , t hen t he o rganizat i o n can be sure t hat the v endor w ill pro vide t hose best of ser vice bot h in support and implementat i o n. Ho w the support process fl o ws. Support t eam - > I T man agement ( clien t ) - > Issue ca m e (quart erly bas is ) -> r eso lv ed /unres o lve d issues -> u nres o lve d (Reaso n f o r not r esol ving) -> % o f reso lv ed issues + Downt i me + fixed per m a nently or tem po r ary . Decision Flow In t he above dec isi o n fl o w i t shows how a ven dor cont ac t I T t eam o f client and pro duce t he documen t ati o n o f the i s sues h andled and re so l ut ion % . T h at needs to b e m apped w i t h t he SLA agreement and nee d s to be appr oved by t he managemen t . T hi s need be c arr i ed o ut on a quart erly basi s a nd t hen co n so li dated at t he end o f t he y ear . T his w ill show how much o f care t h at t he ven do r has t aken in suppo rting t he cl ien t . Based upo n t his repo rt only t he next yea r contr ac t will be re new ed by t he c lient. This S L A per i o d w ill vary will d ifferent organizat i o n. But t he reso l ut i on per centage an d do wnt im e ar e the m a in cr i ter i a’ s t hat are t aken i nto account. Every ca lculat i o n r ight f ro m the pa yment, agree m e nt renewal, a nd o t her services requ i re ments a ll depends o n t hese t wo cri ter i a ’s . The do cum e ntat i o n s hou l d be done a nd ne eds t o be f or warded to t he IT t eam o f t he c li e nt. Wh en t he issue i s not reso lv ed ba sed o n t h e e m er gency o f t he issue a nd the r isk i nvo lve d i n that t he escala t ion pro cess needs t o be carr i ed. A go o d example w ill b e Or acle aga in , if t he i ssue co mes in a n o rac l e appl ic at i on which is implemented by t he o racl e par t n er say Wipro, TCS o r HCL, if t hey are not abl e t o fix t he issue which is highly important say appr ova l butto n o f CEO, t hen t he t im e frame w ill be less, a nd i t shou l d not search in Go o gl e o r w i thin t he t ea m in t he vendor. It sh ould d i rect ly be esca lated to expert l e v el support in Oracle and get i t fi xed wi t hin ½ to 1 hour. That i s how t h e fl ow o f t his pr o cess s hou l d be. Eve n if t he t echni cal per son in vendor kn ows, h e s hou l d immediate ly at t end a nd fix i t wit hout any iss ue. I f h e fi xes t he issue a nd ot her o pti o n does n’ t wor k then i t i s not hin g but screwin g a n app li c at ion. Each management level m ember have t h eir o wn im port ance , as say w i t h t he appro val o f CEO t he end o f t he da y repo rt ne eds to be gen erat ed, t he n i t shou l d be h andled o nly by t he expert l e vel t eam even t hough t he issue is known to t he t echnical l eve l t ea m o f t he v e ndor. These are some o f t hin g t hat will add posi t iv e signs f or t he vendor. Thi s is what goin g to count i n % o f reso l ut i on + downtime. There shoul d be a col u mn f o r crit i ca l issue handle d and resolv ed. This w ill s how how m uch o f care a c li e nt has t aken in fixing t he iss ue for t hei r c lient. T hes e are so m e o f t hin g s t he client will keep in h is mind a n d re new t h e cont ract. When t here are ch anges dur in g t he suppo rt (IT-operati o n), t here a ls o t he do wntim e m att ers, i t w il l inv o lve t h e same cr i t er i a ’s t hat I have men t ione d in c hange m a nagement. Only d iff erence is t he t im e facto r. As t here the stage was in im p lementat i o n, s o the t ech nical t eam too k tim e to check an d m o d ify . Here m o st ly i t co m es in e mergen t requirement t hat needs t o chan ged o r de l et ed within 24 – 48 hours. Operat i ons w ill not s to p; we need t o work o n t hat wor kin g app licat i on t h at i s t he r eal challenge us IT pro fe ssi o na ls hav e. As a ser v er e ven t hough i t wor ks o n redundant po li c y , when a c han ge is ma de t hey wil l be a d is tur