U.S. patent application number 10/900959 was filed with the patent office on 2006-02-02 for method, apparatus, and program for implementing an automation computing evaluation scale to generate recommendations.
This patent application is currently assigned to International Business Machines Corporation. Invention is credited to Miles A. Barel, Sandra Carter, James P. Crosskey, Leslie Mark Ernest, David Howard Evans, Lori Lynn Ford, Ronald C. Liles, Dwight Spence, Albert L. Swett.
Application Number | 20060026054 10/900959 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35733531 |
Filed Date | 2006-02-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060026054 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Barel; Miles A. ; et
al. |
February 2, 2006 |
Method, apparatus, and program for implementing an automation
computing evaluation scale to generate recommendations
Abstract
An automation assessment tool is provided that defines autonomic
technology, processes, organization, and skill sets that apply to
autonomic computing. The automation assessment tool provides
educational material about autonomic computing and a scale of
maturity levels, which is used to assess on-demand preparedness.
The automation assessment tool presents a survey and collects
answers to the survey questions. The automation assessment tool
then determines solutions and recommendations to achieve a target
level of on-demand preparedness.
Inventors: |
Barel; Miles A.; (Danbury,
CT) ; Carter; Sandra; (Austin, TX) ; Crosskey;
James P.; (Danbury, CT) ; Ernest; Leslie Mark;
(Knoxville, MD) ; Evans; David Howard; (Lexington,
KY) ; Ford; Lori Lynn; (Georgetown, TX) ;
Liles; Ronald C.; (Round Rock, TX) ; Spence;
Dwight; (Austin, TX) ; Swett; Albert L.;
(Rochester, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
IBM CORP (YA);C/O YEE & ASSOCIATES PC
P.O. BOX 802333
DALLAS
TX
75380
US
|
Assignee: |
International Business Machines
Corporation
Armonk
NY
|
Family ID: |
35733531 |
Appl. No.: |
10/900959 |
Filed: |
July 28, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/7.37 ;
705/7.38 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0203 20130101;
G06Q 10/0639 20130101; G06Q 30/0201 20130101; G06Q 10/06375
20130101; G06Q 30/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/010 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 90/00 20060101
G06Q090/00 |
Claims
1. A method, in a data processing system, for assessing automated
computing capabilities, the method comprising: receiving
information about automated computing capabilities of a customer;
assigning a maturity level from a set of maturity levels to each of
a plurality of assessment categories based on the information about
the automated computing capabilities of the customer; and providing
information for achieving a target level of automated computing to
the customer.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: presenting
educational information about automated computing to the
customer.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the educational material
identifies the set of maturity levels.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the educational materials
identifies the plurality of assessment categories.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving information about the
automated computing capabilities of the customer includes:
presenting a plurality of survey questions; and receiving answers
to the plurality of survey questions.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of survey questions
include multiple-choice answers.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein providing information for
achieving a target level of automated computing includes:
determining solutions for automated computing based on the
information about the automated computing capabilities of the
customer.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein providing information for
achieving a target level of automated computing includes:
determining recommendations for achieving a target level of
automated computing based on the information about the automated
computing capabilities of the customer.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein providing information for
achieving a target level of automated computing includes:
determining operational efficiency savings for the target level of
automated computing relative to the automated computing
capabilities of the customer.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of maturity levels
includes basic, managed, predictive, adaptive, and autonomic.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of assessment
categories includes problem management, availability management,
security management, solution deployment, user administration, and
performance and capacity management.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein providing information for
achieving a target level of automated computing to the customer
includes: changing at least a portion of the information about
automated computing capabilities of the customer to for changed
information; and determining a change in the maturity level for
each of the plurality of assessment categories based on the changed
information.
13. The method of claim 1, further comprising: using an expert
system to analyze historical information using a set of rules.
