Service Management for Workload Automation
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This document discusses service management for workload automation. It advocates for centralizing all scheduling activity using an enterprise-class workload automation (WLA) tool to enable business transformation. Managing WLA as a service using service management standards and best practices can improve customer satisfaction, lower costs, and reduce risk. The document provides examples of how WLA tools can streamline processes, increase productivity, and accelerate service delivery.
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Service Management for Workload Automation
- 1. SERVICE MANAGEMENT FOR WORKLOAD AUTOMATION PRESENTED BY:JAMES J. GINGRAS SR. SOFTWARECONSULTANT,BMC SOFTWARE VERSION1.0
- 2. Workload Automation Service Management 2 SERVICEMANAGEMENTFORWORKLOAD AUTOMATION WORKLOAD AUTOMATION: BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION The keyto businesstransformationisautomation. The keytobusinessadvantage is innovation.ForIT, WorkloadAutomation hasthe abilitytotransformthe businessthroughinnovationthat comesfrom the use of a state-of-the-arttool thatenables collaborationacrossall of IT andthe businessdue toa commoninterface andthe abilitytoshare resourcesalreadyinplace inthe organizationinmore powerful andefficientmanner. WorkloadAutomation(WLA) isthe mostmature formof whatwas previouslyknownasscheduling or“batch processing”. WLA refersto automation acrossyourentireIT Enterprise in a consistentmannerwithreusablecomponents using a repeatableprocess thatuphold standardsand bestpractices. In itsmostmature form WLA referstothe abilitytocentralize managementof all the complex workflowsandunderlyinginfrastructure acrossthe entire ITEnterprise andexpose them asasetof servicesthatare mappedto the businessapplicationsandservicestheysupport. Italsoreferstothe abilitytoprovide managementoversightusingtermsandtools thatare well-understoodbyboththe businessandIT. Transformingthe businessthroughautomationbyenablingunderstanding andaccountabilityto strengthenthe partnershipbetweenbusinessandIT. In short,managingthe entire automation workloadusingservice managementstandardsandbestpractices,includingService LevelAgreements (SLAs) basedonservice level metrics. Providingweb-basedmonitoringandreportsin well-known terms,“services”,thatare managed basedontheirimpacton the customer. Whetherthose customersare outside the organization(businessclients),insidethe business(businessOperations),or withinIT. All the WLA customersaffectedbyanypart of the workloadcaneasilyidentifyand,if required,manage the partsof the workloadthataffectstheirbusiness. Part of the beautyof takingadvantage of WLA isthat, inmost organizations,thiscapabilityalready existsandis usedto manage critical partsof the automation IT provides. Mostorganizations have not maturedthe use of WLA to provide aservice ina standardmanneracross IT. In itsimmature state,workloadautomationisoftenconsidered“batchscheduling”orpossiblyasetof schedulersandapplicationsthatare integratedtosome degree,usuallythroughscripts. Traditionally the responsibilities forWLA are embeddeddeepwithinthe ITorganizationinITOperationswithlittle or no visibilitytothe productsandservicestheysupport orthe capabilitiestheycanprovide tothe rest of the organization. The first step to enabling true businesstransformation isto centralize all scheduling activity in a tool thatis ableto managethescheduling and automation requirementsacrosstheentireIT Enterprise. Enterprise ClassWLA Toolsenable thistype of businesstransformationusingindustrybestcapabilities while leveragingexistingautomationprocessesandpersonnel. EnterpriseClassWLA Toolsare simple, powerful andindustryproven. The old,siloed,approachthatrelegatesschedulingtowhateverplatformorapplicationinuse,by whicheverITteam,cannotmeetthe demandsof the new IT due to:
