ITIL Abstracts

There are thousands of written papers, articles and reports on ITIL. Below given are some of the best ITIL Abstracts.

Author: Tony Miotla (CPT Global)

Paper Title: Operation Cost Reductions in an Outsourced World

Paper Abstract: Co-author Michale Augello

IT Outsourcing contracts are structured with penalty and discount clauses and safety nets on fees and payments to protect both the client and service provider.

To be truly effective, Operational Cost Reduction programs must operate within the terms of the contract schedules.

This paper looks into the structure of outsourcer contracts, external and internal charge-back models, and operating a successful cost reduction programme across all supplied IT services. 

Author: Adrian Heald (Capacity Reporting Services Pty. Ltd.)

Paper Title: Mainframe Cost Awareness

Paper Abstract: Effective management of Information Technology relies, to a great extent, on an understanding of the cost of that technology. While the costs associated with hardware, software, and staffing etc. can often be obtained the true cost of developing and running applications cannot as these costs can only be derived from measurements taken from the applications.

This paper looks at implementing a SQL Server based Cost Awareness system that addresses the need to allow users to see the cost of the IT activities they initiate. Providing costing information to the users generating those costs empowers them to change the processes with a view to cost reduction. Application developers can gain a better understanding of the costs of systems they develop before they are implemented into production; tuning efforts can be judged based on the overall cost of application systems; there are many benefits.

This paper follows on from “SQL Server – A capacity management data repository?” utilizing the data structures and procedures put in place to deliver effective cost awareness. 

Some more ITIL Abstracts:

Author: Adrian Heald (Capacity Reporting Services Pty. Ltd.)

Paper Title: SQL Server - A capacity management data repository?

Paper Abstract: There appears to be a growing trend away from the more traditional mainframe based databases for storing capacity management data. A number of my clients are currently investigating (or are in the process of implementing) the use of SQL server as a vehicle for storing their data. It seems that the high cost of traditional mainframe-based solutions both in terms of software license fees and mainframe resources (CPU, DASD etc) is the main driving force behind this move. There are however, some additional benefits such as: reduced hardware costs of storing and processing the data; simpler inclusion of non-mainframe based data; greater access to analysis tools; and simplified report generation, just to name a few. In this paper we examine one method of reducing ongoing costs by moving the capacity management reporting functions to SQL Server. 

Author: Cathy Wright (British Telecom)

Paper Title: Open System Capacity Planning for a Large ICT Organization

Paper Abstract: A case study detailing the capacity planning and performance management process in use for open systems measurement within BT, currently the UK's largest ICT Company, with particular reference to UCPS, an internally developed software tool used to capacity manage over 2000 Unix and NT servers.

Author: Cathy Wright (British Telecom)

Paper Title: Asset Management, Or Keeping Your Hand on Your Ha'penny

Paper Abstract: This paper examines the importance of tracking accurately both hardware and software assets through the estate of one of Europe's largest ICT companies. It will look at what asset management is, why we need it, how we at BT implemented a total lifecycle management solution across both our mainframe and distributed system estates, and at what we learned from the process.

Author: Brian Jennings

Paper Title: Capacity Management – a vital role in ITIL based IT Service Management

Paper Abstract: The IT Service Management (ITSM) framework is rapidly gaining recognition world-wide as the de facto standard for managing IT services both cost effectively and with a strong customer focus. This presentation will briefly outline the ten or so IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) based processes that comprise ITSM and will provide a more detailed description of ITIL based Capacity Management process and how it interacts with and supports the other processes. The challenges in gaining recognition for ITSM and in implementing it will also be addressed. Attendees will gain a new perspective on Capacity Management’s future role and may get some ideas as to how to benefit from this resurgence of interest in this well established activity. 

