One of the prime objectives of many companies today is to employ "utility" or "on-demand" computing techniques and solutions to increase their efficiencies.
On-demand computing has been described as the Holy Grail of today`s computing environment in which data centre resources can be allocated to different tasks to meet demand from various quarters as required.
On-demand computing models typically describe an infrastructure for the virtualisation of computing resources - such as storage, servers and networks - to increase performance, lower costs or enhance overall manageability.
It is also the leveraging tool that enables organisations to scale its demand for e-business services, to Web-enable its applications and services, and to reduce errors and latency in transaction processing.
Realising the promise
Realising the promise of on-demand computing requires an infrastructure that is responsive and closely aligned with business needs.
However, in many organisations, these goals are far from being achieved as IT staff members remain focused on routine maintenance and repetitive administrative tasks, while the dynamic needs of their businesses go unfulfilled.
What is required is for organisations to work with their technology partners to bring Linux, mobile and other new-generation solutions on board to address issues surrounding on-demand computing objectives.
These solutions should be able to simplify the complex issues and balance immediate requirements for greater efficiencies with the ability to identify new trends and harness emerging new technologies.
They should also be able to help organisations increase the value of current technology investments - and gain the highest competitive advantage in the marketplace in the process - through improved management techniques.
Misconception
A common misconception is that, to realise the full benefits of on-demand computing, companies must undergo an extensive overhaul of their IT systems and software.
Not true: While technology is one of the most competitive of tools available to organisations, on-demand computing success can be achieved primarily through improved IT management.
For example, infrastructure platforms must be effectively managed to ensure that the performance objectives of business processes that support both customers and business partners are met.
Organisations need to build a management framework for on-demand computing that bridges business processes, IT resources and self-management capabilities.
And it must facilitate the ready availability of corporate intellectual capital, which is at the heart of the business, to design fully-automated, intelligent, self-healing or "autonomic" on-demand systems.
Four steps
The following is a description of the various levels in the on-demand maturity model.
* Level one - active management: At level one, management is achieved in a piecemeal and largely manual manner across various applications and
* Level two - efficient management: At level two, data capture and analysis capabilities reach across the enterprise. Root cause analysis enables fast problem identification.
However, automated system responses are not enabled, as workflows are not defined and thus problem fixes and changes are still manually executed.
* Level three - responsive management: At level three system actions are automated and workflows for problem fixes and changes are defined.
Although system response execution is automated, administrative approval is required to initiate any action - thus decision-making with respect to infrastructure management actions still requires human administration. This is the key difference between levels three and four.
* Level four - business-driven management: At level four, automated actions and problem fixes are automatically initiated (without human intervention) based on business policies and service level agreements.
Infrastructure management is fully automated, self-healing and self-managing. Reporting tracks system responses for informational and analytical purposes, and human interaction occurs only at the policy-setting level. All underlying administrative IT processes have been automated.
Today, the attainment of the fourth level is almost mythical. It is definitely not a current reality.
Most companies are still at a level two, while a handful of the most advanced are at level three. Unsurprisingly, many companies remain mired at level one.
Even for the most advanced companies, level four is at least five years away.
It is important to note that the road to on-demand computing is a step-wise progression that requires customisation for each company. It is most beneficial for companies to first move specific capabilities forward, and then create a progression that makes the most sense for them.
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