The best of both worlds

Transcription

1 The best of both worlds If fully embracing the Cloud is a step too far for your Service Management operation, perhaps a hybrid approach is what s required. VitAL speaks to the vice president and general manager of FrontRange s Cloud Business Unit, Kevin Smith about why, for many, a hybrid approach is preferable. FOR MANY Service Management organisations the idea of placing its software and data entirely in the Cloud is a step too far as of 2013, and yet they may wish to exploit some of the many benefi ts of a cloud-based operation. FrontRange believes it holds the answer in its HEAT hybrid ITSM solution. Founded in 1989, FrontRange is one of the biggest names in IT Service Management (ITSM). The company is the only ITSM provider in the world that delivers Service Management software with fully integrated Voice Automation and Client Management capabilities on-premise and in the cloud. Its HEAT solution manages millions of service interactions every day for more than 15,000 leading organisations around the world, enabling customers to deliver worldclass service while maximising operational efficiencies with reduced cost and complexity according to the company. Vice president and general manager of FrontRange s Cloud Business Unit, Kevin Smith is responsible for the growing portfolio of FrontRange Cloud applications. Previously responsible for product management, product marketing and corporate marketing for all FrontRange product lines, Smith has over 25 years of experience in the technology and software businesses. Prior to joining FrontRange, Smith held a number 28 VitAL : January / February 2013

2 of senior positions in technology companies before which he was fl ight design manager with NASA at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. VitAL: Please explain the concept of hybrid IT Service Management and how it fits in to the full ITSM picture. Kevis Smith: Customers love having choices and choices protect customers futures, so the concept of hybrid is about offering the customer more choice and more flexibility so no matter what road they choose or what happens in the market, they can tailor the deployment of their applications to what is needed in the business. But to defi ne the terms a little better: On- Premise is located within the company fi rewall, HEAT perpetually licensed solutions are installed locally at a customer site where company resources typically help implement, maintain and manage business solutions. Cloud is Located outside the company infrastructure and accessible via the Internet, HEAT subscription-based, multi-tenant solutions are provided to customers via a secure environment supported and maintained by FrontRange. The Hybrid approach Incorporates both HEAT On-Premise and Cloud applications for a complete Service Management solution. Customers have the choice of utilising either the cloud or on-premise deployment options, including a combination of the two models to support their business needs. By offering a Hybrid ITSM model that features a common code base whether deployed on-premise or in the cloud FrontRange is giving its customers the best of both worlds. For example, organisations with remote/branch offices with limited IT resources might opt for cloud-based ITSM while corporate HQ and main campus sites with significant IT staffs are more likely to adopt on-premise solutions that they can more easily manage and customise. With this suite of cloud, on-premise and hybrid HEAT applications, we can offer a solution that is the most: Flexible: Standardise on a single service management solution with fit-for-purpose deployment models that allows for the use of both operating and capital expense budgets (including a hybrid option that leverages both); Advanced: The most advanced service automation solution in the world with fully integrated voice-enabled capabilities that enhances efficiency and reduces service resolution costs by up to 70 percent. Complete: With end-to-end, integrated client management capabilities that enables the standardisation of business processes across the enterprise and improves the mean time to repair (MTTR) by up to 75 percent. VitAL: What specific circumstances lead to the development of the hybrid approach; was it developed from existing products or is it a completely new concept? KS: It hit us over the head one day that we d been in the business for over 20 years delivering on-premise applications and we had built this new Cloud application and a number of our customers we were talking to had a hard time choosing between the two, and then it occurred to us that we can do both. We offer both, all we have to do is make them available together. Our product line gives our prospects the option of the delivery model that works best for them. With a new executive team on board, beginning January 2012, we put that vision into practice with the existing product lines to reflect the hybrid model giving our customers the option to choose the deployment option that works best for them. Additionally, from a cost perspective, this enables the customer to take advantage of both operating and capital budgets. Our world keeps on changing and I talk to CIOs every day that say This is futureproofi ng me. I don t have to put all my eggs in one basket. I can go with a hybrid model and wherever the market goes, wherever technology goes, I have flexibility. VitAL: How does the hybrid approach differ from existing on premise and cloudbased solutions? KS: Customers don t want nor must they be forced into an either/or model. They want the flexibility to deploy ITSM solutions via Customers love having choices and choices protect customers futures, so the concept of hybrid is about offering the customer more choice and more flexibility so no matter what road they choose or what happens in the market, they can tailor the deployment of their applications to what is needed in the business. January / February 2013 : VitAL 29

