How many IT tools do you have in your enterprise? Tools for performance, capacity, and hardware failure? That is a very small list of monitoring tools, but there are also configuration and management tools. Most IT organizations have tools for individual teams, but no one is really taking a look from an enterprise level or taking a tool inventory.
Tools are great and help IT deliver top notch service, but come with a cost. Buying the tool, maintaining support, license, training and the list goes on. I would recommend a tool czar that can take a step back, look at all the tools in the environment and see how you can leverage the tools for multiple teams and perhaps multiple functions. This needs to be a role high enough in the organization to rise above the politics, and individual team influences. Much like the Security Leader - needs to report directly to the CIO - have that cross boundary ability and Security has a role in every IT function.
There are some really good open source tools out there. One that I really like is InfraManage. Check this site out: http://www.inframanage.net/. You can monitor complex networks, but you can also build some information around your infrastructure. This will give you the capability to deploy and manage statistical graphs; TFTP configs from networking gear; and have a centralized way to manage URLs of devices on the network. Gives you a good interface and just a well rounded tool. The price is right, and the tool is always improving. Great option!
A holistic enterprise level approach to tools will not only save money, but will ensure you have an organized approach to managing your environment. Identify gaps, and will even build some team work in the organization. Nothing wrong with that!
Keep it positive!
Scott Arnett
scott.arnett@charter.net
About Me
- Scott Arnett
- Scott Arnett is an Information Technology & Security Professional Executive with over 30 years experience in IT. Scott has worked in various industries such as health care, insurance, manufacturing, broadcast, printing, and consulting and in enterprises ranging in size from $50M to $20B in revenue. Scott’s experience encompasses the following areas of specialization: Leadership, Strategy, Architecture, Business Partnership & Acumen, Process Management, Infrastructure and Security. With his broad understanding of technology and his ability to communicate successfully with both Executives and Technical Specialists, Scott has been consistently recognized as someone who not only can "Connect the Dots", but who can also create a workable solution. Scott is equally comfortable playing technical, project management/leadership and organizational leadership roles through experience gained throughout his career. Scott has previously acted in the role of CIO, CTO, and VP of IT, successfully built 9 data centers across the country, and is expert in understanding ITIL, PCI Compliance, SOX, HIPAA, FERPA, FRCP and COBIT.
No comments:
Post a Comment