ba nce when t he synchroni zat i on ha ppens f ro m t he main server. T ha t ’s the r easo n why we may do m o st of t he o perat i o ns in night, but cert ain o perations needs t o be c arr i ed o ut wi t h a lot o f r is k t ha t is net ba nking a s i t is acce ss ed 24*7 by peo pl e f ro m all around the wor l d. I f a add featur e to a websi t e on one l o cat ion, it needs t o ge t repli cated o n t he ot her l o c at i o n w here t here is redu ndant co py o f t his applica t ion. How to f r ame a pro cess fl o w f or t his si t uat i on can be see n bel ow. IT T eam -> changing/adding a f eature (Net ban k ing) -> Check w here t he ot her servers are presen t (Fro m Docu m e ntat i o n) -> Make a not e o f r i sk, do wnt im e -> Se n d a n a le rt message t o all u sers (auto m ated message) - > T hen pro ceed wi t h t he c hange after pr ovidi ng t he alter nate websi te _-> o nce do n e se nd an aut o m at ed m essage to al l us ers. -> sen d that wi t hin 15 minutes do wntim e Process Flow Here y o u can see h ow an IT t eam co nvey s t he me ssage to thei r valued cu sto m er when there is an o utage o f a service. These par t i cu lar aut omated m essages are not seen i n t oday’s or gani zat i o n. When t here is an o utage, i t can b e seen w hen we acces s t heir webs i t e. It will sh ow a message “a ccess o ur we bsi t e after 24 hour s”. T his is o ne wa y t o convey t he o ut age, but t hi s wo n’t h elp t he users t o know immediately. That is w here a n aut omated m es sage ne eds t o be tr i ggered direct ly to the users contact n umber. Thes e are so m e o f t hin gs are seen in dept h w hile it com es in t o co ntrac t renewal . These e xtr a features have pro vided a splendi d support servi ces f o r t he v alued cust o m er of t he c li e nt t hat will be t aken in t o account during t he pr ocess o f renewal. So t he suppo rt for i ssues, do wntim e an d fea t ure used f o r notifi cat i o n o f o utage are t h e m a in cr i t er i a ’s t hat wil l make t he client ha pp y as he w ill b e valued in t urn by the cust o me rs. Custom er accepts t h e best servic e and satisfact i o n in using their ser vices. Ha ving featur e s are not im po rt ant but usin g i t at r i g ht time is important. When t he vendor is a ble to m o ni to r all t hese logs and pro duce them at t h e end of t h e y ear w i t h all do cu m e ntat i o n, t hat is what will s how t he en t ire suppo rt pr ovided by the ven do r is sat i s facto ry . A sur v ey shou l d a ls o be done among the em p l o yee to t he se rvice of the ven do r from 1-5. Wh en the support is pr o vi d ed, t he too l s u sed t o reso lv e t he i ssue s hou l d b e like l o g mein , VNC viewer, and tea m viewe r f o r re m o t e supp o rt. Database st orage is import an t; a para ll el copy o f i t needs to be stored at the vendor side after gett i ng t he conf iden t iali t y agreement si gned by t he o rganizat i o n. This is how t he suppo rt at t he o perati on level shou l d wor k. E ach an d e v er y t ask inv o lv ed in support shoul d be fixed w i t h t he t im e frame and t i cket in g syste ms t h at each issue sho uld be t agged w i t h a nu mbe r. This sho uld be t agged w i t h different t aggin g code like app lica t ion issue ap lXXXXX (x is t he nu mb er) / hardware issue hrdXXXXX. T hi s will c lassify t he issue a nd ea sy to r ef er whe n the i ssue co m es back aga in . Let us n o w see t he fl owc hart o f t h e support ( IT –ope rati o n) at enter pris e l e vel. In t he d iagram bel o w we ca n t he difference w hen the issue co m es to a single user how t he pro cess go es and when i t i s f o r a departm e nt how i t i s ro ut ed t hrough. That is based o n t he importance of t hat app li cat i on f o r the respective user. M i cro so f t offi ce, WinZip, ado be are some o f t he m o st comm o nly u sed app lica t ions I f t he problem co m es o