IT Automation: The Quest for Lights Out

Table of contents

1. Copyright
2. Foreword
3. Preface
4. Acknowledgements
5. "Lights Out"—Exposed
   1. Identifying the Components and Complexity of Lights Out Operations
   2. Automation—The Reality Check
   3. The Two-Second Validation
6. Gap Analysis
   1. The Gap Model
   2. Needs Analysis
   3. Automation Requirements
   4. Validation of Automation Requirements vs. Needs Analysis
   5. The Gap
7. The Organization
   1. Prototype IT Organization
   2. Typical Problems and Issues
   3. High-level Functional Roles in the Automation Project
8. Design and Planning
   1. Designing the Technical Architecture and Administrative Processes
   2. Planning—Highlighting Automation Project Nuances
   3. Planning the Automation Initiative
9. Financial Planning
   1. Ownership
   2. Cost of Implementation
   3. Cost Benefit Analysis
   4. The Financial Plan
10. Communicating and Presenting The Plan
    1. Building Support Among Key Constituencies
    2. Gathering Information and Getting Organized
11. Deployment and Continuous Improvement
    1. Technology Deployment
    2. Administrative Process Deployment
    3. Continuous Improvement
    4. In Closing
12. Most Frequently Asked Questions
    1. People
    2. Processes
    3. Technology
    4. General
13. Enterprise (Data Center) Services
    1. Sample Organization and Management Job Descriptions
    2. Enterprise (Data Center) Services Director
    3. Computer Operations Manager
    4. Network (WAN) Infrastructure Manager
    5. LAN (Desktop) Administration Manager
    6. End User Services Manager
    7. Individual Contributor Roles/Purposes
14. Sample IT Operations Internal Service Level Agreement
    1. SAMPLE
    2. CUSTOMER SERVICE SUPPORT
    3. PRODUCTION SUPPORT
    4. PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS