Data Center Strategy and Services Experts An Introduction to Move Methods September, 2009
About Altus Who We Are Established in 1996 with headquarters in Northeast Ohio I/T Consultants averaging over 25 years of experience each Specialize in Data Center Strategy especially Acquisitions, Moves, and Consolidations (and related activities) Everyone, including project managers, have a deep technical background ensuring that plans are not only well run, but technically feasible The combination of strong project management skills and technical breadth and depth allowed Altus to create a methodology designed to create high level strategies that take in the big picture yet work all the way down to the most detailed level Recognized and used by IBM, EMC and others as as Relocation Specialists Have been relocating Data Centers for Fortune 500 companies for over a decade 2
Altus Services What We Do Data Center Strategy Future Growth Requirements Power Analysis Telecom Analysis Virtualization Analysis Tier Analysis Geo Political Analysis Relocation & Consolidation High Level Planning/Move Strategy Detailed Planning Move Execution Production Control Analysis Service Level Management Root Cause Analysis Data Center Security Physical Security (card-key access) Network/System Security Firewall/DMZ Design/ Implementation 3
Data Center Consolidation and Relocation Why Altus Hiring an experienced relocation specialist reduces your risk A successful data center relocation requires careful planning and, above all, experience, to execute successfully. It is important to realize that any relocation will include unforeseen events. Trying to eliminate every possibility is unrealistic, but a specialist can lead you to minimize risks by planning ahead based on experience with similar environments and move strategies and showing you where to leave room in your schedule and budget for last-minute changes. An experienced specialist will direct you in working closely with your vendors to communicate your plans and enlist their help in the process. Protect and reduce your risk by hiring an experienced relocation specialist to help you plan and manage the process. This ultimately pays for itself. The money you spend is offset by the peace of mind you ll gain by knowing your move is in the hands of an expert, and insures that your data center relocation is accomplished according to your business requirements. 4
Introduction We will leverage the proven three-phase approach for data center relocations to assist our customer with the planning and execution of the move Facilities Technology IT Process Skills & Staff I Relocation Requirement and Assessment II Relocation Planning Transition Plan Relocation Planning Detail III Implementation 5
Introduction By defining key requirements, we will work together with our customer to identify inhibitors and focus on the business drivers that must be met to reach the desired targets Goal Inhibitors Maintain service levels through relocation activities Time required to accomplish activity Risk Event Dependencies Business Drivers/Decisions "I need the system back by..." You can take the system on Criticality to operations What risk level is acceptable 6
Introduction The relocation requirements will be defined and refined using a decision making process driven by proven templates Planning Questions Requirements What are the normal hours of operation? What is the service level target? What are the data feeds? What are the data outputs? Max outage window Data backup sizing Data restore timings Mirror, swap, swing, or refresh equipment 7
Introduction The use of this approach allows us, together, to assess the current infrastructure, document any gaps, and create a target model Our Responsibilities Provide approach and guidelines to validate the data center relocation requirements. Provide technical assessment of present data center resources, processes, and infrastructure including gaps. Provide budget estimates for phased relocation plan for moving the data center assets based on risk, value, dependencies, scope, and impact. Provide timeline estimates for the phased approach including the development of a transition plan, detailed project plan, issue list, and risk analysis. This will be used to develop the final data relocation plans and time tables. Customer Responsibilities Provide resources at the appropriate level to sponsor and steer project. Participate in planning sessions, workshops, status meetings, and reviews. Provide documentation and information on existing infrastructure. Make the necessary business and technical resources available for planning sessions, workshops, and interviews. Provide on-site facilities to conduct planning sessions, workshops, and Interviews. 8
Phase I Facilitated planning sessions will provide the high level "launch point" from which to drive the timetable, plan, and budget Phase I Relocation Requirement and Assessment Creates a road map to maximize present infrastructure capabilities and provides the analysis for the infrastructure adjustments needed to support the requirements of the data center relocation. Develops the strategic understanding of present infrastructure capabilities and the risk opportunities contained in the infrastructure. Provides interaction with skilled and experienced resources in the analysis of IT infrastructure, and in the development of the "Business Case for relocations. 9
