White paper ICM COMPUTER GROUP. Remote Monitoring A modern day IT essential

Transcription

1 White paper ICM COMPUTER GROUP Remote Monitoring A modern day IT essential

2 Contents Introduction... 3 The problem... 3 The solution... 3 The need for IT infrastructure monitoring...4 Increased system uptime... 4 Complexity of IT environment... 4 Dispersed users... 4 Meeting service level agreements... 5 Security issues... 5 Data loss... 5 Trending and future needs assessment... 5 Knowledgebase of problems and solutions... 5 In-house Vs external monitoring...6 Costs... 6 In-house skills and expertise... 6 Logistics of centralised monitoring... 7 Benefits of remote monitoring...8 Conclusion...9 The ICM remote monitoring solution...10 How it works ICM Remote monitoring solution

3 Introduction The problem Information Technology has proven to be an important enabler for modern organisations, to the extent that a reliable IT infrastructure is now vital to deliver effective customer service, control costs and maximise productivity. In recent years the falling cost of IT hardware has been offset by the increasing cost of the support services that are required to maintain the smooth operation of the IT infrastructure. This problem has been further compounded by IT skills shortages and high staff turnover within the IT department. Against this background the demands being placed on IT staff are increasing, both from the point of view of the complexity of the systems they have to support, and the need to maintain these 24x7x365. All this means that when a problem does occur the impact on the organisation can be costly and sometimes disastrous. The most significant cost to business from IT failure is the loss of revenue during a period of inactivity caused by a crash. IT functions and business processes are becoming increasingly integrated, and therefore a problem affecting one system can quickly impact heavily upon others. The challenge is to ensure your complex IT systems are kept operational, at all times, with fewer IT staff, often thought an apparently impossible scenario. The solution The key to the problem lies in becoming more proactive in the management of your IT infrastructure. Rather than wait for a problem to occur and adopt a fire-fighting approach, it is better to monitor the infrastructure constantly to enable problems to be solved before they become significant. This white paper looks at the reasons why more organisations are adopting this proactive approach and also examines the pros and cons of providing this service in-house as opposed to partnering with an established supplier. 3

4 The need for IT infrastructure monitoring When many IT departments are struggling to cope with day-to-day tasks, it is easy for them to view system monitoring as an expensive luxury. But the irony is that by taking a more proactive approach to avoiding downtime in the first place, they will ultimately ease the pressure on their routine operational tasks. This in turn will free up time for them to concentrate on the more interesting and business related issues that their knowledge of their organisation will enable them to make an important contribution to. Increased system uptime Nowadays even smaller organisations are moving towards 24X7 operations for their IT systems. This has been brought about by: The increase in e-commerce and the need for these systems to be available at any time, even outside of normal working hours The need to run time consuming maintenance tasks, outside of hours, when they will cause minimum disruption to users In such an environment, if the critical systems were not monitored and a failure occurs sometime Friday evening, it would likely not be discovered until Monday morning. In the meantime this could have lead to thousands of pounds of lost revenue as well as the loss of credibility and reputation. In the case of a monitored system an alert would have notified the administrator to the problem immediately, enabling the fault to be rectified with the minimum possible disruption. Complexity of IT environment The nature of the expanding and heterogeneous IT environment that is now prevalent in many organisations, is making the identification and solving of problems more difficult for IT staff. Organisations are constantly adding new applications, business processes and geographic locations and these must all be integrated seamlessly with the existing infrastructure. In such an environment the source of the problem needs to be quickly identified to enable it to be fixed with the minimum of disruption for the business. Monitoring of critical systems will ensure that likely problems can be identified before they have an adverse impact, and may even be fixed before they occur. Dispersed users Supporting users in one geographic location can be difficult enough, especially if they are located throughout a large office block, but the situation becomes exacerbated when there are multiple locations. Typically there are not the resources to locate IT staff at every location due to the cost of maintaining stock levels, basic infrastructure and overheads. This means that the remote monitoring of systems from a central location is the only way that the majority of support can be provided for these dispersed users. 4