- 3. Workload Automation Service Management 3 SERVICEMANAGEMENTFORWORKLOAD AUTOMATION Inabilitytocoordinate workflowsandsupportacrossthe entire ITEnterprise Inaccurate resultsdue tolack of integratedworkflow andmature functionality Service Level conformity AuditingandCompliance issueswithcompanypolicies,governmentregulationsandinternal auditing What isneededisa newapproachthat meetsthe demandsof the new IT and enablesbusiness transformation:Workload Automation. ElevatingWorkloadAutomationtothe Enterprise leveland managingitusinga BusinessService Managementapproachimprovesbusinessalignmentand accountabilityassoonas itis implemented. The resultingbenefitsare compelling: Improved CustomerSatisfactionthroughimprovedservice levels Betterintegrationwiththe businessthroughservice mapping LowerTotal Costof Ownership (TCO) throughimprovedservice and support Lessrisk due toabilitytoidentify the impactof changes before theyare made, the abilityto research historical dataandaudit reporting. By consolidatingschedulingintoasingle enterprise solution youenable the use of workload automationforany well-definedworkflow withinyourorganization. Enablingyoutotake advantage of pre-definedautomationforcommonfunctionsandintegrationsinacommoninterface withcommon requirements. Inotherwords, usingreusablecomponentsinarepeatable process thatare managed accordingto existingstandardsandbestpractices. Whetheryouare automatinginformationtransfer across applicationcomponentstospeedthe process, improvingqualitythroughstandardsandbest practices,reducingTotal Costof Ownership byimprovingqualityandstreamliningITprocesses, and/or improvingcustomersatisfaction,all these concernsare addressedthroughmature,service-oriented, WLA. SIMPLIFYING COMPLEXITY We are all familiarwiththe increasingcomplexityof IT. Distributedcomputingbroughtmulti-platform supportto the forefront. Improvedtechnical capabilities enabledtechnological specializationinevery categoryof IT fromnetworktostorage management,fromsecuritytoeventmanagement,from applicationtodatabase andservermanagement. Now we are managingadditional layersof these categoriesinvirtual environmentsthatrunon the physical infrastructure. All thesetechnologieshave enabledautomatedinfrastructure provisioninganddynamicresponsetothe businessenvironment oftenreferredtoasdatacenterautomation. AcquisitionsandbusinessexpansionrequireITto quickly absorbor integrate variedandgeographicallydispersedinfrastructures. All thistechnologyonly increases complexityandamplifies the needforintegrationbetweenworkflows,applicationsand services. As a resultof these complications,outdatedschedulingtoolslimitthe amountof automationanddrive up software andhumanresourcescosts forautomatingcommonfunctions,andincrease the probabilityof costlyservicelevel penaltiesand“brandevents”. Theyalsoincrease the riskof delays,
- 4. Workload Automation Service Management 4 SERVICEMANAGEMENTFORWORKLOAD AUTOMATION service disruptionsanddegradation,recoverytimesare hindereddecreasingMeanTime ToRepair (MTTR). Changesto the IT infrastructure mustbe limitedwhichinhibitsgrowth. ACCELERATING SERVICE DELIVERY: IMPROVING BUSINESSVALUE Businessservicesrelyontimely,efficient,cost-effective,anderror-freeschedulingandworkflow automationtosupportthe dynamicbusinessandtechnology processesand environments. Consequently,the workloadautomationsolutionsmustmeetthe needsof changingbusinessdemands and changesintechnology. However,mostorganizationseitherdon’thave aworkloadautomation practice,or theyperformworkloadautomationinsiloes.Theyare notmature intheirunderstanding or implementationof WLA. Most of the automationoccursin siloswithinthe organizationbasedon application,technologyorboth. Asa result,the organizationsIToperations,where schedulingand WLA are traditionallysupported, are focusedontechnology, ratherthatbusinessandtechnology services. Inotherwords,the people supportingthe complexitydonotunderstandthe impactissues have on the customers. The complexityof the environmentrequiresadiverse skill settomanage andmaintain,withthe associatedtrainingcosts. The additional complexitycreatedbyvirtualizationincreasesthese requirementsandchallenges. Youneedtobe able toquicklyandeasilychange prioritiesforworkload executionandsupport,trackworkloadprocessingproblems,setsupportprioritiesbasedonbusiness requirements,testandmanage changestothe workloadbefore theyare inproduction –usingboth physical andvirtual infrastructure –andreport onall changesmade to processingworkflows. If your workflowautomationandschedulingprocessesare notstandardized,ormore correctly,if your WLA lifecycle isnotmanagedacrossyourentire enterprise,youmayexperience outagesandincidents that impactcritical businessservices. BMC’sBusinessService Management (BSM) platformsimplifies and automatesyourIT processes. Inaddition,BSMprovidesthe capabilitiesthataccelerate your transitionfroma technology-focusedorganizationtoa service-orientedbusiness.