14. An apparatus, in a data processing system, for assessing
automated computing capabilities, the apparatus comprising: means
for receiving information about automated computing capabilities of
a customer; means for assigning a maturity level from a set of
maturity levels to each of a plurality of assessment categories
based on the information about the automated computing capabilities
of the customer; and means for providing information for achieving
a target level of automated computing to the customer.
15. A computer program product, in a computer readable medium, for
assessing automated computing capabilities, the computer program
product comprising: instructions for receiving information about
automated computing capabilities of a customer; instructions for
assigning a maturity level from a set of maturity levels to each of
a plurality of assessment categories based on the information about
the automated computing capabilities of the customer; and
instructions for providing information for achieving a target level
of automated computing to the customer.
16. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising:
instructions for presenting educational information about automated
computing to the customer.
17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the
educational material identifies the set of maturity levels.
18. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the
educational material identifies the plurality of assessment
categories.
19. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the
instructions for receiving information about the automated
computing capabilities of the customer include: instructions for
presenting a plurality of survey questions; and instructions for
receiving answers to the plurality of survey questions.
20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the plurality
of survey questions include multiple-choice answers.
21. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the
instructions for providing information for achieving a target level
of automated computing include: instructions for determining
solutions for automated computing based on the information about
the automated computing capabilities of the customer.
22. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the
instructions for providing information for achieving a target level
of automated computing include: instructions for determining
recommendations for achieving a target level of automated computing
based on the information about the automated computing capabilities
of the customer.
23. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the
instructions for providing information for achieving a target level
of automated computing include: instructions for determining
operational efficiency savings for the target level of automated
computing relative to the automated computing capabilities of the
customer.
24. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the set of
maturity levels includes basic, managed, predictive, adaptive, and
autonomic.
25. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the plurality
of assessment categories includes problem management, availability
management, security management, solution deployment, user
administration, and performance and capacity management.
26. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the
instructions for providing information for achieving a target level
of automated computing to the customer includes: instructions for
changing at least a portion of the information about automated
computing capabilities of the customer to for changed information;
and instructions for determining a change in the maturity level for
each of the plurality of assessment categories based on the changed
information.
27. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising:
instructions for using an expert system to analyze historical
information using a set of rules.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Technical Field:
[0002] The present invention relates to data processing and, in
particular, to autonomic computing. Still more particularly, the
present invention provides a method, apparatus, and program product
for implementing an automation computing evaluation scale to
generate recommendations.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] An on-demand business is an enterprise whose business
processes, when integrated end-to-end across the company with key
partners, suppliers, and customers, can respond with speed to any
customer, market opportunity, or external threat. When an
enterprise endeavors to be on-demand ready, it is a goal to
increase its sophistication of automation by embedding autonomic
capabilities and technologies. An enterprise's autonomic capability
may range from basic, where analysis and problem solving are
performed manually, to autonomic, where computer systems and
networks may configure themselves to changing conditions, for
example, and are self-healing in the event of failure with minimal
human intervention.
[0005] Autonomic computing can help to overcome the barrier of
infrastructure complexity. The core benefits of autonomic computing
are improved resiliency, ability to deploy new capabilities more
rapidly and increased return from IT investments. In a rapidly
changing market, the ability to react quickly is a competitive
advantage. Bottom line, advanced automation through utilizing
autonomic technology allows companies to focus on business, not on
infrastructure. Therefore, it may be a goal of an on-demand
business to improve its levels of automation by incorporating
autonomic computing technologies.
[0006] It is also a goal of a company providing automated computing
technology and services to assess the autonomic computing
capabilities of customers. There are white papers on autonomic
computing problem determination and definitions for what an
autonomic computing system does. However, there are no clear
benchmarks that enable such an assessment and no tools exist for
determining recommendations that may allow customers to become more
automation computing capable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention recognizes the disadvantages of the
prior art and provides an automation assessment tool that defines
autonomic technology, processes, organization, and skill sets that
apply to autonomic computing. The automation assessment tool
provides educational material about autonomic computing and a scale
of maturity levels, which is used to assess on-demand preparedness.
