—By Neely Loring. Republished with permission by Matrix-IBS.
The shift to the cloud over the past several years has been more a transformation of mindset than a simple adoption of new technology. With the widespread proliferation of cloud, IT teams needed to determine how to incorporate it globally throughout a company. IT as a service (ITaaS) was eventually born. This new model would revolutionize the way business IT operates.
Why ITaaS?
In the not-so-distant past, IT departments considered themselves entities that served up applications and performed tasks. The dictum of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) redirected this outdated approach to more of an end-to-end management strategy responsible for high quality solutions and process improvement.
With so many technical solutions now available, companies do not have to use internal resources that cannot fulfill business objectives. Therefore, it is in IT’s best interest to follow the as-a-service model. Flexibility, visibility into performance and organizational metrics, and efficient and practical results are expected on a consistent basis. The ITaaS strategy must incorporate all of these qualities to be successful.
Successful Shifting
One method that has been fruitful for companies making the shift to ITaaS is to employ a service catalog. This “product list” of obtainable services can help establish realistic expectations with the internal customer base. A ticket portal may be used to allow requestors to submit an order and follow it through to delivery. Resources can be effectively allocated to fulfill tickets by urgency and subject matter. The process grows to be more automated and repeatable over time, increasing productivity.
Reporting
ITaaS ticket portals are also helpful in tracking statistics of frequently requested services and demand by department. IT performance becomes transparent, and leaders can see the length of time that tickets are open, identify gaps in processes and skill sets, or call out compliance issues.
Budgeting is simplified as historical metrics can be used to forecast future business needs. Departments can better understand the burden they place on IT and how it affects the financial performance of the enterprise. The result is more educated decision making.
Creating Transparency and Accountability
The shift to ITaaS places more responsibility on the IT team to be fiscally responsible and show added value to the organization. The team might help minimize spending, avoid it altogether, or shine a light on ineffective consumption within various departments. Greater culpability and visibility are natural results of the transition to ITaaS.
The days of IT simply filling orders for application development and system maintenance are over. This entity is now responsible for helping to decrease tech spending, exposing those who are using resources irresponsibly, and incorporating cloud into the organization in an organized and logical manner. ITaaS is the key to successful IT in the new world.
About Neely Loring
Neely Loring is President and Founder of Matrix-IBS. Founded on Loring’s conviction of providing data center services and hosted solutions for customers who need the service, but don’t need or want to build a data center, Matrix-IBS has fine-tuned the core competencies, best practices and best-of-breed approach to providing solutions for customers.
About Matrix-IBS
Matrix-IBS is a premier data center and IT resource company, offering customized solutions for growth, integration and technology for the large and mid-sized business market. Matrix-IBS’ solutions allow companies to be strategic with their IT and allow Matrix-IBS to take on all the tactical elements. Matrix-IBS designs, implements and supports a collection of hosted and remotely managed local and wide area computer network solutions.
Ken Mills
President
Ken Mills serves as President of Intelisys and is committed to driving growth for Intelisys and our partners. As a distinguished technology executive with over two decades of experience, Ken has previously held leadership roles at EPIC iO, Dell Technologies and Cisco, and served as a fellow with the U.S. Department of State. His strategic mindset has been an integral part of launching innovative products and solutions in the fields of AI, IoT, and 5G. Ken is driven by his curiosity and passion for groundbreaking technology and complex problems, and constantly explores new frontiers in the world of technology.