Hybrid IT Glossary
Key Terms
In this paper you find the key terms of the hybrid IT language. The IT Delivery is evolving into a Hybrid Service Delivery Model, the more it is important you speak the same language.
Access control: A way to control who and/or what may access a given resource, either physical (e.g. a server) or logical (e.g. a record in a database).
Architecture: The structure of a System or IT Service, including the Relationships of Components to each other and to the environment they are in. Architecture also includes the Standards and Guidelines which guide the design and evolution of the System.
Building Blocks: Building blocks represent the smallest, irreducible component within the pattern or architecture. These building blocks are assembled to provide systemic functionality. As a general rule, building blocks should provide clear features, clean interfaces, and have limited interdependencies to other building blocks.
Certification: Documentary confirmation that a service, product, person or organization conforms to certain characteristics, regulations or compliance requirements, or possesses particular skills. This is often, but not always, subject to some form of external assessment.
Cloud architecture: The architecture of the systems involved in the delivery of cloud computing. This typically involves multiple cloud components communicating with one another over a loosely coupled mechanism (i.e. one where each component has little or no knowledge of the others).
Cloud-service provider: A service provider that makes a cloud-computing environment – such as a public cloud – available to others.
Data integration: The technical and business processes used to combine data from disparate sources into meaningful information.
Data residency: The location of data in terms of both the legal location (the country in which a service contract is enforced) and the physical location (i.e. the data centre where data is stored).
External IT Service Provider: Offers IT services against competitive prices and drive down unit costs by consolidating demand over multiple customers. The role of the external IT Service Provider is performed by any organisational units, whether internal or external, that deliver and support IT services to a customer. The IT service provider has services designed for others to use and that can be defined as a set of related functions provided by IT systems in support of one or more business areas.
Hybrid IT – Service Delivery: The result of combining internal and external service deliveries (units), usually from a combination of cloud services with on premise systems, in support of a business outcome.
Identity federation: A security function to allow for a clean separation between the service being accessed and the associated authentication and authorization procedures. This enables secure collaboration across multiple systems, networks and organizations employing different security patterns.
Incremental change: A change which creates small, incremental improvements the current state rather than implementing a major shift in model or behaviour. Improving existing skills, processes, methods, performance standards, or conditions can all be viewed as incremental or improvement changes
Interoperability: The ability of diverse systems and organizations to work together.
IT as a service (ITaaS): An operational model where the enterprise IT department acts and operates as a distinct business entity, creating services for the other lines of business within the organization.
IT Service: A Service provided to one or more customers or consumers by an IT Service Provider. An IT Service is based on the use of Information Technology and supports the Customer's Business Processes. An IT Service is made up from a combination of people, processes and technology and should be defined in a service level agreement. An IT service is a composition of service capabilities.
IT Service Provider: Any organisational unit, whether internal or external, that deliver and support IT services to a customer. The IT service provider has services designed for others to use that can be defined as a set of related functions provided by IT systems in support of one or more business areas. This service can be made up of software, hardware, communication facilities as well as manual labour, but the users perceive it as being a self contained, coherent entity – service capability.
Offshoring: The process of transitioning service delivery from the location of the Service Buyer to a different geography.
Operating Model: The Operating Model is an abstract representation of how an organization operates across a range of domains in order to accomplish its function: (a) processes and capabilities; (b) the people that are needed to run the processes or deliver the capabilities, and the organisation structure, accountabilities, incentives and culture that will support and nurture these people; (c) the information systems needed to support the processes and capabilities, especially the software applications that are needed to process the information; (d) the locations, buildings, infrastructure and other assets and resources needed inside the organisation to support the processes and capabilities; (e) the suppliers and business partners needed outside the organisation to support the processes and capabilities and the types of agreements between this organisation and these partners.