The automation assessment tool presents a survey and collects
answers to the survey questions. The automation assessment tool
then determines solutions and recommendations to achieve a target
level of on-demand preparedness.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The novel features believed characteristic of the invention
are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself,
however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and
advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the
following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when
read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of a data processing
system in which exemplary aspects of the present invention may be
implemented;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a data processing system in
which exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be
implemented;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an automation
assessment tool in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention;
[0012] FIGS. 4A-4D illustrate example presentation material
presented by an automation assessment tool in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 5 illustrates an example display presenting an
automation assessment survey in accordance with an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIGS. 6A-6C are example displays illustrating results of
automation assessment in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of
the present invention;
[0015] FIGS. 7A and 7B are example displays illustrating solutions
and recommendations in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of
the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 8 is an example display illustrating estimated
financial benefits with automated computing in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and
[0017] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an
automation assessment tool in accordance with an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0018] The present invention provides a method, apparatus and
computer program product for implementing an automation computing
evaluation scale to generate recommendations. The data processing
device may be a stand-alone computing device or may be a
distributed data processing system in which multiple computing
devices are utilized to perform various aspects of the present
invention. Therefore, the following FIGS. 1 and 2 are provided as
exemplary diagrams of data processing environments in which
exemplary aspects of the present invention may be implemented. It
should be appreciated that FIGS. 1 and 2 are only exemplary and are
not intended to assert or imply any limitation with regard to the
environments in which the present invention may be implemented.
Many modifications to the depicted environments may be made without
departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
[0019] With reference now to the figures and in particular with
reference to FIG. 1, a pictorial representation of a data
processing system in which exemplary aspects of the present
invention may be implemented is depicted. A mobile computer 100 is
depicted which includes system unit 102, video display terminal
104, keyboard 106, storage devices 108, which may include floppy
drives and other types of permanent and removable storage media,
and pointer device 110. Additional input devices may be included
with mobile computer 100, such as, for example, a mouse, joystick,
touch screen, trackball, microphone, and the like. Mobile computer
100 man be implemented using any suitable computer, such as an IBM
ThinkPad.RTM. computer, which is a product of International
Business Machines Corporation, located in Armonk, N.Y. Computer 100
also preferably includes a graphical user interface (GUI) that may
be implemented by means of systems software residing in computer
readable media in operation within computer 100.
[0020] With reference now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of a data
processing system is shown in which exemplary embodiments of the
present invention may be implemented. Data processing system 200 is
an example of a mobile computer, such as computer 100 in FIG. 1, in
which code or instructions implementing the processes of the
present invention may be located. In the depicted example, data
processing system 200 employs a hub architecture including a north
bridge and memory controller hub (MCH) 208 and a south bridge and
input/output (I/O) controller hub (ICH) 210. Processor 202, main
memory 204, and graphics processor 218 are connected to MCH 208.
Graphics processor 218 may be connected to the MCH through an
accelerated graphics port (AGP), for example.
[0021] In the depicted example, local area network (LAN) adapter
212, audio adapter 216, keyboard and mouse adapter 220, modem 222,
read only memory (ROM) 224, hard disk drive (HDD) 226, CD-ROM
driver 230, universal serial bus (USB) ports and other
communications ports 232, and PCI/PCIe devices 234 may be connected
to ICH 210. PCI/PCIe devices may include, for example, Ethernet
adapters, add-in cards, PC cards for notebook computers, etc. PCI
uses a cardbus controller, while PCIe does not. ROM 224 may be, for
example, a flash binary input/output system (BIOS). Hard disk drive
226 and CD-ROM drive 230 may use, for example, an integrated drive
electronics (IDE) or serial advanced technology attachment (SATA)
interface. A super I/O (SIO) device 236 may be connected to ICH
210.
