The Insider's Guide to Next-Generation BPM
By Andrew Hillier, Founder and CTO, CiRBA , 05/18/2007
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Virtualization is gaining popularity as the leading edge solution to server sprawl in the data center. However, few have considered the potential pitfalls of large scale adoption. Virtualization offers immense opportunities for cost savings-with the proper up-front analysis and planning.
Virtualization, in some cases, can create more problems than it solves. It helps IT create a fluid environment where virtual servers can be turned on or off with a few mouse clicks. This is powerful, but dangerous if you don't know the impact of each change beforehand.
From a planning and execution perspective, virtualizing a small set of servers can be a relatively easy process. Those implementing a small scale solution are usually familiar with all of the physical devices, workload and configuration details and other key considerations involved. However, bringing virtualization to an enterprise environment is a different story entirely. Large scale virtualization projects necessitate a data-driven approach, carefully evaluating elements, such as asset identification, business considerations, technical constraints, and workload patterns.
Most virtualization initiatives are approached as tactical exercises in making sure the technology works at a base level. The focus becomes "do these assets fit together on this server?" without consideration of "should they reside on the same server?" When virtualization is rolled out on a large scale, it needs to be part of an overall consolidation strategy in the data center that is supported by sufficient analysis and planning. Testing in the lab is not enough. This only evaluates technical issues without taking into consideration important business factors that the company will face when they move into the production environment.
Planning for virtualization is more than a sizing exercise. Virtualization analysis and planning should include:
Managing Inventory: The "one box per application" mentality-along with continuous hardware upgrades with greater computing power-has driven a proliferation of diverse servers that are increasingly underutilized. Most organizations don't have a strong enough discipline around purchasing or asset management, making it difficult to inventory servers. Once organizations move into the virtual world-where you can create a logical machine without having any paper trail-this problem grows exponentially. Organizations will be caught in the same trap as they currently are with physical servers: not knowing which servers exist, who created them, which applications they support and whether or not they need them. This has a direct impact on licensing costs and ongoing management issues, which threaten the cost savings of virtualization. Because of this, organizations need to put technologies and processes in place for tracking and managing the rules around the implementation of virtual servers.
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Best Practices in Moving Processes to the Clouds
How Can the Cloud Fit Into Your Applications Strategy?
Cloud Data Integration Best Practices
The Economics of Cloud Computing
Data Services Insight: Successful implementation of Canonical Information Models
Disaster recovery virtualization vs. cloud 
Five Imperatives for Extreme Data Protection in Virtualized Environments
Concepts and Considerations in Highly Available Data Storage Design
Paving the Way for Windows 7 Adoption
Building a Metadata Repository on a Shoestring Budget
March 10, 2011
The sixth annual BPM in Action 2011 Virtual Conference will explore cutting-edge market developments in BPM and describe how to leverage them for improved business operation and performance. More
Date:Apr 07, 2010
Time:13:00 PM
ET- (17:00 GMT)
Date:Apr 07, 2010
Time:12:00 PM
ET- (16:00 GMT)
In part two of Joe McKendrick's recent podcast with Miko Matsumura, chief strategist for Software AG, they talk about how SOA and IT systems need to change and grow and adapt with the organization around it.
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A lot of people are talking about Enterprise 2.0 as being the business application of Web 2.0 technology. However, there's still some debate on exactly what this technology entails, how it applies to today's business models, and which components bring true value. Some use the term Enterprise 2.0 exclusively to describe the use of social networking technologies in the enterprise, while others use it to describe a web economy platform, or the technological framework behind such a platform. Still others say that Enterprise 2.0 is all of these things. Learn More
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This new publication from our sister site SearchSOA.com explores workflow, business activity monitoring (BAM) and complex event processing (CEP) issues. |
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