5 Meeting service level agreements The Service Level Agreement (SLA) is now a key component in measuring the success or otherwise of the IT department in carrying out its role within the business. In these cost conscious times it is also a critical factor in measuring the benefit of IT to the business as a whole. Factors such as system uptime and user downtime are significant factors in the SLA and the monitoring of critical systems can help in ensuring that SLA measurement factors are achieved or surpassed. Security issues A recent DTI survey reported that although 99% of organisations have installed anti-virus software, many with automatic updates and patches, 50% of these were still infected by viruses because the update processes were not being managed. Without the monitoring of these processes to ensure they actually occur when they are supposed to, the investment in anti-virus software is virtually useless and the damage a business could suffer as a result of an infection could actually be greater than if there were no anti-virus protection at all. Data loss With so much critical data being concentrated on a small number of servers the potential for data loss, should a problem occur, is considerably higher. This is particularly the case for systems such as , where factors such as Spam can quickly cause system overload and failure. By monitoring these servers it will be possible to detect upcoming problems before they can cause catastrophic data loss. Traditional data back-up processes are carried out overnight, because they consume a lot of bandwidth and would cause disruptions if run in the day, and these processes need to be carefully watched. Data is the lifeblood of all organisations, regardless of their size, and few can ill afford to lose 24 hours of data if a back-up fails. Trending and future needs assessment With the constantly changing IT landscape, organisations are continually being called upon to make critical investment decisions that could affect the competitiveness of the business for many years ahead. Without the correct information it would be very easy to make a costly mistake. By monitoring critical systems it is possible to build up a record not only for historical reporting but more importantly for trending purposes. This will enable future investment decisions to be made on a more informed basis. Knowledgebase of problems and solutions By monitoring and keeping records of important events and indicators it will be possible to build up a knowledge base of potential problems and their solutions. This will help to ensure that future problems can be identified and resolved more quickly, minimising disruption to the organisation. This combined with regular reporting will highlight areas of stress which need attention to avoid a continuing high level of alerts. 5

6 In-house Vs external monitoring Many organisations now recognise the importance of system monitoring as a critical component of managing any computer environment. The natural tendency though is for them to attempt to carry out these processes in-house. While this may initially appear attractive, they soon realise that placing these additional tasks on an already over-burdened staff can quickly lead to more problems. Ultimately this leads to the monitoring not taking place at all with the potential for disastrous consequences. The Gartner Group reports that organisations that perform these services internally incur almost double the costs of those using an external source. So why is this? Below are listed the factors that contribute: Costs External pressures on IT departments mean that they are being asked to do more with less. Nowadays IT spend is tied closely to business and financial objectives and requires some form of ROI justification. In this environment the investment required to build and operate an in-house monitoring capability is difficult to justify. Take for example the costs of setting up a secure monitoring service something that is not just desirable but essential. The investment in providing the ability to monitor critical servers is likely to be hundreds if not thousands of pounds. Then there is the need to man it on a 24X7 basis. This will require 3 people on 8 hour shifts just to provide the bare minimum of operation with no cover for holidays and sickness. By partnering with an established supplier it will be possible to take advantage of their economies of scale to provide a reliable and fixed cost solution. This allows in-house IT staff to focus on business related issues. In-house skills and expertise The heterogeneous and complex nature of modern computing environments means that many IT departments are struggling just to keep their current technology functioning at the required performance level. With budget restrictions in place it is very difficult for IT departments to invest in and retain the skills they need in-house. Typically these skills are specialised and are consequently only needed on a part-time basis. This leads to staff being under utilised, misemployed or usually not employed in the first place. As a result of this, investment in staff with the necessary skills to monitor systems is simply not feasible. In addition with so many different systems in place, keeping up with the technology is a problem in itself even if you have managed to invest in and retain the staff in the first place. Consideration also needs to be given the fact that a properly monitored system can generate many different types of events from different sources. While many of these are routine, hidden in the middle could be one critical event that is difficult and cryptic to understand for the untrained and inexperienced IT professional. Partnering with an established supplier will ensure that the required highly trained staff, with access to an extensive knowledgebase of information, are monitoring your critical systems 24X7. 6

7 Logistics of centralised monitoring A monitored system generates a massive flow of events. For example even a small number of Windows Servers can generate over half a million events in one day. This effectively means that far more data is generated than anyone can easily analyse, but handling and interpreting these events is vital to effective monitoring. In addition when monitoring workstations, important security information is stored as part of the workstation s local log file, these too must be monitored centrally adding to the flow of information that needs to interpreted and acted upon. Many organisations now view as essential businesses practice the monitoring and management of security events to provide additional protection to their assets. In certain cases this can be a mandatory requirement; accordingly the monitoring of systems must be able to meet audit requirements at all times. By partnering with an established supplier, they will be able to provide the central correlation of the many events into meaningful information that can pinpoint problems allowing proactive and preventive action to be taken. In addition this will ensure that audit requirements can also be met. 7