Orchestrator: The Orchestrator is a tool that provides the core engine for any automation and has the following functionalities : A - Provides catalogue/list of pre-built workflows delivering simple automation routines or operational procedures across IT management functions and existing tools. B - Executes automatically workflows (processes) quickly, synchronizes workflow execution based on events or status and has capabilities to execute multiple workflows in parallel or synchronously. It delivers true end-to-end automation of processes across all three areas of service delivery: Service Support, Service Assurance, and Service Automation. C - The Orchestrator should offer capabilities to integrate existing IT tools or products using standard API or call routines. D - Provides the scalability, resiliency, and security required to meet the increasing demands of processes execution, keeping control and tracking every execution even in the most complex operations environments, like service delivery units (should be compared to a transactional manager).
Process integration: Efforts to create direct links between on-premises business applications and services on public clouds. It also constructs a business process linked with tasks requiring human decisions.
Real time: Real-time programs must guarantee a response (from event to system response) within strict time constraints. A real-time system may be one where the application is considered (in context) to be mission-critical.
Service: A means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks.
Service Catalogue: A database or structured Document with information about all Live IT Services, including those available for Deployment. The Service Catalogue is the only part of the Service Portfolio published to Customers, and is used to support the sale and delivery of IT Services. The Service Catalogue includes information about deliverables, prices, contact points, ordering and request Processes.
Service Delivery Unit: A service delivery unit (SDU) represents an unique "value chain" production according to the specific service workload type. It may use service components or capabilities produced by other service delivery units (service assembly and hierarchy). Delivery units can be designed according delivery hierarchy or layering. A delivery unit can be an internal or external organization – delivery.
Service Capability: The smallest service unit producing a customer value - a self contained, coherent entity . It can represent a complete service on its own or a part of a service value chain – a part of a service composition. A service capability is produced by a service delivery unit. They have to be standardized as much as possible. Standard applications, standard infrastructure configurations, and other building blocks are capabilities of IT services. The more variety you have in these components, the more complexity you have to manage.
Service integration: Allows an organization to manage IT-service providers in a consistent and efficient way, ensuring that performance across a portfolio of services meets the needs of the end users.
Service integration and management (SIAM): A framework for managing multiple IT suppliers, providing a single view of IT services to the rest of the business.
Service level agreement (SLA): Part of a service contract where the level of service is formally defined to provide a common understanding of services, priorities, responsibilities, and guarantees.
Service value: The value of a service is determined by what the customer prefers (preferences), what the customer perceives (perceptions) and what the customer actually gets (business outcome).
Systems integration: The joining of different subsystems into one large system to deliver a whole functionality.
Target Operating Model: The TOM is a description of the desired state of the operations of a business and provide the vision for organisations . Typically a TOM also includes the roadmap over time that specifies what the company needs to do to move from the "as is" to the "to be”. The reason for any new TOM is likely to be a new strategy or new business model or a significant failure in the performance of the existing operations for one or more stakeholders. Hence TOM follows the (new) strategy.
Transitional change: A change which replaces parts of the current state with something completely new. This requires designing and implementing a new state. The organization simultaneously must dismantle and emotionally let go of the old way of operating while the new state is being put into place. This transformational phase can be project managed and effectively supported with traditional change management.
Transformational Change: A change, which creates a radically different way of working and will change the IT Delivery in significant ways. Although there will be a strong strategic vision, the route to it is less certain as new paths are explored. The future state is unknown when you begin, and is determined through trial and error as new information is gathered. This makes managing transitions with pre-determined, time-bound project plans impossible. However, the outcome (the future state) will be exceptional and so radically different that the people and culture must change. All staff must shift their worldviews, mind-sets and behaviours to even invent the required new future, let alone operate it effectively. Without these “inner” shifts of mind-set and culture, the “external” implementation of new structures, systems, processes and/or technology do not produce their intended ROI.
Value Chain Model: A value chain is a chain of activities. Products pass through all activities of the chain in order and at each activity the product gains some value. The chain of activities gives the products more added value than the sum of added values of all activities. It is important not to mix the concept of the value chain with the costs occurring throughout the activities.
Workflow: A workflow is a specific sequence of tasks (commands or scripts) which are executed from the beginning to the end with a single or multiple sequences. It is often presented using a flowchart to include ownership, actions, results, decisions, and action paths. Processes, fully or partly, are consolidated from workflows.