Some more ITIL Abstracts and papers:

Author: Ivan Gelb (CMG US)

Paper Title: CICS Performance Management 2003

Paper Abstract: Performance management controls of CICS Transaction Server (TS) for OS/390 – z/OS greatly affect performance and the effective capacity of a complex is impacted. This presentation focuses on the controls and z/OS environmental factors which affect a CICS region’s overall performance, total required processor capacity, real and virtual storage, and disk input/output service. Workload Manager (WLM) definitions that may help or hinder CICS will be included. The potential risks and benefits associated with the selection of actual and default values will be identified. Samples of reports for health monitoring and problem analysis will be presented.

Author: Charlie Meek (Compuware Asia Pacific P/L)

Paper Title: Application Performance Management

Paper Abstract: The process of identifying inefficiencies in mainframe applications and tuning them to optimise performance has always been perceived as a specialist job. This could not be further from the truth. By following some simple steps and implementing new processes, every mainframe site can achieve optimal application performance Charlie Meek, APM Technical Specialist will discuss the importance of APM and outline a practical methodology that will help you improve the reliability and performance of your mainframe applications. The topics that Charlie will cover include:

* Where does APM fit in?

* Why is it important?

* What are the tactical Benefits?

* The process of Application Performance Management 

Author: Peter Greening (Peter L Greening & Associates P/L)

Paper Title: END TO END SERVICE DELIVERY IN AN OUTSOURCED ENVIRONMENT -or- “IT Service Management Process Alignment With Your Out sorcerer”

Paper Abstract: Consistent with business strategy established in 2000, application changes at the Victorian Work cover Authority (VWA) have meant adoption of a hybrid, mutually dependent model of IT-related in sourcing and outsourcing. This presentation will address the issues, observations, workarounds, approaches, benefit of hindsight, and some foresight associated with this new mix of VWA modalities.

Emphasis will be on reviewing the need for process alignment in the ITSM disciplines of capacity management, financial management, service level management, disaster recovery planning, and security management. Appropriate reference to the ITIL framework and BS15000 standard for ITSM will be included. Content will be delivered from the viewpoints of contract management, and tactical and strategic involvement in these areas.

While primarily referencing VWA’s in-house and outsourced environment, familiarity with other outsourcers, private enterprise, and government organizations will be used to reinforce the theme of ITSM process alignment.

Author: Richard Smith (Sun Microsystems Australia)

Paper Title: Modern Processor Architecture

Paper Abstract: The goal of processor architecture is to maximize performance, subject to design constraints, to meet the needs of target markets. A new pipeline for a modern processor might take 5 years to design and bring to market, during which time many design decisions have to be made. These ultimately determine a processor's performance characteristics when subjected to different workloads. Regrettably, some benchmarks shed little light on a given processor's behavior. It’s the author's contention that a knowledge of processor architecture is invaluable for developers of high performance software trying to extract maximum performance from a processor, and enables greater insight to be obtained from benchmark results. The paper explores modern processor architecture and design features, how they relate to performance, and identifies some of the key tradeoffs.

Author: Carl Rosser (BMC Software (Australia) P/L)

Paper Title: Enterprise Performance Assurance and Modeling Today and Tomorrow!

Paper Abstract: (Vendor Presentation)

This session will cover BMC Software's Capacity Planning solutions for Windows servers though to zSeries. An overview of the latest features will give, along with an examination of how BMC Software addresses both the business and technical issues associated with capacity planning. The second half of the presentation will be a Distributed Systems Server consolidation Case Study.

Author: Mike Tsykin (Fujitsu Australia Ltd)

Paper Title: Automated Monitoring and Reporting of Enterprise Quality of Service

Paper Abstract: (Vendor Presentation)

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are common as a way of ensuring quality of service (QoS). SLA's use specific QoS metrics that are evaluated over a time interval to a set of defined objectives. As applied to information systems SLA metrics are often performance-related, but can also be formulated in terms of higher-level service aspects such as help-desk performance. This session discusses techniques for monitoring compliance of SLA's and displaying results using automated web-based tools. Application Quality and Resource Management initiative by The Open Group is also discussed.