[0022] Docking interface 240 may also be connected to the ICH. Data
processing system 200 may be a mobile computing device, such as a
laptop computer or handheld computer. Docking interface 240
provides port replication to allow the data processing system to
easily connect to a keyboard, pointing device, monitor, printer,
speakers, etc. The docking interface allows the mobile computing
device to operate as a desktop computer with the more immobile
peripheral devices.
[0023] An operating system runs on processor 202 and is used to
coordinate and provide control of various components within data
processing system 200 in FIG. 2. The operating system may be a
commercially available operating system such as Windows XP.TM.,
which is available from Microsoft Corporation. An object oriented
programming system, such as the Java.TM. programming system, may
run in conjunction with the operating system and provides calls to
the operating system from Java programs or applications executing
on data processing system 200. "JAVA" is a trademark of Sun
Microsystems, Inc. Instructions for the operating system, the
object-oriented programming system, and applications or programs
are located on storage devices, such as hard disk drive 226, and
may be loaded into main memory 204 for execution by processor 202.
The processes of the present invention are performed by processor
202 using computer implemented instructions, which may be located
in a memory such as, for example, main memory 204, memory 224, or
in one or more peripheral devices 226 and 230.
[0024] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the
hardware in FIG. 2 may vary depending on the implementation. Other
internal hardware or peripheral devices, such as flash memory,
equivalent non-volatile memory, or optical disk drives and the
like, may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware
depicted in FIG. 2. Also, the processes of the present invention
may be applied to a multiprocessor data processing system.
[0025] For example, data processing system 200 may be a personal
digital assistant (PDA), which is configured with flash memory to
provide non-volatile memory for storing operating system files
and/or user-generated data. The depicted example in FIG. 2 and
above-described examples are not meant to imply architectural
limitations. For example, data processing system 200 also may be a
tablet computer or telephone device in addition to taking the form
of a PDA.
[0026] In accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present
invention, an automation assessment tool is provided to assess a
client's current information technology (IT) environment to
determine on-demand readiness. The automation assessment tool
defines autonomic technology, processes, organization, and skill
sets that apply to autonomic computing. The automation assessment
tool provides educational material about autonomic computing and a
scale used to measure on-demand preparedness. The automation
assessment tool presents a survey and collects answers to the
survey questions. The automation assessment tool then determines
solutions and recommendations to achieve a target level of
on-demand preparedness.
[0027] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an automation
assessment tool in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention. Automation assessment tool 310 includes media
player 312, survey module 314, and analysis module 316. Media
player 312 presents educational presentation material 302 to a
customer via an output device, such as display 322.
[0028] Presentation material 302 may provide information about
automation including information about automation fundamentals,
autonomic self-managing capabilities, automation maturity levels,
and automation assessment categories. The information provided in
presentation material 302 serves to educate the customer generally
about automation and, more specifically, about the manner in which
automation will be assessed by automation assessment tool 310.
Media player 312 may be, for example, a web browser, video player,
or presentation graphics application program. In one exemplary
embodiment, media player 312 may be a Flash.RTM. player from
Macromedia, Inc.
[0029] Survey module 314 presents survey questions 304 to an
operator and receives answers to the questions. A sales
representative of a company that provides automated computing
technology and services may conduct the survey and enter answers
provided by a customer. Survey module 314 stores survey answers 324
for subsequent inspection and for use by analysis module 316.
[0030] To illustrate the operation of survey module 314, an example
assessment survey for availability management may include the
following questions: [0031] How would you characterize your current
availability processes? [0032] How have you leveraged technology to
enable your availability management process? [0033] How would you
define the availability management skill level of your current
staff? An example assessment survey for performance and capacity
management may include the following questions: [0034] How would
you characterize your current performance and capacity management
processes? [0035] How have you leveraged technology to enable your
performance and capacity management processes? [0036] How would you
define the performance and capacity plan skill level of your
current staff? An example survey for security management may
include the following questions: [0037] How would you characterize
your current security management processes? [0038] How have you
leveraged technology to enable your security management processes?
