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1、Managing next-generation IT infrastructureThe days of building to order are over. The time is ripe for an industrial revolution.James M. Kaplan, Markus Lffler, and Roger P. RobertsThe McKinsey Quarterly, Web exclusive, February 2005In recent years, companies have worked hard to reduce the cost of th
2、e IT infrastructurethe data centers, networks, databases, and software tools that support businesses. These efforts to consolidate, standardize, and streamline assets, technologies, and processes have delivered major savings. Yet even the most effective cost-cutting program eventually hits a wall: t
3、he complexity of the infrastructure itself.The root cause of this complexity is the build-to-order mind-set traditional in most IT organizations. The typical infrastructure may seem to be high tech but actually resembles an old-fashioned automobile: handmade by an expert craftsperson and customized
4、to the specifications of an individual customer. Today an application developer typically specifies the exact server configuration for each application and the infrastructure group fulfills that request. The result: thousands of application silos, each with its own custom-configured hardware, and a
5、jumble of often incompatible assets that greatly limit a companys flexibility and time to market. Since each server may be configured to meet an applications peak demand, which is rarely attained, vast amounts of expensive capacity sit unused across the infrastructure at any given time. Moreover, ap
6、plications are tightly linked to individual servers and storage devices, so the excess capacity cant be shared.Now, however, technological advancescombined with new skills and management practicesallow companies to shed this build-to-order approach. A decade into the challenging transition to distri
7、buted computing, infrastructure groups are managing client-server and Web-centered architectures with growing authority. Companies are adopting standardized application platforms and development languages. And todays high-performance processors, storage units, and networks ensure that infrastructure
8、 elements rarely need hand-tuning to meet the requirements of applications.In response to these changes, some leading companies are beginning to adopt an entirely new model of infrastructure managementmore off-the-shelf than build-to-order. Instead of specifying the hardware and the configuration ne
9、eded for a business application (I need this particular maker, model, and configuration for my network-attached storage box . . .), developers specify a service requirement (I need storage with high-speed scalability . . .); rather than building systems to order, infrastructure groups create portfol
10、ios of productized, reusable services. Streamlined, automated processes and technologies create a factory that delivers these products in optimal fashion (Exhibit 1). As product orders roll in, a factory manager monitors the infrastructure for capacity-planning and sourcing purposes.With this model,
11、 filling an IT requirement is rather like shopping by catalog. A developer who needs a storage product, for instance, chooses from a portfolio of options, each described by service level (such as speed, capacity, or availability) and priced according to the infrastructure assets consumed (say, $7 a
12、month for a gigabyte of managed storage). The systems transparency helps business users understand how demand drives the consumption and cost of resources.Companies that make the transition gain big business benefits. By reducing complexity, eliminating redundant activity, and boosting the utilizati
13、on of assets, they can make their infrastructure 20 to 30 percent more productiveon top of the benefit from previous efficiency effortsthereby providing far greater output and flexibility. Even larger savings can be achieved by using low-cost, commodity assets when possible. Developers no longer mus
14、t specify an applications technical underpinnings and can therefore focus on work that delivers greater business value; the new model improves times to market for new applications.Nevertheless, making this transition calls for major organizational changes. Application developers must become adept at
15、 forecasting and managing demand so that, in turn, infrastructure groups can manage capacity more tightly. Infrastructure groups must develop new capabilities in product management and pricing as well as introduce new technologies such as grid computing and virtualization.1 As for CIOs, they must pu
16、t in place a new model of governance to manage the new infrastructure organization.The road forwardDeutsche Telekom knows firsthand the challenges involved: over 18 months, hoping to balance IT supply and demand, it implemented this new infrastructure-management model at two divisions (see sidebar,
17、Next-generation infrastructure at Deutsche Telekom). In the old days, the companys IT infrastructure, like most, was a landscape of application silos. Today accurate forecasts of user demand are critical, so newly minted product managers must take a horizontal view, across applications, to assess th
18、e total needs of the business and create the right products. They must then work closely with infrastructure teams to align supplyinfrastructure assets such as hardware, software, and storagewith demand.In the past, employees of the infrastructure function were order takers. Now, they can be more en
19、trepreneurial, choosing the mix of hardware, software, and technology that optimizes the infrastructure. To keep costs low, they can phase in grids of low-end servers, cheaper storage disks, and other commodity resources. Factory managers now focus on automating and industrializing production. Altho
20、ugh Deutsche Telekoms two divisions didnt radically change their organizational or reporting structures, IT governance now seeks to ensure that product and service levels are consistent across business units in order to minimize costs and to improve the infrastructures overall performance.What weve
21、seen at Deutsche Telekom and other companies suggests that creating a next-generation infrastructure involves action on three fronts: segmenting user demand, developing productlike services across business units, and creating shared factories to streamline the delivery of IT.Segmenting user demandLa
22、rge IT organizations support thousands of applications, hundreds of physical sites, and tens of thousands of end users. All three of these elements are critical drivers of infrastructure demand: applications require servers and storage, sites need network connectivity, and users want access to deskt
23、ops, laptops, PDAs, and so forth. To standardize these segments, an IT organization must first develop a deep understanding of the shape of current demand for infrastructure services and how that demand will most likely evolve. Then it needs to categorize demand into segments (such as uptime, throug
24、hput, and scalability) that are meaningful to business users.When grouped in this way, most applications fall into a relatively small number of clusters. A pharmaceutical manufacturer, for instance, found that most of a business units existing and planned applications fell into one of five categorie
25、s, including sales force applications that need around-the-clock support and off-line availability and enterprise applications that must scale up to thousands of users and handle batch transactions efficiently.In contrast, a typical wholesale banks application portfolio has more segments, with a wid