f one u ser, it can be mana gement; t he % o f service affected will be l e ss wh en co m p ared to enti re dep art ment, Fig (14) Appro val pro cess in Suppo rt (IT- o peration) Let us kno w see how t his m ethodo l o gy is go in g to be effect iv e b ot h in implementat i o n a nd support. The adv antage ar e m e nt i oned bel o w 1. In the m et h odo l o gy , t he en t i re pro cess is mapped w i t h ITIL, whi c h is u niversally accepted f ra mewo rk t ha t an o rgani zat i o n shou l d hav e. When an implementat i o n i s done, t he m o st import ant t hin g w ill be “Which F ra me wor k” have y o u foll o wed to establi sh t hi s in f r ast ruct ure. 2. Each st age in t his methodo l o g y is wrapped up w it h a l o t o f approvals t his is o nly t o make ea ch a n d e ve r y do cum entat i on t hat i s being t ransf or med in t o r eal i t y are pro perly conv eyed an d accept ed by the board of directo rs. 3. There are m any p laces w here I shou l d have ment ioned T ime as a maj or co n str ain t is only because in t his t oday’s sce nario ever y o ne w an t t he t ask t o be per for m ed w i t hin t h e t im e frame t h at is accept ed for in t he SL A, let i t be strategy , d esign, t ransi t i o n o r oper a t i o n, the t ime mat ter s a l ot for t he fina l fin ish t hat i s cont i nual service improvement. Only w he n t he co ns tr aints ar e met , t he c li e nt w ill be happ y t o giv e t he ven do r an o pport uni t y to provi de ot her servi ce which they h ave, w hich is in t ur n requ i red f o r the cl ient. 4. This way o f appro ach w ill help t he vendor to attain success in both implementat i o n an d support . A s t he re ar e l o t o f practises w hich n ot b een inculca t ed in realit y are brought about in t his p aper l ike not ifi cat i on o ver messa ge t o t he user t hat t here is a n out age, thi s can be seen in v er y few banking sectors. When a perso n goes t o bank, t he ban k staff, to day our appli c at i o n is not workin g. How frustrat in g wil l be t o a custo m er , but f or a st aff h e w ill get his o n e day salar y . L ike t his many t hings are been m o d ifi ed a n d have made it as unified process. 5. Each pro cess i n this m ethodo l o gy is c l os ely t ied to each ot h er, wi tho u t pro perly cl o sin g t he in i t ial st age; t he next st age can’t be star ted. Each st age has appr ovals a nd documen t ati o n . Those docu m ents are refined aga in by t he management i n o rder to hav e pro per im p lementat i o n and support pha se. 6. Finally by f o ll o wing t his approach will not br i ng succes s but a proper way o f documen t ing t hings w hich ar e carr ied o ut i n e ach phase, t he m ost pre f erence w ill be given t o operations and t ransi t i o n as t hey a re go in g to work para ll el i n the live environment. They are the pi ll ar o f e very success o f t he client and vendor re l at i o nship. Wh en t his t y pe o f methodo l og y is ado pted, a l o t of fl aws can be a vo i ded in t he implementat i o n and suppo rt. On ce the support is att ai ne d t o 99%, t here co m es the ta l k o n continual service improvement. CONTINUAL SERVICE IMPROVEMENT The t erm co nt in ua l service im pr ovement i t se lf say’s improve cont in uo usly w hil e climbing up t h e l adder o f success . Wh en a n o rganization is s at i s fied w i t h t he r eport s generat ed by the ven do r, defini t e ly t h e f a i t h on t hem w ill b eco me hi gher and hi g her. Then t hey w ill have a wor d wi t h t heir board o f directo r on h o w t o m o dif y o r upgrade t h e versi o ns of applicat i o n , ot h er better t ech no l og i es a nd thei r ad vantage over the previ o us o nes. Al o ng wit h t hat t hey will also see the inv e st m ent o f ret urn. If t he o rganizati on is go in g f or VOIP t hey will see f ro m an o rd in ar y p h one, w hat w ill be t he added ad vantage in t erms o f