Utility computing enables businesses to transform the IT organization from a traditional environment to a more dynamic, service-oriented one that meets current and future needs. Utility computing can give organizations more control over IT costs while improving quality of service and enhancing flexibility and agility.

Here are four approaches to utility computing adoption:

1. Reuse existing assets so that they work as part of an IT utility. The internal service provider strategy does not typically require an investment in new hardware, but the procurement of management software is often necessary. Workflow tools, virtualization engines, enterprise management consoles, and other management solutions help support utility computing. Hardware resources can be pooled using virtualization technology, and organizations often target areas of the data center where hardware is poorly managed and utilized. With this approach, organizations can improve their hardware asset utilization while improving IT service levels.

2. Serve as an internal service provider but deploy new IT assets rather than reuse existing ones. This approach is appropriate when existing hardware assets cannot be re-provisioned from their current function without seriously impacting the business or when existing hardware assets simply are unable to support new functions. This approach is also viable for organizations that have justified the expense of implementing new hardware in return for the service to be provided.

3. Work with an external service provider and outsource existing IT assets. This traditional outsourcing approach allows a service provider to be responsible for an existing area of IT infrastructure service and to apply their own best practices model to it. IT assets may remain within the client's data center and be managed remotely, or they may be migrated to the service provider's facility and services provided to the client across remote networking links. In opting for this model, organizations are advised to make sure that the external service provider is actually using a true utility computing model with the IT technology, processes, and organizational infrastructure to support it.

4. Work with an external service provider who takes responsibility for an entire IT stack, from the back end infrastructure to the end user application. With this model, the client is often provided with application services across a fast network link and is charged for the service based on a per-transaction or per-user basis. Organizations opting for this approach often wisely begin by handing over responsibility for non-critical applications in order to evaluate how performance, capacity, scalability, and usability issues are handled.

Regardless of the adoption model, organizations that implement utility computing benefit from gaining control over IT costs, improving IT quality of service, and enhancing IT agility and flexibility.

Part 2 of this series will outline areas of IT that have proven to be a successful starting point as well as by evaluating IT consolidation and determining appropriate partners to help ease the move to this new model.

The ideas expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ITworld.com.

» posted by abennett

Symantec Global Services

• Email
• Print
• Share
  • Slashdot
  • Digg
  • Stumble
  • Reddit
  • Newsvine