SMART Steps Toward Consolidated Workload Automation

Transcription

1 An ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES (EMA ) White Paper Prepared for BMC Software June 2008 IT Management Research, Industry Analysis, and Consulting

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary... 1 Introduction... 1 Drivers and Outcomes... 2 Key Barrier Legacy Scheduling Inefficiency... 2 SMART Steps Toward... 4 Selecting the Right WLA Platform... 4 BMC CONTROL-M as a WLA Consolidation Solution... 5 EMA Perspective... 5 About BMC Software... 6

3 BMC CONTROL-M is a powerful WLA solution that should be in consideration for any WLA consolidation project. Executive Summary Workload Automation (WLA) is a mature evolution of job scheduling that automates complex IT processing with support for event-driven workloads, multiple platforms, Web services, composite applications, SOAs, virtual systems, system and application integration, business alignment, and more. EMA research shows that Workload Automation (WLA) solutions satisfy the most important drivers for data center automation freeing up resources; reducing costs; reducing complexity; improving availability; increasing security and compliance; and reducing errors and operational risks. However, many organizations with multiple (or underpowered) legacy scheduling tools cannot achieve these benefits. Instead, they suffer from higher staffing levels, license costs, training costs, IT complexity, error rates, compliance risks, and more. EMA recommends consolidating to a single feature-rich WLA solution. Beyond selecting a core set of capabilities, converting with a phased approach and appropriate assistance will reduce the cost, risk, and impact of a conversion project. BMC CONTROL-M is a powerful WLA solution that should be in consideration for any WLA consolidation project. Introduction Most organizations have one or more job scheduling solutions that automatically submit and monitor simple batch job or script workflows. However, in many cases typical job schedulers do not handle large, modern, complex, enterprise workloads. They tend to be platform-specific and time-driven, with limited integration and poor scalability, unable to orchestrate dynamic workloads, and unconnected to business needs. Workload Automation (WLA) is a mature evolution of job scheduling that supports much more complex workloads, adding dynamic, intelligent, event-driven capabilities that support modern technologies such as Web services, composite applications, and Service Oriented Architectures (SOAs) across multiple physical and virtual systems. They are more interoperable, integrating tightly and widely with packaged applications, service desk systems, and system management tools. They provide greater visibility and functionality for end users, and connect IT workloads with business needs. Unfortunately, many organizations continue to maintain legacy job scheduling products, and as a result suffer from higher costs, inefficient use of resources, and greater IT complexity and cannot accommodate important business needs for integration, flexibility, proactive management, and service-driven IT. This EMA white paper looks at key automation drivers and the corresponding benefits of WLA, discusses how legacy job scheduling products can prevent organizations from achieving these benefits, and gives organizations advice on both how and why to consolidate on a single, comprehensive WLA solution across the entire enterprise.

4 EMA research found that WLA tends to achieve and exceed the most critical goals for Data Center Automation deployments. Drivers and Outcomes In recent research 1, EMA looked into the use of Data Center Automation (DCA) technologies a broad set of IT management disciplines (including WLA) aimed at automating system and application management activities within medium- or large-scale centralized computing environments. This EMA research found that WLA tends to achieve and exceed the most critical goals for Data Center Automation deployments, including: Freeing up resources for strategic projects instead of firefighting 43% of organizations rate this among their top three reasons for deploying DCA technologies. WLA achieves this goal by automating routine operational tasks, thereby freeing up skilled operators to devote more time to value-adding projects. In fact, EMA has found that sites with WLA report a 41% greater staff saving than sites without WLA. Reducing the cost of manual operations and infrastructure management 41% of organizations rated this in their top three drivers. WLA achieves this by allowing fewer administrators to manage much larger workloads, in much less time, than they could do manually. This results in average annual savings in staff costs alone of around $750,000 over $250,000 more per year than sites without WLA. Reducing the complexity of operations and infrastructure management 35% of organizations put this in their top three priorities for DCA. WLA achieves this by documenting and standardizing management processes, and providing a single interface to manage complex multi-platform workloads. Sites with WLA are therefore measurably more mature than sites without it, and better able to simplify their management through best practices like ITIL, Six Sigma, or CobIT. In addition, sites with WLA tend to have better availability (almost 70 hours extra uptime per year) as it responds to routine and ad hoc conditions faster to minimize operational latency. It isolates human operators from sensitive applications, improving security and reducing operational risk. It establishes repeatable system management processes, allowing faster responses to new business demands. It removes human intervention, reducing errors. It automates mundane tasks, making operations roles more stimulating, challenging, and attractive to skilled resources. Unfortunately, many sites cannot meet these goals because they are maintaining legacy scheduling tools. Key Barrier Legacy Scheduling Inefficiency Unfortunately, many sites cannot meet these goals because they are maintaining legacy scheduling tools that: Have limited or no support for multiple platforms Schedule by arbitrary times, rather than real events Do not integrate with other management systems 1 Data Center Automation: Delivering Fast, Efficient, and Reliable IT Services, October 2007.