[0039] How would you define the security management skill level of
your current staff? An example survey for user administration may
include the following questions: [0040] How would you characterize
your current user administration processes? [0041] How have you
leveraged technology to enable your user administration process?
[0042] How would you define the user administration skill level of
your current staff? An example assessment survey for solution
deployment may include the following questions: [0043] How would
you characterize current solution deployment processes? [0044] How
have you leveraged technology to enable your solution deployment
processes? [0045] How would you define the solution deployment
skill level of your current staff? An example assessment survey for
problem management may include the following questions: [0046] How
would you characterize your current problem management processes?
[0047] How have you leveraged technology to enable your problem
resolution processes? [0048] How would you define the problem
determination skill level of your current staff? The example survey
questions above are merely exemplary. The questions may be modified
depending upon the implementation. For example more or fewer
questions may be provided.
[0049] Analysis module 316 analyzes the automation capabilities of
the customer based on survey answers 324. Automation capabilities
of an enterprise include, for example, the ability to be
self-configuring, the ability to be self-healing, the ability to be
self-optimization, and the ability to be self-protecting. Across
the four automation capabilities, there are several key operational
areas where one can assess automation maturity. These operational
areas are used as automation assessment categories in accordance
with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The
automation assessment categories may include, for example, problem
management, availability management, security management, solution
deployment, user administration, and performance and capacity
management.
[0050] Problem management is the act of identifying, isolating, and
resolving issues that might negatively impact IT service delivery.
Availability management is the act of ensuring that required IT
services are available, as needed, to ensure business continuity.
Security management is the act of securing critical business
resources and data against attacks and authorized access from both
external and internal threats. Solution deployment is the act of
planning, testing, distributing, installing, and validating the
deployment of new IT solutions, including the IT infrastructure
elements, in a manner that is the least disruptive to operational
services. The ability to roll back to a prior functioning
environment if a change is unsuccessful is also necessary. User
administration is the act of managing the full lifecycle of a
user's access to the company resources, such as adding, deleting,
and changing access to resources based on business policies and job
function. Performance and capacity management is the act of
monitoring and managing system performance to adequately meet the
throughput and response time requirements associated with
operational business needs.
[0051] Analysis module 316 ranks the various aspects of the
customer's on-demand readiness based on a scale of maturity levels.
The maturity levels may include, for example, basic, managed,
predictive, adaptive, and autonomic. For example, analysis module
316 may rank each of the key operational areas based on this scale.
In addition, analysis module 316 may optionally rank technology,
processes, and skill sets based on this scale.
[0052] The basic maturity level indicates that the customer uses
manual analysis and problem solving. In a real-world scenario,
transaction response times may slow during key transactions. To
diagnose this problem within the basic maturity level, multiple
product experts may analyze product-specific events and logs. The
basic maturity level requires extensive, highly skilled IT staff. A
benefit of this maturity level is that basic requirements are
addressed.
[0053] The managed maturity level indicates that the customer uses
centralized tools and performs manual actions. In a real-world
scenario, the IT staff uses tools to look at transaction response
data and event data from multiple products to help them make a
decision. In the managed maturity level, the IT staff analyzes data
and takes actions. Benefits of the managed maturity level include
greater system awareness and improved productivity.
[0054] The predictive maturity level indicates that the customer
monitors, correlates data, and recommends action. In a real-world
scenario, transaction trend analysis data (symptoms) is stored in a
central database where this data is used to predict events and to
recommend actions. Technology-analysis correlates symptoms with
recommended actions. The IT staff approves and initiates actions.
The predictive maturity level enables reduced dependency on deep IT
skills and faster and better decision-making.
[0055] The adaptive maturity level indicates that the customer uses
system that monitors, correlates data, and takes actions. In a
real-world scenario, when a problem occurs with a transaction, a
particular symptom is matched to a recommended action, and the
system takes the action. The IT staff manages performance against
service level agreements. The adaptive maturity level allows
balanced human-to-system interaction and increases IT agility and
resiliency.
