Service Management for Dummies®

Chapter 11. Managing the Data Center

In This Chapter

• Understanding the silo concept

• Optimizing and managing the data center

• Handling hardware, software, and work processes

We have spent a lot of time talking about the fact that a business itself is a set of services focused on achieving the right customer experience. In the case of an automated teller machine (ATM), the customer wants to walk up to the machine and in quick order get a wad of cash. If the customer has the right card, the right security code, and enough money in the bank account, everything works like magic.

If only magic were possible! Reality is much more complicated. When we speak of managing the data center, what we really mean is managing the whole corporate IT resource − which, for the vast majority of organizations, has its heart in the data center.

In this chapter, we focus on the optimization of all the service management processes that constitute the operational activities of the data center. An inherent conflict exists between highly efficient use of assets and a guaranteed customer or user experience.

Understanding the Siloed Nature of the Data Center

A data center isn't a neatly packaged IT system; it's a messy combination of hardware, software, data storage, and infrastructure. The typical data center has myriad servers running different operating systems and a large variety of applications. In addition, many organizations have created multiple data centers over time to support specific departments or divisions ...