5 EMA recommends organizations should consolidate on a single, comprehensive WLA solution. Do not support composite applications, SOAs, Web services, or virtualization Fail to dynamically detect, predict, correct, or optimize workloads Do not connect component workloads to business services Do not provide business users with visibility or interaction Maintaining multiple (or underpowered) legacy tools directly negates the most valuable automation outcomes, because they: Increase firefighting complex workloads are harder to manage, and harder to triage, so staffs spend more time on routine operations, instead of fulfilling strategic business needs Increase costs multiple solutions require multiple license costs, multiple resources, additional training costs, and higher application and system integration costs Increase complexity the fundamental complexity of multiple tools, maintenance schedules, skill sets, and integration techniques increases errors, reduces audit and control, and prevents agility. Take, for example, a relatively simple online B2C ordering system a typical LAMP (Linux-Apache-MySQL-Perl/PHP/Python) based Web application that offloads transactions every 30 minutes to a Windows-based SAP application, which processes the orders and produces a daily file for the Mainframe accounting and archiving system. Time-based scheduling tools will not accommodate unexpected transaction volumes, causing MySQL database slowdowns and even crashes. Without error detection and notification, dependent cross-system processes will stall or crash, adding to overall response times. The custom code required to extract, transform, and load MySQL records into SAP will break if any of them are upgraded, adding hours of downtime and lost revenue. Multiple skills and resources are needed to support the Linux, MySQL, Windows, SAP, and Mainframe environments and schedulers, and to triage problems. Without business alignment, no one knows the impact of delays until it is too late to do anything about them. With a single, fully-featured WLA solution, however, these separate tasks come together as a single, integrated business workload. Transaction volumes are detected in real time and processed as needed. Dependent workloads are monitored and triggered automatically across platforms. MySQL procedures, Linux scripts, and SAP are seamlessly integrated. Downtime is avoided by re-routing workloads to meet critical path requirements. Dynamic impact analysis alerts IT and business users well in advance of service delays. Moreover, just one resource can manage the entire workload, including detecting, isolating, and triaging problems across platforms and applications.

6 Many organizations have completed successful consolidation projects, so enterprises should look to benefit from that experience SMART Steps Toward Consolidated Workload Automation EMA therefore recommends organizations should consolidate on a single, comprehensive WLA solution. Every day of delay is a day further away from delivering larger IT and business benefits. Of course, existing solutions can be difficult to displace logistically, financially, or politically but certain trigger events can help to overcome this inertia. For example, when scheduling software licenses are up for renewal, or during the annual budget cycle, this is an ideal time to reallocate license costs to a WLA project, because the project ROI will include substantial and immediate license cost avoidance. Similarly, scheduling software (or server) upgrades can provide the impetus to standardize on an enterprise-wide WLA solution with immediate benefits in cost, complexity, and risk reduction. Other significant triggers may include a server consolidation project, an integration project arising from a merger or acquisition, a large-scale application upgrade, or a data center or service automation project. Consolidation may still cause short-term issues for staffing, technology, training, or budget allocation, so EMA recommends a phased conversion, instead of a big bang approach, to reduce cost and risk. Organizations should convert legacy scheduling systems one step at a time such as one application, server, or department at a time. By combining a series of smaller S.M.A.R.T. (i.e., specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely) steps, in a well-defined project plan that progressively achieves enterprise-wide goals, the project becomes less daunting, more manageable, lower impact, and more successful. Such consolidation is not unprecedented either; rather, it is time tested and has proven to be successful. Many organizations have completed successful consolidation projects, so enterprises should look to benefit from that experience. Working with outside expertise networking at user groups, hiring skilled resources, asking vendors for assistance, or engaging with services organizations will ensure a faster and safer project while keeping internal resources focused on strategic work. Look for expertise with project-driven approaches, pre-built conversion capabilities, proof points (e.g., reports, forecasts, etc.), and references. With this approach, potential issues can be isolated and short-lived, with low (or no) end-user disruption, manageable risk, and minimal cost. Selecting the Right WLA Platform Selection of the best possible WLA solution is also critical to consolidation success. EMA recommends five key high-level requirements to consider when contemplating a single, integrated WLA solution: Comprehensive WLA capabilities that support all current use cases, platforms, and applications Scalability to accommodate existing enterprise size, and to cater for any potential growth