[0056] The autonomic maturity level indicates dynamic business
policy based management. In a real-world scenario, action is taken
based on business policy, for example, giving preference for key
transactions over less important ones, or performing an action
(like a reboot) during a non-critical time. The IT staff focuses on
business needs. Business policy drives IT management. The autonomic
maturity level increases business agility and resiliency.
[0057] Analysis module 316 determines solutions and recommendations
to achieve a target level of automated computing based on survey
answers 324. Survey module 314 may provide multiple-choice answers
to be selected by the customer. These multiple-choice answers may
be associated with specific solutions and recommendations. For
example, if the customer indicates in the answers to the survey
that the IT staff can use cross-resource availability analyses to
predict business system availability and manually make adjustments
to maintain business system availability based on business
objectives, then automation assessment tool 310 may recommend that
the customer schedule education on workflow automation and business
integration to enable automation of the best-practices processes
that keep IT running.
[0058] Analysis module 316 may also determine a financial impact
that may result from achieving a target level of automated
computing capability or on-demand preparedness. For example,
analysis module 316 may generate a graph that compares target IT
spending over time compared to IT spending based on current
on-demand readiness. Analysis module 316 provides solutions,
recommendations, and financial impact information as output 326,
which may be stored in persistent storage or presented by an output
device, such as display 322.
[0059] Automation assessment tool 310 may be an expert system that
crawls through corporate databases and may infer information to
create analysis output 326. An expert system is an artificial
intelligence (AI) application that uses a knowledge base of human
expertise or historical information for problem solving. The
success of an expert system is based on the quality of the data and
rules obtained from a human expert. In practice, expert systems
perform both below and above that of a human. Analysis module 316
may use rules (not shown) to derive answers by running information,
such as survey answers 324, through an inference engine (not
shown), which is software that processes results from rules and
data in a knowledge base.
[0060] An operator may change answers in survey answers 324 and
determine changes in output 326. In this manner, a customer may see
how changes in automation capabilities affect the assessment
output. Thus, automation assessment tool 310 may provide navigation
to higher or lower levels of autonomic computing to generate
recommendations.
[0061] FIGS. 4A-4D illustrate example presentation material
presented by an automation assessment tool in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention. More particularly,
with reference to FIG. 4A, presentation display 400 may provide
educational information about automation fundamentals including
business service management, policy based orchestration,
availability, security, optimization, provisioning, and
virtualization.
[0062] Business service management is the activity of integrating
business-process-to-business-process. Business process integration
provides the tools needed to manage service levels, meter system
utilization, and bill customers for that usage, as well as model
integrate, connect, monitor, and manage business processes from end
to end for complete linkage of business applications and linkage of
business processes to the IT environment.
[0063] Policy based orchestration helps customers automatically
control and manage the four capabilities (availability, security,
optimization, provisioning) so that the entire IT infrastructure is
responding dynamically to changing conditions according to defined
business policies. The orchestration builds on industry best
practices and the collective IT experience of the customer to
ensure that complex deployments are achieved, on demand, with speed
and quality.
[0064] Availability management ensures the health and functioning
of IT environments based on business objectives. Delivery of
consistent and reliable service levels with reduced IT
administration costs is key, enabled by dynamic event generation,
correlation and analysis and automated cure aligned with business
views of the IT infrastructure. With respect to availability
management, the automation assessment tool emphasizes
self-healing.
[0065] Security management ensures that policies for identity
management, including access and privacy control, are consistently
defined and enforced across the IT environment. Security management
enables the automated detection of and response to security
threats, including intrusions and insecure configurations. With
respect to security management, the automation assessment tool
emphasizes self-protecting.
[0066] Optimization ensures the most productive utilization of IT
infrastructure based on business objectives. Capabilities like
transaction performance management, dynamic workload management,
and dynamic job and task scheduling are key within application
domains and across a heterogeneous IT infrastructure. With respect
to optimization, the automation assessment tool emphasizes
self-optimization.