8 Benefits of remote monitoring Organisations that choose to implement remote monitoring solutions from an established partner will obtain the following benefits: 24x7x365 monitoring - This can be achieved at a nominal, fixed cost without the need for a large initial investment and subsequent on-going costs. Peace of mind that major system failures are being minimised Allowing IT staff to focus on more business related issues. Threshold and failure notification and proactive fix By agreeing thresholds with your partner, they will have the ability to predict and eliminate problems. The immediate notification of an alert status enables proactive action to be taken to ensure impact on the network is minimised. Less downtime As critical systems are constantly being monitored and, in many cases, proactively fixed, there will be less downtime across the entire network. Problems resolved faster Due to economies of scale your partner will have always have trained staff immediately available to solve problems as they occur. There will be no need to pull them off another job or wait for them to return from off-site, as can be the case when the problem has to be resolved internally. Provides historical data for planning purposes Monitoring the system provides invaluable historical data that enables you to make informed decisions when you need to expand, rationalise your IT infrastructure, or bolster it where there are regular alerts. Need for less on-site work and service calls Out-of-hours problems can lead to expensive service calls and inconvenience for internal staff. Remote monitoring will ensure that such events are kept to an absolute minimum. Optimise performance - By having your network and systems monitored at all times, you can also optimise the performance of your IT infrastructure, leading to additional cost savings. Security protection always up to date With new viruses being released almost daily, your antivirus solution must be constantly updated to ensure its effectiveness. While many solutions possess this capability there is no way of knowing that it has successfully occurred. Other important updates must be watched carefully, such as software or security updates to decrease the overall vulnerability of your network. Remote monitoring will give you the peace of mind of knowing that should a problem occur with the updating process you will be immediately notified, allowing you to take appropriate action. 8

9 Conclusion In today s fast-changing economic and technological climate the undoubted benefits of continuously monitoring your critical IT infrastructure components are compelling. Having made the decision that this is the way forward, the problem comes in deciding how best to provide this essential service. While the arguments for providing it in-house can appear persuasive, closer investigation reveals that for many organisations, irrespective of size, this is simply not possible. Indeed research by Gartner has shown that it can cost twice as much to provide in-house than it does to partner with an established supplier. ICM have made significant investment in their remote monitoring capabilities. This enables us to offer all types and size of organisation a comprehensive solution to meet their needs. This flexible solution is available without the need for a large up-front investment and will continue to provide excellent service at a fixed-cost; enabling your internal IT staff to concentrate on providing services that are core to the business itself, rather than worrying about routine maintenance and monitoring. 9

10 The ICM remote monitoring solution How it works ICM provide a complete managed service to continuously monitor the status of the critical components of your IT infrastructure. Using state of the art delivery systems our team of analysts are able to monitor the key areas of high stress on your network, receiving an alert should a fault be identified. It is then possible to diagnose and resolve a developing problem at the earliest possible stage. In addition to managing entire networks we are also able to correct system errors remotely. Our comprehensive range of services enables: Monitoring and management of IT around the clock Early detection of errors before they become major problems Improved service levels across disparate office locations Reduced costs of IT ownership, increased flexibility and resilience ICM Remote monitoring solution Our standard solution enables the monitoring of up to 4 thresholds, typical examples are disk space, memory utilisation, CPU utilisation and ping testing, and 10 critical services or processes. The thresholds can be as small and finite as is required, so that even a slight variation of error can be spotted if it is deemed significant. There are no limits as to how many processes the solution can monitor; these are decided by the customer and their budget limit. We can monitor the servers and network devices, notifying you or the support engineer of any problems and correcting any that can be resolved remotely. To ensure that the monitoring is functioning correctly at all times, we send a pulse to monitored devices every 15 minutes to ensure its reliability. Monitoring can also be provided across multiple sites, providing the necessary infrastructure is in place. As the needs of the customer change and grow, so too can the remote monitoring solution. Same day changes can be made ensuring the service is never stagnant and remains a vital process for the customer to manage their IT effectively. In addition to the above we are also to offer the following services: Back to Life We will work to restart any monitored services or processes to return the system back to a normal level of operation. Software Distribution - Remotely upgrade your desktops overnight Inventory Discovery - Live audits of all equipment on the network to identify the assets, software installed and versions being run. Helpdesk Software - Helpdesk software that can automatically monitor service levels and escalate calls for your help desk. 10

11 White paper This document should be read as a guide only and is not intended to be legally binding. For more information, visit ICMCOMPUTER GROUP PLC, ICM House, Oakwell Way, Oakwell Park, Birstall, West Yorkshire, WF17 9LU Tel , fax: , icmore icm-computer.co.uk Icm-computer.co.uk