Unplugging the hype grid

by Dave Bingham, ITSM Practice Leader, Fujitsu Services

If you believe all the hype about on-demand computing, your days of putting in long hours as an IT manager are just about over. Soon, they say, technical management will become much easier because there will be no need to worry about difficult tasks like managing server capacity, repairing broken networks or integrating quirky database systems with complex middleware. The IT manager's role will simply involve coordinating outsourced contracts to vendors providing flexible capacity for a very reasonable fee.

The majority of IT managers are rightly cynical about such claims because they have heard so many of them before. While there is undoubtedly substance behind the hype, the fact remains that on-demand computing won't happen overnight. When the technology does arrive, it will appear slowly - a reflection of not only the complexity involved in such ambitious transformation but also enterprise customers' preference for gradual change.

In the meantime, corporate IT chiefs should be taking concrete steps to ensure their organisation is ready to plug into grid computing when it eventually arrives.

The promise of on-demand computing

Whether it's called 'utility computing', 'grid computing', 'on-demand', 'the real-time enterprise', 'the adaptive enterprise' or some other catchy name, we are essentially talking about the same thing. It refers to the promise of more intelligence, flexibility and automation in IT, driven by new advances in systems technology.

On-demand computing is generally taken to cover three core attributes:

• Virtualisation of hardware capacity;
• Self-healing systems; and
• Improved integration.

Virtualisation and capacity on demand

Virtualisation entails the separation of IT services from the underlying delivery technology. Ideally, virtualisation creates a situation where business technology managers need not be concerned with the hardware environment that drives an application, merely the performance and reliability of the application itself.

Virtualisation also extends to flexible capacity provisioning - one of the most hyped aspects of on-demand computing.

For example, in an organisation where mission-critical applications experience fluctuating demand, on-demand computing does away with the need to acquire massive server power for the peak load, only to watch it sit idle much of the time. The enterprise can buy as much or as little hardware capacity as it wants, with additional capacity introduced only when it is required.

This model is frequently likened to way businesses consume electricity, gas and water, hence terms such as 'grid' and 'utility'. It is enormously appealing for enterprises that suffer from IT demand spikes or unpredictable processing needs. Web-based businesses are particularly likely to benefit from capacity-on-demand, but the model has definite appeal across a broad range of business types.

Self-healing systems

Another selling point for on-demand computing is the promise of more intelligent computer systems with the ability to automatically diagnose and repair faults.

While it is unlikely that computer systems will ever achieve the ability to fix themselves without any human intervention, IT managers certainly have high hopes in this area. The expectation is that better artificial intelligence coupled with the in-built redundancy of computing grids will create an infrastructure that offers far greater fault tolerance.

Improved integration

IT managers still face an enormous challenge in trying to coordinate their hardware, software, databases, applications, middleware, storage and networks and make them work together as a seamless whole.

On-demand computing holds the promise of systems that leverage intelligence and a suite of common protocols (including IP, XML, Web services and Java) to make integration simpler and more effective.

At Fujitsu, we believe human intelligence will always have a part to play in high-quality systems integration. As a company, we continue to invest in technology that makes integration easier as well as the consulting know-how to ensure systems remain responsive to business needs.

In the meantime

The long-term promise of on-demand computing is dazzling, yet it is important not to become mesmerised by the hype. We expect to see a wave of amazing technology emerge in the next few years, but IT managers also need to focus on the fundamentals.

Fujitsu's advice to IT managers is three-fold:

1. On-demand computing will not arrive overnight, so there is time to prepare for its arrival;
2. The change will be more evolutionary than many people expect;
3. Nevertheless, you should start to prepare now.

Against this background, one of the most helpful tools available to technology managers is Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), a service management methodology originally developed by the British Government.

ITIL is a comprehensive framework for the planning, provision and support of IT services. It helps technology managers understand what they need to achieve to match best-practice standards across the full range of services, from hardware, networks and storage to databases, applications and management response times. (It's important to note that ITIL focuses on what should be achieved rather than prescribing how to achieve it.)

Already we are seeing strong take-up of ITIL guidelines among large and visionary enterprises around the world. From Europe to China, the United States to South Africa and not least here in Australia and New Zealand, ITIL is enjoying significant take-up among successful large enterprises. Smaller organisations are generally less informed about ITIL, but over time we expect uptake to strengthen as the program's core ideas diffuse from bigger businesses and government departments.

By defining best-practice targets and strengthening control of information technology, ITIL provides valuable management discipline. Fujitsu expects these principles to remain strongly applicable throughout the move to on-demand computing models. Already we are helping clients understand and implement ITIL-based guidelines for business advantage. For now, the best advice is to apply the management rigour provided by frameworks like ITIL to position your enterprise to benefit from the long-term promise of on-demand computing.

Dave Bingham is ITSM Practice Leader, Fujitsu Services. Based in the UK, he is recognised as one of the world's foremost ITIL experts and has more than 23 years experience in IT service delivery. In 2003, Dave was made a Fellow of the Institute of Service Management, an accolade he shares with only 18 other IT professionals worldwide. He was in Australia in August to deliver a keynote address on ITIL and utility computing at the itSMF conference in Melbourne.