7 EMA believes that most organizations will benefit substantially and quickly from consolidating to a single WLA solution. Flexible components and features that minimize conversion and deployment effort Support for forward-looking technologies such as virtualization, Web services, and SOA The ability to align WLA operations with strategic business service requirements These criteria are just a starting point, but set the foundation for selecting a comprehensive WLA solution that achieves both tactical and strategic objectives, both for the business and for IT. BMC CONTROL-M as a WLA Consolidation Solution BMC Software is among the leaders in IT and data center automation. Its solution for WLA, BMC CONTROL-M, has many features that make it an excellent choice for enterprise-wide WLA consolidation. Key features include: Extensive and flexible core scheduling capabilities including Web services support Scalability through its distributed architecture and extensive platform and application support Expertise in conversion projects, with services availability and out-of-the-box conversion tools Business alignment that integrates business impact analysis with workload forecasting Business-driven forecasting of real business workflow, not just batch job schedules Simplified conversion with the option of agent-based or agent-less deployment Extensive reporting capabilities, including audit and job performance metrics Built-in configuration and change management capabilities EMA Perspective EMA research clearly shows the significant business and IT benefits of WLA. On a purely financial basis, this technology delivers savings in staff costs alone of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, not to mention the many intangible benefits including reduced complexity, efficient resource utilization, higher availability, better security, and improved IT agility. However, it is also very clear that many organizations are holding themselves back from these benefits with multiple solutions, or solutions that are simply not up to the task. Without doubt, EMA believes that most organizations will benefit substantially and quickly from consolidating to a single WLA solution. For organizations with multiple legacy scheduling tools in place today, every new day that passes is another day with inefficient use of valuable and skilled

8 resources, higher IT and infrastructure costs, and greater operational complexity. These organizations need to critically evaluate their costs and look for opportunities to consolidate to one enterprise-wide WLA solution. When looking to select such a solution, organizations should seriously consider BMC Software and its CONTROL-M line of WLA solutions in any evaluation. EMA selected CONTROL-M on its All-Star Team for Workload Automation in , based on its comprehensive features, innovation, enterprise-class reliability and scalability, broad application and platform support, and business-focused capabilities. There is no doubt that it is a formidable WLA solution, and should be on a shortlist for any WLA consolidation project. About BMC Software BMC Software is a leading global provider of enterprise management solutions that empower companies to automate their IT and align it to the needs of the business. Delivering Business Service Management, BMC solutions span enterprise systems, applications, databases and service management. For the four fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2007, BMC revenue was approximately $1.58 billion. For more information, visit 2 The EMA All-Stars in Enterprise Systems Management for 2008, January 2008

9 About Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. Founded in 1996, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) is a leading industry analyst and consulting firm dedicated to the IT management market. The firm provides IT vendors and enterprise IT professionals with objective insight into the real-world business value of long-established and emerging technologies, ranging from security, storage and IT Service Management (ITSM) to the Configuration Management Database (CMDB), virtualization and service-oriented architecture (SOA). Even with its rapid growth, EMA has never lost sight of the client, and continues to offer personalized support and convenient access to its analysts. For more information on the firm s extensive library of IT management research, free online IT Management Solutions Center and IT consulting offerings, visit This report in whole or in part may not be duplicated, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or retransmitted without prior written permission of Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. All opinions and estimates herein constitute our judgement as of this date and are subject to change without notice. Product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. EMA and Enterprise Management Associates are trademarks of Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. in the United States and other countries Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. EMA, ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES, and the mobius symbol are registered trademarks or common-law trademarks of Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. Corporate Headquarters: 5777 Central Avenue, Suite 105 Boulder, CO Phone: Fax: