AMANDA Managed Services Understanding the benefits of moving to the cloud

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1 Understanding the benefits of moving to the cloud WHITEPAPER Content Summary 1 Introduction 2 Challenges of Enterprise Implementations 3 Hosting and 4 The Technology Stack 5 and Hosting Alternatives Understanding the Differences 6 Summary 7 About CSDC 8 For More Information. Introduction The purpose of this paper is to provide a common framework to understand the various possible infrastructure and professional services offerings to serve as a guide for clients to differentiate and evaluate the benefits of each offering. Prime benefits of the outlined service offerings are: Facilitate and speedup software maintenance and enhancement by off loading these tasks from client s IT organization. Staff augmentation. Increase infrastructure agility. Shift capital costs to operational. Key Concepts Hosting refers to the provisioning of supporting hardware and software required for the execution of a software application. Infrastructure Services is the practice of outsourcing day-to-day IT infrastructure management responsibilities as a strategic method for improving operations. Copyright 2012 CSDC Systems Inc. All Rights Reserved.

2 WHITEPAPER: MANAGED SERVICES CHALLENGES OF ENTERPRISE IMPLEMENTATIONS Most large-scale software implementations face the same challenges as they seek to provision new services and capabilities across an enterprise: Need for agile infrastructure provisioning - Higher availability (BC/DR) Unlimited scalability Software upgrades, patches, on-going application maintenance & enhancements, new implementations Reduce Internal IT effort Relieve staff and regain focus on core business Rising data center costs (labour, storage, energy) Multi-tenancy, location, sharing Compliance, Security Issues and end-user support Fluctuating demands for ITSM & professional services This document outlines several options which could be used to mitigate such challenges and risks in either on-premise or off-premise (hosted) environment. APPLICATION HOSTING AND MANAGED SERVICES There are many different ways that Hosting and Infrastructure Services may be provided for an enterprise application such as. Understanding and comparing all the possible approaches and options that are available can be confusing, even to industry veterans. The Technology Stack In order to host an application there is additional supporting technology that is required. The full technology stack consists of a total of nine (hardware and software) components. These are depicted in the following diagram. Typically, these nine components are grouped into three separate technology stack layers: the application layer, middleware layer and the infrastructure layer. Layer: Software Layer: & Web Server Software (Apache Tomcat, IBM WebSphere, etc.) (Oracle, MS SQL Server, etc.) (Linux, MS Windows, etc.) Infrastructure Layer: (VMWare ESX, MS Hyper-V, etc.) Computing Hardware (blades, servers, etc.) (hard disk, Area s, etc.) (network switches, firewalls, load balancing appliances, web proxy, etc.) When combined, the middleware and infrastructure layers are also commonly known as an application platform. () Infrastructure Page 2

3 WHITEPAPER: MANAGED SERVICES and Hosting Alternatives (Understanding the Differences) It is common for clients to choose to host these layers within their own data center (on-premise) or at a 3rd party data center (off-premise). It is also common for a client to either manage each of these layers themselves or outsource the management of all or some of the layers to a 3rd party service provider Provider. Such variance of alternatives creates several possible scenarios for on-premise or off-premise hosted applications, either self-managed or managed by a Service Provider. The most common Service packages for an on-premise hosted environment typically include: Infrastructure: hardware, virtualization, storage, network devices Platform: Infrastructure and operating system, database, application server : application software () and data Platform and : all three layers Infrastructure, and In case of an off-premise hosting, the list of Services is a little different: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): managed infrastructure hardware, virtualization, storage, network devices Platform as a Service (PaaS): managed Infrastructure and operating system, database, application server Software as a Service (SaaS): fully managed offering Infrastructure, and The following diagram provides a comprehensive view of various Service and Hosting alternatives described above: Each of the Hosting and alternatives has different implications on a client s IT staff as well as the cost model. Progressing from left to right in the following diagram from by Client [on-premise and self-managed] to Software as a Service (SaaS) [off-premise and Service] will result in decreasing staff requirements along with a shift in the cost model from capital expenses towards operational expenses. It should be noted that based on specific client requirements, other combinations are also possible although not as common. by Client Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Platform as a Service (PaaS)/ Platform Software as a Service (SaaS) Client IT/Support staff requirements Capital Operational Cost Balance Page 3

4 WHITEPAPER: MANAGED SERVICES The following diagram explores the alternatives form a client s IT staff requirements perspective: On-Premise Hosting Required Client IT and Support Staff Off-Premise Hosting Software as a Service (SaaS) Fully Software as a serving offering Subscription type cost model Hosted in a private or public cloud Platform and application Fully platform and application offering Could be based on a subscription type cost model application () Platform Platform as a Service (PaaS) platform-network, storage, servers OS, database, middleware Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) infrastructure-network, storage, servers by Client (self-managed) by Client (self-managed) Self-managed platform and application () Summary The Hosting and alternatives described in this document could potentially yield a number of benefits to clients in either on-premise or off-premise hosted scenario, specifically: Fast track software maintenance (software upgrades, software patches deployment, testing) Rapid solution enhancement implementation (integration, testing and deployment) Staff augmentation Ensure business continuity by hosting the solution at tier-1 data center (off-premise hosting) Rapid scalability (off-premise hosting) Shift capital costs to operational (off-premise hosting) Also, option opens up an opportunity to tap into a number of value added services, such as: Service Desk Management A central point of contact for handling customer, user and other operational issues providing integrated 1st, 2nd or 3rd tier support for users. Software Upgrade and Patch Management Services to ensure that the latest security, bug and other enhancements are continually applied to both and layers. Lifecycle Management Services to manage the lifecycle of solution through governance, on-going feature development and maintenance. Implementation Services Provide implementation services for new business solutions and/or new capabilities built and deployed on platform. Strategic Planning & Advisory Services Professional services assisting with planning architecture and implementation of enterprise solutions based on best standards and practices. Page 4

5 WHITEPAPER: MANAGED SERVICES ABOUT CSDC Since 1989, CSDC has provided integrated, powerful and flexible systems for more than 150 government Agencies in states, provinces, counties and cities across North America and the Caribbean. CSDC provides Enterprise solutions which address the needs of many departments, such as Planning, Permitting, Inspections, Code Compliance, Licensing, Fire Prevention, Public Works, Environmental Health and Safety, and Public Access. Our core technology,, serves as a Business Performance Platform and is designed to adapt to the changing needs of government. The Land Development Management solution is a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solution, designed by CSDC Systems specifically for government. It is easily configured to support the delivery of all types of Planning Department services. We have over 20 years of experience and a team of knowledgeable experts that have helped clients successfully deliver Land Development Management solutions for their own agencies. Contact us today and discover what we can do for you! CONTACT CSDC US CORPORATE OFFICE 2821 W 7th Street Suite 230 Fort Worth, TX Toll-free: (888) Fax: (877) [email protected] CANADIAN CORPORATE OFFICE 1705 Tech Avenue Suite 1 Mississauga, ON L4W 0A2 Toll-free: (888) Fax: (877) [email protected] Page 5