faul t t ole rance, t hr o ughput, compa t ibili t y , fe atur es like call f o rward in g, IVR s ystem, li cense c harge, ha rd o r so f t phone, manufacturer, supp o rt in t erms o f l oca l a nd g l o bal w hich w ill be do cu m e nted bef o re go in g ah ead for appro v als, desi g n , r equi re men t s, and impl ementat i on. All t hes e put to ge ther will be cal culated in t he co nt in ua l ser vice im pr ovement. At e very st age, a n o rganizat i o n wo u l d like to m ake t hei r inf rast ructur e better in or der to r each t he ot he r m arket faster . That i s t he busi ness t acti c o f spread in g t hei r pro duc t, f or which t he y wo u l d have r ely o n a ve ndor. If t he ven do r provides the best suppo rt then pro vi d ing t he service improvement p l an to him wil l t h eir aim . In t he co nt in ua l improvement phase a lso t h e r i sk, t im e facto rs are cal culated. Thi s is a lso a t y pe o f t ransi t i o n w here a new techno l og y , opt i on s are added to t he exi st in g inf rast ructure. Onc e t his is do n e w i t h t he en t ire f l o w o f IMP LEMENTATION and SUPP ORT will be successful . T hi s is t he main go a l of t his paper. T he co n t in ua l ser vice improvement i tse lf t e l l how t he servi ce h as bee n pro vi de to t he cli ent, where t hey sat i s fied wit h our servi ce, and have we m et t he ser vice leve l agree ment set by t he c lient. The enti re paper has s h o wcase d the pro cess and t hei r re lat i o nship w i t h eac h o t h er. E ac h pro cess has t o b e pro perl y st udie d w hile documen t ing a n d w hile t ransf o r ming t h eor e t i c al inf or mat i o n in r eali t y . As t ransf o r m at i on o f inf or m at i o n in t o rea li t y o nly s hows how per f ect we have implemented t he infras t ruct ure, ch anges t hat are n eed ed and the ke y area o f mo ni t orin g dur in g s upport . Once t hese are pro pe rly set t he success i s b eing met a nd the resul t can be seen in the growt h of the or gani zat i o n (c lient). Our aim s hou l d be pro viding t he ser vice t o o ur client and finish i t to t h eir sat i s fact i o n. T h e same way t he support has t o be re n dered t o the l e vel o f sat isfa ct i on a nd with apprec iat i o ns t hat suppo rt pro vi ded by t he X vendor was sp lendid a nd now we w ill g ive t h em a chance f or t hem t o work in our proje cts. To att ain t his , a methodo l o g y like t his will be standin g as a pillar. This w as the m ain f o c us o f this p aper w hich includes bot h implementat i o n an d suppo rt packed up by ITI L f r amewor k. CONCLUSION The m ain focus o f t his paper was how to pro vi de an e ffect i ve way o f IT im p lementat i on a nd support at an e nterpri se level, w here these p hases play a vi t a l ro l e. It nee ds to be pr oper ly str uc tur ed wi t h t he frameworks li ke I TIL, Cobi t etc... Once t he im plementat i on, t he t esting’s ne eds t o be carr i ed o ut fi r st at t he fi r st t hree st age as a who l e eve n t hough at eac h stage we hav e re fi ned, got approvals and co l laborat ed t he requi rements to m o ve in to t h e li ve environment from t he t est in g p hase. At t he t r an si t i o n it is qu i t e import an t as t he c ha n ges are to be do cum e nt. Once t hat ph ase i s done, suppo rt has to a proper pr ocess fl ow w h er e t im e f r ame shou l d b e an important constraint. On ce t hese are at t ain ed as per t he pro cess fl o w ment i o ned in t he t o pi cs above, co ntin ual service improvement will aut o m at i ca lly be g iven to us as t he SL A is met as i t w as ment i o ned in the agr eem ent. That w ill t he focus o f t his p aper, pro vi de t he im p lementat i on and suppo rt to t he level best that is w i thout flaw (T arget <1%). That can be att ain ed when t he process is fl o wed as menti oned in the paper. 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