[0067] Provisioning provides the ability to automatically and
dynamically configure and deploy resources in response to changing
business conditions and objectives in heterogeneous environments.
Provisioning can be elemental (that is, server provisioning,
storage provisioning, and so forth) and horizontal (that is,
end-to-end application provisioning). With respect to provisioning,
the automation assessment tool emphasizes self-configuration.
[0068] Virtualization enables resources to be shared, managed, and
accessed across a workgroup, enterprise, or even across company
boundaries, regardless of operating characteristics. Users benefit
from seamless and uninterrupted access to resources, while the
physical resources that compose a virtualized environment might
reside in multiple locations. Resource virtualization provides
access to processing power and data to improve asset utilization
and efficiency, to rapidly solve complex business problems, to
conduct computer-intensive research and data analysis, and to
respond to real-time business fluctuations on demand.
[0069] Turning to FIG. 4B, display 410 presents a review of
self-managing capabilities in automatic computing. Automation
capabilities of an enterprise include, for example, the ability to
be self-configuring, the ability to be self-healing, the ability to
be self-optimization, and the ability to be self-protecting. A
self-configuring environment can dynamically configure itself
on-the-fly and can adapt itself to the deployment of new components
or changes with minimal human intervention. A self-healing IT
environment can detect improper operation of systems, transactions,
and business processes, and then initiate corrective action without
disrupting users or services. A self-optimizing IT environment
addresses the complexity of managing system performance. A
self-optimizing environment can learn from experience and can
proactively tune itself in the context of an overall business
objective. A self-protecting IT environment can allow the right
people to access the right data at the right time. A
self-protecting environment can automatically take the appropriate
actions to make itself less vulnerable to attacks on its runtime
infrastructure and on its business data.
[0070] With reference now to FIG. 4C, display 420 presents a review
of automation maturity levels in accordance with an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention. A user may navigate display
420 to view a description of each of the maturity levels to prepare
for the assessment survey and the subsequent results. In the
depicted example, the maturity levels include basic, managed,
predictive, adaptive, and autonomic.
[0071] With reference to FIG. 4D, display 430 presents information
concerning automation assessment categories. The automation
assessment tool of the present invention uses the scale of
automation maturity levels to assess on-demand preparedness of the
client in each of these assessment categories. A user may navigate
display 420 to view a description of each of the assessment
categories to prepare for the assessment survey and the subsequent
results. In the depicted example, the automation assessment
categories include problem management, availability management,
security management, solution deployment, user administration, and
performance and capacity management.
[0072] FIG. 5 illustrates an example display presenting an
automation assessment survey in accordance with an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention. Display 500 presents survey
questions for automation assessment. Sets of questions may be
presented for availability management, performance and capacity
management, security management, user administration, solution
deployment, and problem management, for example. Each question may
include a set of multiple-choice answers that are selectable using
a set of radio buttons, as depicted in the illustrated example. The
user may navigate the assessment categories using tabs or the
like.
[0073] The automation assessment tool of the present invention may
present sets of survey questions for other aspects of automation.
For example, a similar display may be used to present survey
questions for server and operating system provisioning. Similarly,
a separate display may be used to present survey questions for
skill sets, automation technology, or security, for instance.
[0074] FIGS. 6A-6C are example displays illustrating results of
automation assessment in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of
the present invention. More particularly, with reference to FIG.
6A, display 600 includes a "spider web" graphical representation of
automation assessment. Maturity levels are represented radially and
assessment categories are represented as spokes. The maturity level
for each assessment category is indicated as a point at the
intersection of the radial maturity level and the spoke of the
assessment category. These points are connected to form a polygon.
Ideally, the polygon should fill as much of the graph as
possible.
[0075] FIG. 6B illustrates an example display presenting a
graphical representation of an automation capabilities profile.
Display 610 presents an assessment of automation capabilities. In
the depicted example, the automation capabilities include process
assessment, technology assessment, and sills readiness.