- 5. Workload Automation Service Management 5 SERVICEMANAGEMENTFORWORKLOAD AUTOMATION FIGURE 1: ENTERPRISE CLASS WLATOOLS - PROVEN FOUNDATION FOR MANAGING ENTERPRISE WORKLOADS The Enterprise SchedulingandWorkloadAutomationcapabilityofferedbyBSMallowsyouto replace disconnectedautomationprocessesand multiple schedulingtools withone streamlined processand integratedsolution: Enterprise ClassWLA Tools forWorkloadAutomation. WHY WORKLOADAUTOMATION? There are manyreasonsto mature WLA withinanorganization. BusinessTransformationisthe mostcompellingandover-arching. Bystandardizingautomationforthe commonfunctions requiredbyall applicationsandserviceswithinWLA and an Enterprise ClassWLA Tool,yougain the abilitytoshare resourcesandcollaborate atunprecedentedlevelsacrossall of IT. From the IT Architectsandprojectmanagersworkingwiththe businessinnovators,tothe IT Service Managementteamsmanagingthe “business”of IT,tothe Infrastructure teamssupportingand maintainingthe ever-changingtechnologies. All theseteamsbenefitfromthe capabilitiesWLA can provide. Here isa listof the topten reasonsmostorganizationsmove tocomprehensive, integratedapproachof managingWLA as a service: Increase your span of control: Witha single,integratedsolution,all the workflowsautomated withWLA can be managedthrougha commoninterface thatisavailable toall stakeholders, remotelyorfromtheirworkstations. All stakeholderscaninteractina collaborative and innovative mannernomatterwhattheirlevel withinthe organization.
- 6. Workload Automation Service Management 6 SERVICEMANAGEMENTFORWORKLOAD AUTOMATION Better alignmentwithbusinesspriorities: A unifiedenterpriseWLA experienceenablesyouto manage all your schedulingandautomatedworkflowsbasedonyourbusinessneedswith visibilitytoall the dependenciesandresourcesacrossyourIT enterprise,enablingtrue end-to endservice management. Whetheryouare triggeringautomatedworkflowsbasedon date/time,systemevents,adhoc,or throughApplicationProgrammingInterfaces, standardizedautomationprocessingisavailable. Compliance management: A single unifiedWLA solutionmakesiteasiertoaddressregulatory and auditrequirementsbyprovidinggranularreportingof all changesandactivitiesinthe workload,includinghistorical data. Governance isalsoenforcedbyrequiringannotationsfor changesto the workloadand inresponse toeventswithinWLA. Leverage the Cloud: A keypriorityformanyIT organizationsistohave the “elasticity”needed to manage the “velocity”of changesinbusinessdemandandservicelevels. EnterpriseClass WLA Toolsincludesapplicationplug-insforautomatingworkflowsinthe cloud,providing additional on-demandinfrastructureandresourcesduringcritical processingperiods. Dynamic Workload Support: IT environmentsconsistof ahybridof physical andvirtual infrastructure. Traditional,static,jobschedulingtoolsandprocessescannotprovide the integrationandinterface requiredtomanage bothof these environmentsseamlesslyand withoutknowledge of wherethe automationisexecuting. EnterpriseClass WLA Toolsprovides that “single pane of glass”enablingmanagementbyexceptionwhile continuingtoprovide the specialistwithall the informationtheyneedtoconfigureandmanage the workload. Reduce Operating Costs: Commonsense will tell youthatmanagingone tool islessexpensive. What may notbe so obviousisthat a mature WLA solutionlike Enterprise ClassWLA Tools also providesintegrationwithService Management andITEventManagementandMonitoring tools to enable quickerincident/problemresolution,decreasingMeanTime ToRepair(MTTR) and automatedservice managementprocessing. Inadditionitprovidestechnical capabilitieslike zero-downtime agentupgradesandWorkloadChange Managementtoimprove availabilityand the qualityof the automatedsolutionsITprovides. Lower Risk of Service Disruptionor Degradation: A comprehensive WLA solutionincreases automation,whileWLA service managementprovidesthe visibilityandaccountabilityto analyze andpreventservice disruptionsanddegradation. Increase Staff Productivity: Standardizingonacommon mature enterprise capable WLA tool enablesyoutoshare resourcesandpersonnel acrossthe entire developmentandsupport lifecycles,while includingthe capabilitiesandunderstandingof service andsupportpersonnel inthe designof the automationthatispart or whole of the servicesITprovides. Thisimproves the qualityof the service providedwhileincreasingthe productivityof yourITStaff. Grow Your Business: A unified enterpriseWLA solutionenablesinnovationthroughmore collaborative design,developmentandsupportof businessandITservices. The businessis
