Availability Management
The continued advances in IT technology design have resulted in significant improvements in the availability and reliability of the IT Infrastructure. Fault-tolerant and error correction design features in hardware and software now reduce the risk of IT component failure to enable improving levels of Availability to be delivered.
However, against this background of improving levels of Availability and reliability, the need for Availability Management is now greater than ever.
Why Availability Management?
The importance of the Availability of IT to the success of the business has never been more apparent. Over the years the interdependency between the business process and the IT operation has developed to the point where quite simply if the IT stops, then the business stops.
This importance in supporting the business should also be seen in the context of the trends affecting society: trends such as the global economy, 24hr economy, E-commerce and flexible working. These are the impetus for a growing demand for the Availability of IT Services that are time and place independently.
The business response to the marketplace and consumer demand is to increase their exploitation of IT to create new and innovative ways to provide their Customers with flexibility and choice in the way they wish to do business. This is evidenced by the emergence of Internet-based online business-to-business and business-to-consumer services. These are now viewed as essential if a business is not only to attract new Customers but also to retain their existing Customers.
In today’s competitive marketplace Customer satisfaction with the service(s) provided is paramount. Customer loyalty can no longer be relied on and dissatisfaction with the Availability and reliability of services can be a key factor in Customers taking their businesses to a competitor.
The role of IT is now pivotal. The availability and reliability of IT can directly influence Customer satisfaction and the reputation of the business. This why today Availability Management is essential in ensuring IT delivers the right levels of Availability required by the business to satisfy its business objectives and deliver the quality of service demanded by their Customers.
Given business dependency on IT Availability, it is essential that the deployment of the Availability Management has a strong business and User emphasis. This is to ensure that the IT infrastructure delivers the required levels of Availability to support the vital business functions key to the business operation. It also ensures that Availability Management to understand the business and user perspective of the IT Service provided. This should be evidenced by the key process inputs process inputs and outputs. By having this emphasis the deployment of the Availability Management can make a positive contribution to enhancing the relationship with the business: the IT organization being seen to recognize and respond to IT Availability opportunities and challenges with the business needs to be understood.