26、er range of needs. Some applicationssuch as derivatives, pricing, and risk-management toolsmust execute computation-intensive analyses in minutes rather than hours. Funds-transfer applications allow for little or no downtime; program-trading applications must execute transactions in milliseconds or
27、risk compromising trading strategies.Although simple by comparison, the needs of physical sites and user groups can be categorized in a similar way. One marketing-services company that evaluated its network architecture, for example, segmented its sites into offices with more than 100 seats, those w
28、ith 25 to 100, and remote branches with fewer than 25. A cable systems operator divided its users into senior executives with concierge-support needs, professional employees, call-center agents, and field technicians.Most companies find that defining the specific infrastructure needs of applications
29、, sites, and users is the key challenge of segmenting demand. Major issues include the time and frequency of need, the number of users, the amount of downtime that is acceptable, and the importance of speed, scalability, and mobility.Standardizing productsOnce the infrastructure group has assessed c
30、urrent and future demand, it can develop a set of productlike, reusable services for three segments: management and storage products for applications, access products such as desktops and laptops for end users, and network-access products for various sites. For each of these three product lines, the
31、 group must then make a series of decisions at both the portfolio and the product level.At the portfolio level, it has to make decisions about the scope, depth, and breadth of product offerings, with an eye toward optimizing resources and minimizing costs. Exceptions must be detailed up front. The g
32、roup may decide, for example, against offering products to support applications with stringent requirements, such as very-low-latency processing; these applications may be better built by hand and from the ground up. Other applications, such as legacy ones, may be better left outside the new model i
33、f theyre running well and cant easily be ported to new hardware. The group should also decide how to introduce new technologies and to migrate existing applications that are easier to move.At the product level, the group must define the features, service levels, and price of each product. For each a
34、pplication support product, to give one example, it will be necessary to specify a programming language, an acceptable level of downtime, and a price for infrastructure usage. That price, in turn, depends on how the group decides to charge for computing, storage, processor, and network usage. The gr
35、oup has to consider whether its pricing model should offer discounts for accurate demand forecasts or drive users to specific products through strategic pricing.Looking forward, companies may find that well-defined products and product portfolios are the single most important determinant of the infr
36、astructure functions success. Developers and users may rebel if a portfolio offers too few choices, for instance, but a portfolio with too many wont reap the benefits of scale and reuse. Good initial research into user needs is critical, as it is for any consumer products company.The supply side: Cr
37、eating shared factoriesThe traditional build-to-order model limits the infrastructure functions ability to optimize service delivery. Delivery has three components: operational processes for deploying, running, and supporting applications and technologies; software tools for automating these operati
38、onal processes; and facilities for housing people and assets.At most companies, variations in architecture and technology make it impossible to use repeatable processes applied across systems. This problem hinders efficiency and automation and restricts the amount of work that can be performed remot
39、ely in low-cost locations, thus limiting the scope for additional cost savings.In the next-generation infrastructure model, however, application developers specify a service need but have no input into the underlying technologies or processes chosen to meet it. The application may, for instance, req
40、uire high-speed networked storage, but the developer neither knows nor cares which vendor provides the storage media. This concept isnt newconsumers who have call waiting on their home telephone lines dont know whether the local carrier has a Lucent Technology or Nortel Networks switch at its closes
41、t central office.Because the infrastructure function can now choose which software technologies, hardware, and processes to use, it can rethink and redesign its delivery model for optimal efficiency. Using standardized and documented processes, it can start developing an integrated set of software t
42、ools to automate its operations. Next, by leveraging its processes and automation tools, it can develop an integrated location strategy that minimizes the need for data centers, so that more functions can operate remotely in low-costeven offshorelocations.Building a new organizationWhat changes must
43、 CIOs make to capitalize on these new opportunities? The next-generation infrastructure has major implications for the roles, responsibilities, and governance of the infrastructure organization.The most critical new roles are those of the product manager, who defines products and product portfolios,
44、 and of the factory architect, who designs the shared processes to deploy, operate, and support them (Exhibit 2). Product managers must focus on service offerings and be accountable for reaching productivity targets. Their other key responsibilities include building relationships with business users
45、 and application developers, understanding and segmenting demand, defining product portfolios, and persuading developers and business users to accept their decisions.Factory architects are, in equal parts, technology strategists and industrial engineers, codifying the architectures, processes, and t
46、ools that support the product portfolio. Their other key responsibilities include confirming that product commitments can be met, choosing technologies, defining processes, developing process-automation plans, and selecting tools. Although this was an established role at Deutsche Telekom, factory ar
47、chitects are now more focused on automating and industrializing production.Organizational structures must change as well. Specialized silos with administrators focused on specific technology platformsmainframes, midrange computing, distributed servers, storage, and voice and data networksshould give
48、 way to multidisciplinary teams that manage the performance of the infrastructure and the delivery of services.CIOs must also put in place novel governance mechanisms to deal with capacity planning, the launch of new services, and investment-financing issues. Although Deutsche Telekom opted to keep
49、its existing governance structure, many companies create an enterprise-level infrastructure council to ensure the consistency of products and service levels across business units. Such consistency is critical for keeping costs low and optimizing performance.To make sure the new infrastructure is running efficiently and to sustain performance improvements, IT leaders should focus on five key areas:1.Demand forecasting and capacity planning. A key goal of
