管理下一代的IT基础架构.docx
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管理下一代的IT基础架构.docx
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管理下一代的IT基础架构
Managingnext-generationITinfrastructure
Thedaysofbuildingtoorderareover.Thetimeisripeforanindustrialrevolution.
JamesM.Kaplan,MarkusLöffler,andRogerP.Roberts
TheMcKinseyQuarterly,Webexclusive,February2005
Inrecentyears,companieshaveworkedhardtoreducethecostoftheITinfrastructure—thedatacenters,networks,databases,andsoftwaretoolsthatsupportbusinesses.Theseeffortstoconsolidate,standardize,andstreamlineassets,technologies,andprocesseshavedeliveredmajorsavings.Yeteventhemosteffectivecost-cuttingprogrameventuallyhitsawall:
thecomplexityoftheinfrastructureitself.
Therootcauseofthiscomplexityisthebuild-to-ordermind-settraditionalinmostITorganizations.Thetypicalinfrastructuremayseemtobehightechbutactuallyresemblesanold-fashionedautomobile:
handmadebyanexpertcraftspersonandcustomizedtothespecificationsofanindividualcustomer.Todayanapplicationdevelopertypicallyspecifiestheexactserverconfigurationforeachapplicationandtheinfrastructuregroupfulfillsthatrequest.Theresult:
thousandsofapplicationsilos,eachwithitsowncustom-configuredhardware,andajumbleofoftenincompatibleassetsthatgreatlylimitacompany'sflexibilityandtimetomarket.Sinceeachservermaybeconfiguredtomeetanapplication'speakdemand,whichisrarelyattained,vastamountsofexpensivecapacitysitunusedacrosstheinfrastructureatanygiventime.Moreover,applicationsaretightlylinkedtoindividualserversandstoragedevices,sotheexcesscapacitycan'tbeshared.
Now,however,technologicaladvances—combinedwithnewskillsandmanagementpractices—allowcompaniestoshedthisbuild-to-orderapproach.Adecadeintothechallengingtransitiontodistributedcomputing,infrastructuregroupsaremanagingclient-serverandWeb-centeredarchitectureswithgrowingauthority.Companiesareadoptingstandardizedapplicationplatformsanddevelopmentlanguages.Andtoday'shigh-performanceprocessors,storageunits,andnetworksensurethatinfrastructureelementsrarelyneedhand-tuningtomeettherequirementsofapplications.
Inresponsetothesechanges,someleadingcompaniesarebeginningtoadoptanentirelynewmodelofinfrastructuremanagement—moreoff-the-shelfthanbuild-to-order.Insteadofspecifyingthehardwareandtheconfigurationneededforabusinessapplication("Ineedthisparticularmaker,model,andconfigurationformynetwork-attachedstoragebox..."),developersspecifyaservicerequirement("Ineedstoragewithhigh-speedscalability...");ratherthanbuildingsystemstoorder,infrastructuregroupscreateportfoliosof"productized,"reusableservices.Streamlined,automatedprocessesandtechnologiescreatea"factory"thatdeliverstheseproductsinoptimalfashion(Exhibit1).Asproductordersrollin,afactorymanagermonitorstheinfrastructureforcapacity-planningandsourcingpurposes.
Withthismodel,fillinganITrequirementisratherlikeshoppingbycatalog.Adeveloperwhoneedsastorageproduct,forinstance,choosesfromaportfolioofoptions,eachdescribedbyservicelevel(suchasspeed,capacity,oravailability)andpricedaccordingtotheinfrastructureassetsconsumed(say,$7amonthforagigabyteofmanagedstorage).Thesystem'stransparencyhelpsbusinessusersunderstandhowdemanddrivestheconsumptionandcostofresources.
Companiesthatmakethetransitiongainbigbusinessbenefits.Byreducingcomplexity,eliminatingredundantactivity,andboostingtheutilizationofassets,theycanmaketheirinfrastructure20to30percentmoreproductive—ontopofthebenefitfrompreviousefficiencyefforts—therebyprovidingfargreateroutputandflexibility.Evenlargersavingscanbeachievedbyusinglow-cost,commodityassetswhenpossible.Developersnolongermustspecifyanapplication'stechnicalunderpinningsandcanthereforefocusonworkthatdeliversgreaterbusinessvalue;thenewmodelimprovestimestomarketfornewapplications.
Nevertheless,makingthistransitioncallsformajororganizationalchanges.Applicationdevelopersmustbecomeadeptatforecastingandmanagingdemandsothat,inturn,infrastructuregroupscanmanagecapacitymoretightly.Infrastructuregroupsmustdevelopnewcapabilitiesinproductmanagementandpricingaswellasintroducenewtechnologiessuchasgridcomputingandvirtualization.1AsforCIOs,theymustputinplaceanewmodelofgovernancetomanagethenewinfrastructureorganization.