3 SaaS-based ITSM tools appear to provide cost savings. However, failure to account for the resources to implement, integrate, operate and maintain the tools will result in the inability to extract value and achieve the expected ROI, Gartner says. cloud or on-premise as needs dictate and when and where it makes the most sense for the ever changing organisation. The cloud is here to stay, but full-scale transitions to the cloud to support an organisation s entire ITSM functions is not only unlikely, there are clear instances in which on-premise solutions make more sense for the reasons I ve cited. The same holds true for cloud-based ITSM offerings; there is no one size fits all cloud strategy that obviates the need for a hybrid solution for cost, resource allocation, infrastructure integration and customization reasons. VitAL: What are the benefits of a hybrid solution? KS: Number one is flexibility. It s hard to quantify this, but its value is huge because technologies evolve, with virtualisation, mobile device management, a proliferation of smart phones and we don t know what s next. With a hybrid solution, whatever happens they have the fl exibility to deliver. We have taken most of the risk out of it. Also, for companies that use some cloudbased applications, or need to cover branch offi ces and other sites that have few or no IT resources, a cloud-based ITSM offering may well make sense. But for enterprises that run the vast majority of their applications in-house, or that have lots of custom requirements, an in-house ITSM offering is likely the better choice. To cover both, then, enterprises need an ITSM solution that can deal with both worlds; in other words, a hybrid ITSM strategy. VitAL: What sort of user would benefit from using a hybrid solution? KS: Every user will benefit because they get exactly what they need. We can tailor the application to the user. Each organisation is unique in how it handles incidents, configuration management, change management and release management. Not to mention, problem management and the business rules that drive the performance of their service desks. Shared applications in the cloud that are largely standardised make confi guration changes more complex. And this introduces an element of risk since, to cite the cliché, change is the only constant. What companies really need is flexibility, meaning the ability to use a cloud-based ITSM tool where it makes sense and a premise-based one where the cloud model doesn t work well. Too often, though, it s an either/or proposition companies are forced to choose a cloud tool that doesn t really do everything they need it to, or a premise-based solution that may not be able to cover their entire organisation. What they need is a single solution that works in either a cloud-based or premise model, but sharing a common centralised console that gives them the same look and feel. Such a model protects the company against unforeseen changes in their business. If the organisation acquires another company, maybe one with lots of far-fl ung branch offi ces, it can quickly bring them on board using the cloud model. But over time if the company opts to consolidate offi ces, perhaps it would be better served with a premise-based ITSM solution. A hybrid model gives the company the flexibility it needs to meet its short-term needs after the initial acquisition as well as its longterm requirements. VitAL: How does a hybrid approach help the user to address specific service management challenges? KS: Hybrid is a much better model for getting key capabilities like mobility, self service, voice and service catalogue into the business. Based on our research with the industry analysts and feedback from our customers, companies are looking for the flexibility a hybrid deployment model (split between Cloud and on-premise) provides. Companies are looking to standardize on a single ITSM platform that gives them to flexibility to move, without having to do a rip and replace, between a cloud solution and onpremise solution. The reality is that there are situations where the Cloud may not be fi t for purpose: where there are challenges getting a reasonable internet connection; where security concerns prevent it; where high levels of customisation and data/business process integration are required; and where the operating expense (opex) economic model is not appropriate. 30 VitAL : January / February 2013

4 VitAL: How does a hybrid approach help the user to cope with the latest challenges to the IT estate BYOD, virtualisation, democratising, social media etc? KS: In our December 2012 upgrade we delivered what we call Social Service Management which is a collaboration platform for leveraging social to deliver managed services to the organisation and that s a natural for the hybrid model. Making service management available for mobile devices so I can access my service management app on my phone or pad really changes the model of how I can work. It s a quality of life thing. Coincident with service management maturation, virtualization and Cloud computing have been on a separate, but connected path of progress. Drivers for these technologies are quite similar to ITSM and include reduction of IT capital and operational costs, improved service quality, and increased fl exibility and agility for the business. Both virtualization and Cloud computing involve the abstracted application of technology infrastructure. Virtualization is used to apply IT resources when and where they are needed. Cloud computing works with virtualization systems to create an internal or external on-demand structure for accessing IT resources through private or public networks, often through selfservice and automated means. Virtualization, Cloud computing and ITSM all represent a rich set of options that can create competitive advantage for the enterprise. VitAL: What bottom-line benefits does a hybrid approach offer the user; is it the most cost effective service management route in the current economic climate? KS: It does offer economic benefits because you can optimise the deployment of applications in the business. It also makes your people more productive because they always have access to their applications in the best possible way. One reason companies are unlikely to stick with a cloud-only solution though is it gets expensive as the years go by. Cloud does reduce your upfront capital investment because there s no hardware or software to buy or install. But if you run a good TCO model, you ll quickly see the benefi t is short-lived. It s the same as leasing vs. buying a car. If you re going to own the car for ten years, it s a far better deal to buy it than lease. Say you have 100 users and you re going to spend $250,000 on a perpetual license for your ITSM solution. You will have an initial expense but you ll own that license forever. Now consider covering those users with a cloud-based ITSM solution instead. Maybe that costs you $100,000 in year one, which of course looks like a lot less than $250,000. But then you pay another $100,000 in year 2 and again in year three and so on. Depending on the TCO model you use, you ll likely fi nd somewhere in year three, around months, the lines cross and the premise-based option becomes less expensive. And that s not even taking into account others costs, as the Gartner report points out. SaaS-based ITSM tools appear to provide cost savings. However, failure to account for the resources to implement, integrate, operate and maintain the tools will result in the inability to extract value and achieve the expected ROI, Gartner says. VitAL: How do you see the approach developing in future? Will there be a drift into fully cloud-based solutions or will there always be a market for on-premise and hybrid options? KS: I don t think the market will ever go fully for Cloud; I believe it will settle in a balance. Because of security, total cost of ownership and customisation considerations I think there will always be organisations that opt for onpremise and that s why I think we are moving in to the post-cloud era, where Cloud is not the answer for everybody. In the next couple of years Cloud will level off in the percent range and there will always be a place for hybrid solutions. IT executives don t have to buy the notion that an ITSM solution has to be one or the other cloud- or premise-based. The fact is, we re going to be living in a hybrid IT world for the foreseeable future. It makes sense to have an ITSM solution that is flexible enough to give you the best of both worlds. VitAL: Kevin Smith, thank you very much. VitAL IT executives don t have to buy the notion that an ITSM solution has to be one or the other cloudor premise-based. The fact is, we re going to be living in a hybrid IT world for the foreseeable future. It makes sense to have an ITSM solution that is flexible enough to give you the best of both worlds. January / February 2013 : VitAL 31

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