Management frameworks are out - but what's in?

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: DENNIS DROGSETH ON NETWORK/SYSTEMS
MANAGEMENT
09/05/05
Today's focus: Management frameworks are out - but what's in?

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* What replaces the traditional framework?
* Links related to Network/Systems Management
* Featured reader resource
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by HP
Network World Executive Guide: The Evolution of Management
Technologies

With applications and infrastructures growing more sophisticated
and demanding, network and systems management technologies are
more critical than ever. Elevating their focus from bits and
bytes, these networked systems are being called on to close the
gap between IT and business services. Read about the future of
management, including BSM and emerging automation tools. Learn
about 'hot spots' and 'best products' in network management.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=112884
_______________________________________________________________
HOW TO GET IT RIGHT

Business service management has become a much-talked-about
enterprise management scheme. BSM is meant to prove IT's value
by linking business and technical information in a logical
whole. Could BSM best practices make the difference in whether a
company succeeds or fails with the next generation of IT? Click
here:
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=112378
_______________________________________________________________

Today's focus: Management frameworks are out - but what's in?

By Dennis Drogseth

Nobody talks about buying a "framework" anymore. (If you are,
I'd love to hear about it.) That might be largely because
vendors stopped using the term themselves when "frameworks"
became synonymous with endless deployment cycles. But our
consulting and research indicate - and logic dictates - that if
you don't want to default to an all-point-product approach, you
need to invest in something like a framework.

What IT rightly seems to be moving toward is a "central point of
automation and integration," for, at least potentially, multiple
products from multiple vendors. That's a lot different than the
frameworks' total philosophical and monetary commitment to a
single brand that, in the past, offered very little in the way
of real integration and almost no satisfactory levels of
automation.

"Platform" is a far more neutral word, and considerably less
territorial than "framework" in nature. There are lots of ways
to slice and dice platforms - most commonly by domain (network
management) and by discipline (fault management, performance
management, configuration management, etc.). So one thing
that's cropped up in the wake of real frameworks has been a kind
of ad-hoc embracing of a few chosen platforms.

The assumption is that these platforms will be easier to deploy,
more functionally rich and more effective than all-or-nothing
frameworks. Of course, while this is not universally true, it's
true enough to make the "multi-platform" approach seem viable,
at least as a near-term compromise. Each platform may, in
itself, become a point of integration for more narrowly focused
point products - and this, too, is a not a bad trend.

But what we're left with today is a lot of "halfway there"
answers - a balance of all-too-often unsatisfactory compromises.
Many platforms really aren't all that deployable, and investing
in multiple platforms may only add to that burden. Management
software is getting more expensive and complex, and at the same
time management challenges are becoming more demanding and
complicated, as well.

There are industry and technology trends coming to the rescue.
One can only wish that they would come at a faster pace. And
there is a new way of defining "platform" or "framework" choice
- and that's the Configuration Management Database (CMDB). Based
on IT Infrastructure Library's notion of a central, trusted data
source to support virtually all management disciplines, the CMDB
is, by its own definition, a central and necessarily dynamic
source of integration and automation. It includes dynamic and
current insights into topologies, application service
interdependencies, current configuration states and current
software. It is designed, or at least should be, to support
process automation in support of policies directed at
compliance, IT governance, and operational efficiencies.

So, is the CMDB the heart of the next-generation "framework"?
Logically, the answer is yes. In reality, it's much more of a
puzzler, as the market evolves in its own sidling and often
self-contradictory fashions. And, of course, the jury's out on
whether CMDBs can be made to work - at least in the holistic,
"framework," sense. Most successful CMDB implementations to date
are targeted at more of a subset of possible functions and are
linked to best-practice process initiatives, as well. And of
course the CMDB is just an enabler - having one buys you, well,
nothing, if it isn't used to support specific management
processes and applications.

Nevertheless, aside from sheer "brand loyalty," which has never
been a particularly overwhelming force in the enterprise
management marketplace (probably a good thing) - selecting a
core CMDB provider may be, or become, about as central to making
a framework decision as you'll ever get. That's my opinion, but
now consider this last sentence a question. What do you think?
Let me hear from you at <mailto:drogseth@emausa.com>

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. VoIP rollouts generate heat, power concerns
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlnsm6213>

2. Cell carriers tackle Katrina damage
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlnsm6355>

3. 2005 salary survey <http://www.networkworld.com/nlnsm3898>

4. Google dives deeper into networking
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlnsm6209>

5. Katrina news <http://www.networkworld.com/nlnsm6356>

Today's most-forwarded story:

Cell carriers tackle Katrina damage
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlnsm6357>

_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Dennis Drogseth

Dennis Drogseth is a vice president with Enterprise Management
Associates <http://www.enterprisemanagement.com/>, a leading
analyst, market research and IT consulting firm based in
Boulder, Colorado, focusing exclusively on all aspects of
enterprise management. Dennis has extensive experience in
service level management and network management platforms and
products. He is actively researching trends in management
software and changing IT roles internationally. His 22-plus
years of experience in high-tech includes positions at IBM and
Cabletron. He is widely quoted in the press and is a speaker at
many industry events. He can be reached via e-mail
<mailto:drogseth@enterprisemanagement.com>.
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by HP
Network World Executive Guide: The Evolution of Management
Technologies

With applications and infrastructures growing more sophisticated
and demanding, network and systems management technologies are
more critical than ever. Elevating their focus from bits and
bytes, these networked systems are being called on to close the
gap between IT and business services. Read about the future of
management, including BSM and emerging automation tools. Learn
about 'hot spots' and 'best products' in network management.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=112883
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the Network/Systems Management newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/nsm/index.html

Management Research Center:
http://www.networkworld.com/topics/management.html
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FEATURED READER RESOURCE
VoIP

For the latest in VoIP, check out NW's Research Center on this
very topic. Here you will find a collection of the latest news,
reviews, product testing results and more all related to keeping
VoIP networks performing at their best. Click here for more:
<http://www.networkworld.com/topics/voip.html>
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