Chaos to Control

From the way-back machine. Almost two decades ago, when I did IT services for clients, I came up with this as an information sheet for clients. Basically, giving them a high-level overview of a IT Ops framework. I did this before Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) or ITIL were on my radar. Here it is below.

Our philosophy on managing systems.

"We help our clients succeed by helping them secure and manage their technology investment."

Our three-phase approach is to organize, stabilize and maintain your system. The main goal is to align your information systems with your business objectives. What we will propose is to take control of the current chaos of your systems and reign in technology to bring it back in line with your business objectives.

During the organize phase we document the current system setup and develop a baseline for the systems based on your business objectives.

During the stabilize phase, we implement the needed changes to increase the uptime, stability and reliability of the systems by implementing the established baseline, including needed controls.

Finally, we maintain the baseline and recommend adjustments as needed to meet new business needs and optimize performance. Technology today is dynamic and your system should be flexible enough to move with your business not against it.

Phase One - Organize

Documentation

• Document current network settings, including servers, routers, switches and access points

• Document current workstation settings

• Document software and software settings

• Document service settings, including internet service provider, web hosting and email hosting

• Document current procedures

• Document current service level agreements, support services, warranties and contact list

Recommendations

• Make recommendations on changes

• Compile report with baseline settings, policies and procedures

Phase Two - Stabilize

Implementation of the baseline

• Remove hardware, software and services not in the baseline

• Install and/or configure needed hardware (test if needed)

• Install and/or configure needed applications and services (test if needed)

• Document any changes

Phase 3 - Maintain

Maintenance

• Perform regular maintenance based on a maintenance schedule

• Verify backups

• Verify baseline settings are being maintained

Optimize

• Monitor performance

• Recommend any needed changes