Hybrid Cloud For Dummies

Cataloging Services

If you want to create, use, change, or manage a business service, you need access to documentation — that is, a catalog — about that service. These services may include business services that represent a company’s important business processes, and they may include a range of IT services, such as software services, networking services, communications services, and data services. Because a cloud needs to be able to use a service that might originate from many different places, a catalog is essential in both locating a service and understanding its characteristics.

The catalog should help users locate the right service, understand how services are being used, and identify who is using the services. However, assembling all the key components and creating a central reference point for your services aren’t enough. You need to plan for managing those services; otherwise, your IT implementations won’t meet your expectations.

Many organizations are creating catalogs of business and IT services. They’re doing so because service catalogs provide a foundation for good service management by helping companies standardize the approach to delivering and managing services across all units. Some organizations have merged catalogs of different types of services to improve their ability to manage and govern all the services delivered to the business.

If cloud is going to act as ...