Theroadforward
DeutscheTelekomknowsfirsthandthechallengesinvolved:
over18months,hopingtobalanceITsupplyanddemand,itimplementedthisnewinfrastructure-managementmodelattwodivisions(seesidebar,"Next-generationinfrastructureatDeutscheTelekom").Intheolddays,thecompany'sITinfrastructure,likemost,wasalandscapeofapplicationsilos.Todayaccurateforecastsofuserdemandarecritical,sonewlymintedproductmanagersmusttakeahorizontalview,acrossapplications,toassessthetotalneedsofthebusinessandcreatetherightproducts.Theymustthenworkcloselywithinfrastructureteamstoalignsupply—infrastructureassetssuchashardware,software,andstorage—withdemand.
Inthepast,employeesoftheinfrastructurefunctionwereordertakers.Now,theycanbemoreentrepreneurial,choosingthemixofhardware,software,andtechnologythatoptimizestheinfrastructure.Tokeepcostslow,theycanphaseingridsoflow-endservers,cheaperstoragedisks,andothercommodityresources.Factorymanagersnowfocusonautomatingand"industrializing"production.AlthoughDeutscheTelekom'stwodivisionsdidn'tradicallychangetheirorganizationalorreportingstructures,ITgovernancenowseekstoensurethatproductandservicelevelsareconsistentacrossbusinessunitsinordertominimizecostsandtoimprovetheinfrastructure'soverallperformance.
Whatwe'veseenatDeutscheTelekomandothercompaniessuggeststhatcreatinganext-generationinfrastructureinvolvesactiononthreefronts:
segmentinguserdemand,developingproductlikeservicesacrossbusinessunits,andcreatingsharedfactoriestostreamlinethedeliveryofIT.
Segmentinguserdemand
LargeITorganizationssupportthousandsofapplications,hundredsofphysicalsites,andtensofthousandsofendusers.Allthreeoftheseelementsarecriticaldriversofinfrastructuredemand:
applicationsrequireserversandstorage,sitesneednetworkconnectivity,anduserswantaccesstodesktops,laptops,PDAs,andsoforth.Tostandardizethesesegments,anITorganizationmustfirstdevelopadeepunderstandingoftheshapeofcurrentdemandforinfrastructureservicesandhowthatdemandwillmostlikelyevolve.Thenitneedstocategorizedemandintosegments(suchasuptime,throughput,andscalability)thataremeaningfultobusinessusers.
Whengroupedinthisway,mostapplicationsfallintoarelativelysmallnumberofclusters.Apharmaceuticalmanufacturer,forinstance,foundthatmostofabusinessunit'sexistingandplannedapplicationsfellintooneoffivecategories,includingsalesforceapplicationsthatneedaround-the-clocksupportandoff-lineavailabilityandenterpriseapplicationsthatmustscaleuptothousandsofusersandhandlebatchtransactionsefficiently.
Incontrast,atypicalwholesalebank'sapplicationportfoliohasmoresegments,withawiderrangeofneeds.Someapplications—suchasderivatives,pricing,andrisk-managementtools—mustexecutecomputation-intensiveanalysesinminutesratherthanhours.Funds-transferapplicationsallowforlittleornodowntime;program-tradingapplicationsmustexecutetransactionsinmillisecondsorriskcompromisingtradingstrategies.
Althoughsimplebycomparison,theneedsofphysicalsitesandusergroupscanbecategorizedinasimilarway.Onemarketing-servicescompanythatevaluateditsnetworkarchitecture,forexample,segmenteditssitesintoofficeswithmorethan100seats,thosewith25to100,andremotebrancheswithfewerthan25.Acablesystemsoperatordivideditsusersintoseniorexecutiveswith"concierge-support"needs,professionalemployees,call-centeragents,andfieldtechnicians.
Mostcompaniesfindthatdefiningthespecificinfrastructureneedsofapplications,sites,andusersisthekeychallengeofsegmentingdemand.Majorissuesincludethetimeandfrequencyofneed,thenumberofusers,theamountofdowntimethatisacceptable,andtheimportanceofspeed,scalability,andmobility.
Standardizingproducts
Oncetheinfrastructuregrouphasassessedcurrentandfuturedemand,itcandevelopasetofproductlike,reusableservicesforthreesegments:
managementandstorageproductsforapplications,accessproductssuchasdesktopsandlaptopsforendusers,andnetwork-accessproductsforvarioussites.Foreachofthesethreeproductlines,thegroupmustthenmakeaseriesofdecisionsatboththeportfolioandtheproductlevel.
Attheportfoliolevel,ithastomakedecisionsaboutthescope,depth,andbreadthofproductofferings,withaneyetowardoptimizingresourcesandminimizingcosts.Exceptionsmustbedetailedupfront.Thegroupmaydecide,forexample,againstofferingproductstosupportapplicationswithstringentrequirements,suchasvery-low-latencyprocessing;theseapplicationsmaybebetterbuilt"byhand"and"fromthegroundup."Otherapplications,suchaslegacyones,maybebetterleftoutsidethenewmodelifthey'rerunningwellandcan'teasilybeportedtonewhardware.Thegroupshouldalsodecidehowtointroducenewtechnologiesandtomigrateexistingapplicationsthatareeasiertomove.
Attheproductlevel,thegroupmustdefinethefeatures,servicelevels,andpriceofeachproduct.Fo
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