[0076] FIG. 6C illustrates an example display presenting a
graphical representation of a provisioning profile. Display 620
presents an assessment of provisioning. In the depicted example,
provisioning includes server and operation system provisioning,
identity provisioning, storage provisioning, application
provisioning, and network provisioning.
[0077] FIGS. 7A and 7B are example displays illustrating solutions
and recommendations in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of
the present invention. More particularly, with reference to FIG.
7A, display 700 presents exemplary solutions for availability
management based on a customer's answers to the assessment survey
for availability management. Turning to FIG. 7B, display 710
presents exemplary recommendations for problem management based on
the customer's answers to the assessment survey for problem
management.
[0078] FIG. 8 is an example display illustrating estimated
financial benefits with automated computing in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Display 800 presents
a graph including a curve that estimates future IT spending over
time based on current automation capabilities and a curve that
estimates a future IT spending over time based on a target level of
on-demand preparedness. The graph depicted in FIG. 8 serves to
illustrate to the customer the financial benefit of being on-demand
ready.
[0079] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an
automation assessment tool in accordance with an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention. Operation begins and the
automation assessment tool presents educational material about
autonomic computing (block 902). As discussed above, the
educational material may provide information about automation
including information about automation fundamentals, autonomic
self-managing capabilities, automation maturity levels, and
automation assessment categories.
[0080] Next, an operator, such as a sales representative or a
client, conducts a survey and the automation assessment tool
collects survey answers (block 904). The survey may include sets of
questions for various aspects of automated computing, including,
for example, a number of predetermined assessment categories.
[0081] Thereafter, the automation assessment tool ranks aspects of
automated computing based on a scale of maturity levels (block
906). The assessment tool then determines solutions and
recommendations to achieve a target level of automated computing
(block 908) and determines operational efficiency savings for the
target level of automated computing (block 910). The tool then
presents the solutions, recommendations, and efficiency savings
output to the customer (block 912) and operation ends.
[0082] Thus, the present invention solves the disadvantages of the
prior art by providing an automation assessment tool that defines
autonomic technology, processes, organization, and skill sets that
apply to autonomic computing. The automation assessment tool
provides educational material about autonomic computing and a scale
used to measure on-demand preparedness. The automation assessment
tool presents a survey and collects answers to the survey
questions. The automation assessment tool then determines solutions
and recommendations to achieve a target level of on-demand
preparedness.
[0083] The present invention provides a unique scale of maturity
levels for assessing automated computing. The assessment tool of
the present invention is capable of applying specific technology to
each level of automated computing and automates the business-level
process of automated computing sales and marketing consultation.
The present invention also overcomes the complexities of automated
computing faced by customers and the sales force by providing a
tool that guides the operator through educational materials and
survey questions and automatically generates solutions and
recommendations.
[0084] The automation assessment tool of the present invention may
also be implemented to navigate through databases of skill sets,
organizational information, existing technology, processes, etc.,
to collect on-demand readiness information, rather than using a
question-and-answer survey. The assessment tool may also be applied
to corporate education assessment and may extend the virtual
engagement process of stand-alone electronic sales.
[0085] It is important to note that while the present invention has
been described in the context of a fully functioning data
processing system, those of ordinary skill in the art will
appreciate that the processes of the present invention are capable
of being distributed in the form of a computer readable medium of
instructions and a variety of forms and that the present invention
applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing
media actually used to carry out the distribution. Examples of
computer readable media include recordable-type media, such as a
floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a RAM, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and
transmission-type media, such as digital and analog communications
links, wired or wireless communications links using transmission
forms, such as, for example, radio frequency and light wave
transmissions. The computer readable media may take the form of
coded formats that are decoded for actual use in a particular data
processing system.
[0086] The description of the present invention has been presented
for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended
to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed.
Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of
ordinary skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described
in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the
practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in
the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with
various modifications as are suited to the particular use
contemplated.
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