Proactive Operations Management for the

Dynamic Data Center

Abstract

The dynamic data center is here. New technologies such as server virtualization, server mobility, and cloud

computing/storage/platforms are changing the structure and manifestations of the traditional raised floor

data center. New architectural elements such as shared resource pools, SOA, and Web ecosystems are

redefining the very nature of the service delivery environment. With so many new levels of abstraction and

redirection, coupled with extreme flexibility and high rates of change, management technologies must also

evolve to keep pace and pave the path for capturing the potential value of these disruptive and transformative

innovations. This is not a job for traditional management tools – it will require a new generation of

management solutions marked by service awareness, integration, and automation – an area of specific focus

for BMC Software’s solutions.

The Mandate for Proactive Operations

ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES® (EMA™) research indicates that over 95% of IT shops

have deployed or are in the process of deploying one or more server virtualization technologies. Additionally,

EMA is closely tracking the growing adoption of cloud-based applications and services, and the challenges

these new architectural constructs represent to operational quality and integrity. These two factors are

significantly changing the equation for delivering IT services. The infrastructure itself is becoming highly

flexible and agile, with rapid change becoming commonplace, in order to be more responsive to changing

business needs and more strategic to the organizations served.

As IT services become more strategic, they must evolve as have other parts of the business to become more

predictable, manageable, and reliable. This means not only lower rates of failure among enabling technologies,

but a fundamental shift in the management tools and practices applied to those technologies. It means

moving from an after-the-fact, reactive approach to recognizing incidents and problems to a proactive,

preventive posture which can extend the length of time in which services are up, available, and performing to

the needs and expectations of the IT user community.

Proactive operations have been promised for many years by a variety of management technology vendors;

however, success has been elusive. Organizational and communications factors have often created

insurmountable barriers, while fragmentation of management capabilities between domains has not helped

the situation. But the gaps are starting to close, driven by evolving management technology, economic

incentives to cross train operations professionals, and the increasingly critical nature of IT for underpinning

basic business processes. Organizations can no longer afford to guess at whether or not IT can meet the

needs – the time has come for IT operations to reach the next level, matching supply with demand via

accurate capacity planning and capacity management, supporting rapid change via increasing automation, and

avoiding outages and degradations via advanced availability and performance monitoring.

Keys to Proactive Success

Making the shift from reactive to proactive operations requires a steady focus on essential areas where IT has

the opportunity to deliver improved strategic value. EMA recommends considering four such key angles,

taking note that they are all interrelated and not necessarily serial/sequential:

EMA BRIEF

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©2009 Enterprise Management Associates