Infrastructure & Operations Research Center
Practical insights, tools, and methodologies to systematically improve IT infrastructure & operations
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Improving, optimizing, and modernizing I&O capabilities is a multifaceted initiative that encompasses many distinct journeys. Determining a starting point isn't easy.
Use the roadmap to review each domain and determine your maturity level. Find the resources to tackle your most pressing challenges and start your I&O journey today.
1
Service Desk
Establish the fundamentals of ticket handling, incident management, request fulfillment, and knowledge management, then continually improve and optimize.
Assess End-User Satisfaction and Service Desk Maturity
Assess the maturity of your service desk and end-user satisfaction with core IT services.
Improve Core Service Desk Processes
Establish foundational practices including request and incident management, knowledgebase, and key service metrics. Then evaluate and implement core ITSM solutions.
Standardize the Service Desk
Analyze Your ITSM Ticket Data
Staff the Service Desk to Meet Demand
Right-Size the Service Desk for Small Enterprise
IT Service Management Selection Guide
Build an ITSM Tool Implementation Plan
Improve Service Desk Ticket Queue Management
Build Better Workflows
Build a Service Desk Consolidation Strategy
Optimize an Established Service Desk
Improve service desk effectiveness and customer satisfaction after your core processes are established.
Optimize the Service Desk With a Shift-Left Strategy
Take Action on Service Desk Customer Feedback
Deliver a Customer Service Training Program to Your IT Department
Build a Continual Improvement Program
Define Service Desk Metrics That Matter
Transition Projects Over to the Service Desk
Reduce Shadow IT With a Service Request Catalog
Design a VIP Experience for Your Service Desk
Strategically Improve and Innovate
Create a strategic roadmap for service management and innovate service delivery and automation within and beyond the service desk.
SoftwareReviews
2
Incident, Change, and Asset Management
Once you have established an effective service desk, move to a proactive operational stance by improving incident, asset, change, release, and configuration management practices.
Improve Incident, Problem, Change, and Release Management
Resolve incidents quickly and effectively, address the root cause of recurring incidents, and streamline change and release management while reducing the risk of changes to your environment.
Improve Asset and Configuration Management
Develop an approach and strategy for ITAM that is sustainable and aligned with your business priorities.
SoftwareReviews
3
End-User Device Management
Create an end-user computing strategy that balances costs and risks with user choice.
Manage and Refresh End-User Devices
Untangle the knot of end-user requirements, device types, and entitlements.
Manage End-User Applications
Rationalize, deploy, and manage the end-user applications that the business expects IT to support.
Migrate to Office 365 Now
Govern Microsoft 365
Microsoft Teams Cookbook
Create a Post-Implementation Plan for Microsoft 365
Rationalize Your Collaboration Tools
Passwordless Authentication
Legacy Active Directory Environment
Build a Minimum Viable Product for Data Classification With Microsoft 365
Drive Ongoing Adoption With an M365 Center of Excellence
Prepare for the Upgrade to Windows 11
Enable Users to Work From Anywhere
Review and stabilize end-user computing solutions required to effectively support work from anywhere.
SoftwareReviews
4
Communications, Collaboration, and Telephony
Improve communication by moving users and content to a common platform that supports collaboration from anywhere.
Take a New Approach to Communications and Collaboration
Improve collaboration and communication by moving users and content to a common platform.
Collaborate From Anywhere
Support collaboration between employees working remotely, onsite, or some combination of the two.
5
Core Infrastructure and Data Center
Modernize and manage your core infrastructure to keep up with ever-increasing business requirements.
Modernize Your Infrastructure
Develop your infrastructure roadmap to modernize your core infrastructure.
Build Your Infrastructure Roadmap
Exploit Disruptive Infrastructure Technology
Modernize the Network
Modernize Enterprise Storage
Build or Refresh the Wireless LAN
Domino – Maintain, Commit to, or Vacate?
Network Segmentation
z/Series Modernization and Migration
Enterprise Storage Solution Considerations
Municipal Fiber Networks
IBM i Migration Considerations
Enterprise Network Design Considerations
Initiate Your Edge Computing Journey
Manage Your Core Infrastructure
Tackle common challenges from capacity planning to optimizing your operations center.
Optimize the IT Operations Center
Manage Your Capacity to Increase Your Availability
Engineer Your Event Management Process
Reduce Manual Repetitive Work With IT Automation
Implement Systems Management to Improve Availability and Visibility
Develop an IT Infrastructure Services Playbook
Considerations to Optimize Container Management
Manage Data Center Facilities
Consolidate, move, or build a data center.
SoftwareReviews
Manage Enterprise Storage and Data Protection
Implement an effective data protection plan that meets business requirements.
6
Cloud
Tackle a range of cloud challenges: vision, strategy, cost and operations, disaster recovery, and all things cloud infrastructure.
Plan Cloud Migration and Adoption
Start with Define Your Cloud Vision to identify key workloads, evaluate risk, and set a high-level strategy. Then, assess changes to roles and skills and establish governance and guidelines for cloud adoption.
Define Your Cloud Vision
Document Your Cloud Strategy
Design Your Cloud Operations
Find Value With Cloud Asset Management
Next-Generation InfraOps
Considerations for a Hub and Spoke Model When Deploying Infrastructure in the Cloud
Adding the Right Value: Building Cloud Brokerages That Enable
Embrace the Inevitability of Multicloud
Optimize Cloud Spend
Review broad strategies for managing cloud costs as well as specific cost-management tactics for AWS, Azure, and other cloud vendors.
Use Cloud for Disaster Recovery
Select the optimal DR deployment that is right for you.
SoftwareReviews
7
Resilience: DRP & BCP
Validate your DRP program or identify where to improve, from defining requirements to maintaining your plan. Then you can build out business continuity and other aspects of resilience.
Implement or Improve DR Capabilities
Identify requirements and gaps and create a high-level plan.
What is a right-sized disaster recovery plan?
Select the Optimal Disaster Recovery Deployment Model
Create a Ransomware Incident Response Plan
Document and Maintain Your Disaster Recovery Plan
Take a Realistic Approach to Disaster Recovery Testing
Create a Game Plan to Implement Cloud Backup the Right Way
10 Secrets for Successful Disaster Recovery in the Cloud
Mitigate the Risk of a Cloud Outage
Establish an Effective Data Protection Plan
Data Backup Moves Closer to Data Protection
Create a BCP and Crisis Management Plan
Create your core BCP plan first, then tackle related projects, including pandemic response and crisis management.
Validate Your DRP and BCP
Evaluate your overall DRP program, from defining requirements to implementation to maintenance, and bridge the gap between incident and DR.
8
Infrastructure & Operations Management
Improve key management capabilities through defined and documented processes, metrics, vendor management, and a roadmap for business enablement.
Improve Your Infrastructure and Operations Organization
Improve business alignment and IT operations. Define and measure service level objectives to meet business requirements and drive improvement.
Acquire Infrastructure Services and Manage Vendors
Strategically evaluate, select, and manage outsourcing vendors.
Document IT Processes
Document key policies and procedures to support consistent service delivery, knowledge sharing, and transparency.
Adopt and Support New Technologies
Acquire, implement, and support business-enabling technologies.