What Are Infrastructure Optimization Scorecards?

This is a transcript of a Webinar entitled, "Infrastructure Optimization Scorecards” hosted by InetSoft. The speaker is Jessica Little, Marketing Manager at InetSoft.

Today I will be talking about infrastructure optimization scorecards. Basically, companies are all looking at not only just measurements, but also a roadmap to improve strategic initiatives. What bothers me a lot is this idea that you have a strategy and the bosses go away for a weekend and they come back and say, now figure out how to improve the performance. You go and produce performance stuff and magic happens in between.

There are many people out there who feel like that’s how it is. So, I think you need to go down to the next level below that and look at the current design. Maybe it hasn’t been designed, or maybe it has evolved like anything else, just evolution. From the current state of the design, often called the ‘as is’ stage, what would you like it to be like three or four years down the road?

The ‘as is’ and the ‘to be’ stages need to figure out a transformation roadmap of how to get there. Also, people need to understand and know it’s about just keeping it simple and just reminding yourself to keep it simple. So I was always trying to think about putting those pieces together. Some academics looked at this thing and said, you know the computer industry is different by modular approaches. For every module they keep a set of simple internet rules and then look at all the industries. There are just some simple design rules. If you kept those design rules and kept track of it, there would be very few rules but just enough.

Again, people can’t remember a whole lot of them and so you get those bits and pieces and figure out, hey, how can you move from that target to the future stake. So I started doing that and made companies pretty complicated.

One of my problems is I like big, complex, and hairy things; I’ve also worked on Medicaid. From 48 million people and families, 16 million of them being children in the 50 states, I forgot how many billions of dollars were spent on this conference. I could have been at the conference speaking in San Diego, but I’ve been there before. For them, I laid out the Medicaid plan for the future and what we are going to try to do. I did the IRS plan.

I am now working with the worst plan: immigration. We can’t get anywhere because of where immigration problems are, but these are big plans, and what you have to do is manage that transformation. Managing that transformation in this kind of enterprise architecture includes how the organization is going to work in the future that includes the people, how well you are organized at where they’re located, what data you have to get, what applications, what technology, and how you are going to measure it. All those things have to be looked at.

“Flexible product with great training and support. The product has been very useful for quickly creating dashboards and data views. Support and training has always been available to us and quick to respond. - George R, Information Technology Specialist at Sonepar USA

What KPIs and Metrics Are Tracked on Infrastructure Optimization Scorecards?

Infrastructure optimization scorecards typically track a variety of key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics aimed at assessing the efficiency, effectiveness, and performance of an organization's infrastructure. Some common KPIs and metrics tracked on infrastructure optimization scorecards include:

1. Server Utilization: This metric measures the percentage of server capacity that is being utilized at any given time. It helps organizations ensure that server resources are being used efficiently and can identify opportunities for resource consolidation or reallocation.

2. Network Latency: Network latency measures the time it takes for data to travel from one point to another across a network. High network latency can indicate potential bottlenecks or issues that may impact application performance and user experience.

3. Storage Utilization: This metric evaluates the percentage of storage capacity that is being used. Monitoring storage utilization helps organizations manage storage resources effectively, prevent capacity shortages, and optimize storage allocation.

4. Downtime and Availability: This KPI measures the amount of time that critical infrastructure components are unavailable or experiencing downtime. Ensuring high availability is crucial for maintaining business continuity and minimizing disruptions to operations.

5. Power Efficiency: Power efficiency metrics track the energy consumption of data center infrastructure components, such as servers, cooling systems, and networking equipment. Improving power efficiency not only reduces operating costs but also supports sustainability initiatives.

6. Virtualization Ratio: This metric assesses the ratio of virtualized servers to physical servers in the infrastructure. Higher virtualization ratios indicate greater resource consolidation and efficiency, resulting in cost savings and improved agility.

7. Mean Time to Repair (MTTR): MTTR measures the average time it takes to resolve infrastructure issues or incidents. Monitoring MTTR helps organizations identify areas for improvement in incident response processes and minimize downtime.

8. Change Success Rate: This metric evaluates the percentage of infrastructure changes or updates that are implemented successfully without causing disruptions or incidents. A high change success rate indicates effective change management practices and minimizes the risk of service disruptions.

What Are the Ways to Maximize the Enterprise IT Infrastructure Change Success Rate?

Maximizing the success rate of enterprise IT infrastructure changes requires careful planning, coordination, and execution to minimize disruptions and ensure smooth transitions. Here are several key strategies to achieve this:

1. Comprehensive Planning and Risk Assessment: Before implementing any infrastructure changes, organizations should conduct thorough planning and risk assessment to identify potential impacts, dependencies, and mitigation strategies. This includes assessing the potential risks and impacts on existing systems, workflows, and stakeholders, as well as developing contingency plans to address unforeseen issues.

2. Clear Communication and Stakeholder Engagement: Effective communication is critical to the success of infrastructure changes. Organizations should communicate the rationale, objectives, and expected outcomes of the changes to all stakeholders, including end-users, IT teams, and business leaders. Engaging stakeholders early in the process and keeping them informed throughout the change process helps build trust, manage expectations, and address concerns proactively.

3. Testing and Validation: Prior to deployment, organizations should conduct rigorous testing and validation of infrastructure changes in a controlled environment to identify and address any potential issues or conflicts. This includes testing compatibility with existing systems, performance under different scenarios, and failover mechanisms to ensure reliability and resilience.

4. Incremental Deployment and Rollback Plans: Rather than implementing changes all at once, organizations can adopt an incremental deployment approach, rolling out changes in phases or stages to minimize disruptions and mitigate risks. Additionally, organizations should develop rollback plans and mechanisms to revert to previous configurations or versions in case of unforeseen issues or adverse impacts on business operations.

5. Change Management and Documentation: Implementing robust change management processes and documentation helps ensure consistency, compliance, and accountability throughout the change lifecycle. This includes documenting change requests, approvals, and implementation steps, as well as tracking and auditing changes to assess their impact and effectiveness.

6. Training and Support: Providing training and support to end-users and IT teams is essential to facilitate the adoption of new infrastructure changes and minimize productivity disruptions. Organizations should offer training sessions, user guides, and support resources to help users understand and adapt to the changes, as well as troubleshoot issues and maximize the benefits of the new infrastructure.