This is my final installment of my 3-part series covering the IBM Systems Journal's [fifteen articles about IBM Service Management].You can go back and read the earlier parts of this series[Part 1,Part 2].

From a technology-oriented to a service-oriented approach to IT management

Companies are challenged with shifting from a technology/resource-oriented to a service-oriented approach to IT management. This involves new processes, a new reportingstructure for the IT staff, new tools and technologies, and new data to be captured.A top-down approach is recommended for large organizations, but a bottom-up approachmight be easier to implement for small and medium sized businesses.

IT service management architecture and autonomic computing

IBM has been promoting the concept of Autonomic Computing since 2001. A self-managed resource can have an autonomic manager with sensor and effector. The sensor is used to monitor status, a knowledge basecan analyze and plan for appropriate modifications, and execute these through theeffector. The Autonomic Computing Reference Architecture (ACRA) aligns with the Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) model well, with the CMDB acting asthe knowledge base for the autonomic managers. See my earlier post[Self tuning guitars and storage].

Evolving standards for IT service management

Changes to the IT infrastructure must be closely managed to avoid disruptions.IT organizations recognize that standards-based solutions enable interoperability,with less risk, to connect internal and external applications. Standards can be formally developed by standards bodies like ISO, IETF, W3C, OASIS, and DMTF; or be de facto standards that become widely used by companies, which can then laterbe adopted by standards bodies. SML and SDD are emerging standards that are incompatible with the current set of Web Services-based protocols, like WSDM, but work isunderway to try to determine a unifying standard to support all of these under ITSM.

Prospects for simplifying ITSM-based management through self-managing resources

An ideal computing system would take over a great deal of its own management.Today's IT systems are brittle, difficult to understand, and dangerous to change.The savings from automating some tasks are dwarfed by the irreducible costs of humandecision making, agreements and approvals built in formal processes. A true self-managing, scalable IT system would consist of a number of nearly-identical boxes,with a web interface to define high-level policies and provide information on utilization and performance. As the system needs to expand, it can automatically place the order. When the new boxes arrive, they are placed and connectedinto the data center, and the system configures and provisions them appropriately.

IT Autopilot: A flexible IT service management and deliver platform for smalland medium business

Using an airplane analogy, the pilot performs manual steps to get the plane safelyoff the ground, then turns it over to the autopilot for normal operations. The ITAutopilot intends to do this for IT service management in small and medium business (SMB)that may not have a large dedicated IT staff, using an SOA approach that isloosely coupled, stateless, and adhering to Web Services standards. The IT Autopilotemploys workflow-based controls, the autonomic computing MAPE model, and customizedpolicies to address SMB requirements. It could be deployed as an appliance, similarto IBM System Storage Productivity Center.

You can read all the articles in their entirety online [IBM Systems Journal, Volume 46, No. 3].

technorati tags: IBM, Almaden, Research Center, ARC, autonomic computing, sensor, effector, ACRA, ITSM, CMDB, knowledge base, ISO, IETF, W3C, OASIS, DMTF, SML, SDD, WSDM, IT Autopilot, SOA, SMB, MAPE, System Storage, Productivity Center