AI03 Process Description

AI03: Technology Infrastructure Acquisition & Maintenence

1. Description

Hardware acquisition, standardizing on software, assessment of hardware and software performance, and consistent system administration.

2. Control Objectives

Assessment of new hardware and software - Selection criteria based on functional specification, mandatory/optional requirements, impact assessment
Preventative maintenance for hardware - Preventive maintenance schedule
System software security - Security parameter assessment
System software installation - Testing, authorisation, test libraries and environments
System software maintenance - Maintenance procedures
System software change controls - Change controls
Use and monitoring of system utilities - Policy and control on the use of system utilities

3. Key Goal Indicators

Reduced number of platforms diverging from the agreed technology infrastructure
Number of delays in systems implementation due to inadequate infrastructure
Reduced ratio of maintenance efforts relative to new development
Reduction of time to market of systems due to a predefined and flexible infrastructure
Reduced downtime of infrastructure
Reduced number of systems with serious interoperability problems
Number of application performance problems related to inadequacies in the technology infrastructure

4. Key Performance Indicators

Reduced number of different platforms
Age of platforms
Number of shared functions and resources
Number and frequency of changes
Number of breakdowns due to a lack of preventive maintenance
Number of breakdowns due to system software changes
Costs, based on effort and lapsed time, for major modification to system software or infrastructure

5. Critical Success Factors

The acquisition and implementation methodology is strongly supported by senior management
Acquisition practices are clear, understood and accepted
There is ease of integration across different technology platforms
Well articulated business strategy and related architectural requirements are defined and supported by senior management
An up-to-date inventory of hardware and software infrastructure is available
Relationships with vendors are well developed
The ability exists to adequately establish the cost of overlap between different technology platforms
Policies are defined to promote well considered choices between internal development, leveraging external infrastructures and outsourcing
The selection process focuses on using reusable components
Policies are defined to manage dependencies on single source suppliers
There is coordination with the change management processes and systems
A well defined life cycle methodology is used to select, acquire, maintain and remove infrastructure technology
Acquisition duly considers performance and capacity requirements by integrating with capacity and performance management processes
An appropriate set of automated support tools is available, saving time on selection by focusing on the best of breed

6. Service Maturity Variations

0 Non-existent	Technology architecture is not recognized as a sufficiently important topic to be addressed.
1 (Initial/Ad Hoc)	Changes to infrastructure are made for every new application without any overall plan. Although there is an awareness that the IT infrastructure is important, there is no consistent overall approach.
2 (Repeatable but Intuitive)	There is a consistency between tactical approaches, when acquiring and maintaining the IT infrastructure; it is, however, not based on any defined strategy and does not consider the needs of the business applications that must be supported.
3 (Defined Process)	A clear, defined and generally understood process for administering the IT infrastructure emerges. It supports the needs of critical business applications and is aligned to IT and business strategy. However, it is not possible to determine that the process is consistently applied and it is therefore not likely that the infrastructure fully supports the needs of the business applications. Outsourcing all or some of the IT infrastructure usually occurs in reaction to problems or specific opportunities.
4 (Managed and Measurable)	The acquisition and maintenance process for technology infrastructure has developed to the point where it works well for most situations, is followed consistently within IT and is component based and focused on reusability. Attempts to make changes to the infrastructure without following agreed defined processes would be detected and prevented. It is likely that the IT infrastructure adequately supports the business applications. The process is well organised, but often reactive rather than proactive. The cost and lead-time to achieve the expected level of scalability, flexibility and integration is not optimised. Outsourcing all or some of the IT infrastructure is part of the tactical plan.
5 Optimized	The acquisition and maintenance process for technology infrastructure is proactive and closely aligned with critical business applications and the technology architecture. Best practices regarding technology solutions are followed and the organisation is aware of the latest platform developments and management tools, including organisation-wide approaches and the need for increasing levels of reliability, availability and network security. Costs are reduced by rationalising and standardising infrastructure components and by using automation. The organisation maintains a high-level of technical awareness and can identify optimum ways to proactively improve performance, including consideration of outsourcing options. It is able to monitor and measure the performance of its existing infrastructure for timely detection of problems. The IT infrastructure is seen as the key enabler to leveraging the use of IT. Single-source supplier risks are actively managed.