Phase I Typical Planning Schedule Phase I Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Hold kick-off meeting Develop project charter Facilitated Planning Sessions Requirements development Document current model Define target model Define infrastructure adjustments Determine initial outage scenarios Make initial risk assessment Preliminary Communications Plan Preliminary Recommendations Preliminary Timeline Preliminary Budget Management Report Milestone 10
Phase I Phase I Outputs Requirements Definition Initiation Phase I Outputs: Current Hardware Model Based on reasonable allocations, not current floor space occupancy Planned Infrastructure Additions Planned Infrastructure Adjustments Reasonable outage scenarios Initial Risk Assessment Preliminary Timeline Preliminary Budget 11
Phase II Part 1 Planning workshops will be used to build the transition plan. This plan defines the basic shape the relocation will take Phase II - Relocation Planning Transition Plan Documents the assumptions that will be used through out the planning process. Helps the steering committee understand the impact of the operating unit requirements placed on the relocation. Defines the amount risk associated with the project. Begins the process of deciding on the risk acceptance tolerance. Identifies the risk areas in the present infrastructure and possible mitigation opportunities. Clearly defines the scope and purpose of the project and begins the process of communicating that information through out the organization. 12
Phase II Part 1 Typical Planning Schedule Phase II Transition Plan Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Hold planning workshops Develop transition approach Identify key risk elements Identify constraints Identify issues Finalize target model Document planning assumptions Finalize outage scenarios Refine risk assessment Refine Communications Plan Final Recommendations Refined Timeline Refined Budget Estimate Management Report Milestone 13
Phase II Part 1 Phase II - Relocation Planning - Transition Plan Phase II Outputs: Planning Assumptions Service level targets, transition options, timetables Key Risk Elements Constraints Refined Schedule Budget for Detailed Plan Refined Estimate for Execution 14
Phase II Part 2 The development of the detailed plan creates the blueprint that will be used to make the relocation a reality Phase II - Relocation Planning Detailed Plan Documents the step by step approach to migrating the workload. The workshop allows for dialog through out the organization on the approach and builds a consensus view on the plan. Defines the dependencies between the users, the applications, and the infrastructure. This information is used to finalize methods, timetables, and costs. Continues the process of educating the steering committee on the tradeoffs between risk and cost. 15
Phase II Part 2 Typical Planning Schedule Phase II Detailed Planning Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Hold planning workshops Develop detailed plan Validate planning assumptions Mitigate constraints Develop risk management plan Finalize transition model Determine risk acceptance Define move elements Finalize risk assessment Finalize Communications Plan Schedule move elements Finalize Timeline Finalize Budget Estimate Management Report Milestone 16
Phase II Part 2 Phase II - Detailed Plan Phase III Outputs: Define Project Team Select Planning Assumptions Risk Management Plan Workaround for Constraints Obtain Executive buy-in Detailed Schedule Detailed Budget for Execution 17
Phase III The move execution, or executing the relocation plan, is the final yardstick that will determine the success of the relocation Phase III Implementation Provides the necessary quality controls to maximize our customer s chances for success Validates the dependencies between the users, the applications, and the infrastructure. This information is used to allow our customer to make an informed decision on whether to proceed at this point or not with the relocation Provides the opportunity to improve the IT operations effort on a go-forward basis by examining what went right and wrong 18
Phase III Typical Planning Schedule Phase III Week 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 Detailed plan walk through Infrastructure build out Test workload migration plans Communication Plan Dry Run Testing Organizational Readiness Go / NoGo Decision Milestone Milestone Migrate Workload Validate Migration User Acceptance Heightened Support Cleanup Document lessons learned Management Report Milestone 19
Phase III Phase III Move Execution / Close Out Phase III Outputs: Phase III Plan Implementation Simulate relocation Test backup plans Install transition hardware Communicate to customers De-install, move and re-install Validation and acceptance test Close Out Lessons learned Cleanup 20
Next Steps 21