Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Key Drivers and Outcomes
Key Benefits
Satisfaction
Decision Factors
Form Factor
Barriers to Adoption
Introduction
Defining the Data Center
Defining Data Center Automation
A Brief History of DCA
Core DCA disciplines
DCA Technologies, Solutions, and Outcomes
Provisioning
Patch Distribution
Change and Configuration Management
Virtual Machine Management
Case Study: Fast, Efficient Virtual Machine Management with Novell ZENworks Orchestrator
Asset and Inventory Management
Compliance Auditing and Reporting
Remote Control/Out-of-Band
Event Management/Console Automation
Automated Backup and Recovery
Database Automation/Optimization
Capacity Management
Job Scheduling/Workload Automation
Performance and Availability Monitoring
IT Process Automation
Case Study: Managing Explosive Growth and Compliance with Opalis Integration Server
Charge-Back Automation
Case Study: Improving Availability, Response, and Security with Optinuity C2O
DCA, ITIL, and the CMDB
Comparing DCA Disciplines
Key Drivers for DCA Deployments
Key Outcomes
Penetration of Individual DCA Disciplines
Importance of Individual DCA Disciplines
Satisfaction with Individual DCA Disciplines
Levels of Automation
Cost Benefits
Data Center Profitability
Data Center Resource Costs
DCA Effects on Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)
Effects of Individual Disciplines
DCA Effects on Availability
Effects of Individual Disciplines
Choosing DCA Solutions
Deciding Factors
Form Factors
Barriers to Adoption
EMA’s Perspective
Appendix A: Methodology and Demographics