- 7. Workload Automation Service Management 7 SERVICEMANAGEMENTFORWORKLOAD AUTOMATION more agile throughitsabilitytoautomate more quicklywhile alsoimprovingcustomer satisfactionthroughthe abilitytoprovideahigherqualitysolution. Demonstrate the value of“IT”: The abilitytomanage a unifiedenterpriseworkloadusinga service-orientedapproachprovidesbusinessstakeholderswiththe visibilityandaccountability that enablesthemtounderstandandappreciate the value of IT. All levelsof management, whetheronthe businessside orwithinIT,canaccesscomprehensivereportsfortrendanalysis, forecasting,andevaluationof ITperformance accordingtostandardservice level metricsand “agreed-upon”Service LevelAgreements. TOOLS FORBUSINESS TRANSFORMATION The solutionyouselectshouldenable youtotransformyourabilitytoautomate by: 1. Enablingstandardsandbestpractices 2. Supportingarepeatable processwithreusable components 3. Maintainingcorporate securitystandardsandbestpractices 4. StreamliningexistingITprocessesandproceduresrequiredtoprovide automation 5. IntegratingseamlesslywithITInfrastructure In addition,the solutionshould: Enable businessagility Provide a“single pane of glass”forall yourworkflowsautomatedthroughWLA Supportthe heterogeneous,hybridinfrastructure thatispartof the new IT, withmultiple services,applications,platformsandtechnologies. Provide proactive management-by-exceptionbasedonbusinessservices Reduce OperatingCosts Lowerriskand improve compliance Enterprise ClassWLA Tools alsoenable integrationwithService Managementprocessesandtools alreadyinuse withinthe organization. ItalsointegrateswithexistingITeventmanagementand monitoringprocessesandtoolswithinthe organization. Sothat,togetherIT can provide true “end-to- end”service managementandmonitoring. WithEnterprise ClassWLA Tools,you: Gain businessagilitythroughimprovedautomationthroughoutthe service lifecycle. Including Enterprise ClassWLA Tools as part of the automationinthe servicesITprovidessimplifies all phasesof the service lifecycle throughstandardizingthe automationof commonfunctions while improvingcollaboration acrossall the teamsinvolvedinthe service lifecycle, shortening time to value,acceleratingservicedelivery. LowerTotal Costof Ownership(TCO) byenforcingautomationstandardsandbestpractices, improvingthe qualityandefficiencyof the processesandpersonnel supportingandmaintaining
- 8. Workload Automation Service Management 8 SERVICEMANAGEMENTFORWORKLOAD AUTOMATION the automationusingWLA. Reducingthe software footprint,administrationandmanagement costs across all of IT by settlingona single enterpriseWLA managementtool. ReducingMeanTime To Repair(MTTR) by streamliningand automatingincident/problem supportprocessingforautomationwithinWLA throughintegrationwithexistingservice managementandIT infrastructure monitoring. Enterprise ClassWLA Tools shouldinclude astate-of-the-artconversiontoolstoenable rapid conversionfromotherschedulingtools. BMC Enterprise ClassWLA Tools helpsyoumanage the boththe cost and potential riskof migration fromyour currentschedulerby: LeveragingStrategicRelationshipwith Vendor’s ProfessionalServices Providinganarchitecture thatallows EnterpriseClassWLA Tools tocoexistwithother schedulers,enablingyoutomanage the migrationaccordingtoyour resource availabilityand businesstimetable. Providingaworkloadconversiontool aspartof the Enterprise ClassWLA Toolsproduct. Leveragingyourvendors customerservice andsupportexperiencesof migratingfromother schedulingsolutions Providingateamof experiencedconsultantswhodesignandimplementhighlyeffective solutions. REALIZING BENEFITSWITH VENDORPROFESSIONAL SERVICES Enterprise WLA Toolsinclude professional servicesandcustomersupportteamsprovide customer supportinternationally. OrganizationsutilizingProfessional Service andSupportare able to “operationalize”WLA more quicklywithintheirorganizationwhileminimizingriskandmitigating any incidentsorproblemsthatmayoccur. In addition,the knowledgeandexperience of the professional servicesstaff enableyoutoarchitecta solutionthatwill supportyourbusinessneedsforavailability and reliabilityinthe mostefficientandcost-effectivemanner. PROVENRESULTS: CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORIES Here are some examplesshowingthatenterpriseworkloadautomationtechnologycanprovide real benefitstoorganizations: Afterimplementingaunifiedenterpriseworkloadautomationsolution,alarge telecommunicationscompanyachieveda30 percentreductioninelapsedtimeonbillingruns. The company wasable to consolidate monitoringof more than100,000 automatedtasks(jobs) perday and realizedasavingsof five percentandaggregate CPUusage. A large governmentagencywentlive withacomprehensive workloadautomationsolutionand reducedstaff costsby 60 percent,while savingthree hoursof elapsedruntimesandreducing run-time errors. The agencyalsocompliedwithall of itsmission-critical SLAs.
- 9. Workload Automation Service Management 9 SERVICEMANAGEMENTFORWORKLOAD AUTOMATION As a resultof itsnewWLA technology,atruck andengine manufacturerincreasedjob processingby500 percentandwas able to manage 500,000 more automatedtasks(jobs) per month,without addingstaff.