2.4 …TO EVEN GET OFF THE GROUND
Managing networks and its systems is a great idea. Management likes the idea; corporate likes the idea; there can be return on investment and reduced cost of ownership, but who's going to fund it? What group is to be given responsibility for the project? More often than not, the organizational structure of a company is not conducive to allow a single group to design and deploy a network and systems management system for its enterprise. There are too many disparate groups who "do their own" networking and system administration who do not report to the group given the overall responsibility of network and systems management. The group needs to select and put into practice the right people, processes, and technology. Most of all, they have to have the authority to get the job done. The group selected may not be the best choice, it just happened to be the group who stated they would do it. The manager of the selected group also happened to have the appropriate high level degree such as a PhD… in orbital mechanics.2.4.1 Layers 8 and 9 of the OSI Model
Just what are layers 8 and 9 of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) Model? Politics and money! Either one or the other or both will directly influence the whole NMS project (or any project for that matter). These layers decide who will do the project; when it will be completed; how much capital will be spent; and at times, even specify what products will be used. The combination of the former can get you a minimal system that barely meets the functionality requirements given for the project.Even if a product doesn't meet the functional requirements, these layers can force its use within the NMS system and the outcome will be disappointing and only lead to building work-arounds or not meeting schedule. The product doesn't meet expectations or specifications and is unusable. This can be caused by many factors, one being "Business Reciprocity," where someone within the management chain agrees to purchase the vendor's product in exchange for the vendor purchasing an equitable amount of services in return. The opposite can also occur when a vendor already has purchased a considerable amount of services and wants product in return. For the most part there is nothing wrong with this action; it's just good business. There are times when the exchange is not quite equitable and one party is left trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.Egos can play a big part in preventing a project from getting started. Senior management in other departments may start jockeying for position in order to get a piece of the action after hearing that there is money to fund the project. Some even go as far as convincing management that their organization should have the project and "steal" the project, its funding, and the hard work from the first organization. Whether or not this is ethical is not the point. The point is how it was done. If it was done in order to gain notoriety within the company or to gain a promotion, it will only produce strife between the organizations within the company. Some might say, "That's just business." The following section is a direct result of the aforementioned situation.2.4.2 Other Groups Won't Cooperate
As a direct result of politics and money, many companies end up with several NMS solutions, such as multiple help desks, all using different or possibly the same products as the other groups, none of which electronically interact with one another. This programming error generally occurs when there is an abundance of both layers within a company. The organizations involved do not report to the same top-level management, and each has its own budget, target customers, and management chain to appease. This wastes a lot of money on duplicate hardware, software, annual maintenance contracts, and consulting, thus increasing the total cost of ownership of the network and systems management system. Some companies have ended up with hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of little management stations running NNM with an enterprise license, none of which communicate with each other by any means.How does this happen? There are many possibilities. One organization prefers one product because it has a specific functionality that is desired or because someone has been hired who already knows the product, making it easier and faster to implement. Perhaps a product does or doesn't run on a particular operating system on which they have an abundance of knowledge within their organization. But they have little knowledge on the product they have "evaluated" and wish to purchase. Most likely, they also have little money to spend on training; therefore, they have money allocated for capital expenditures and purchase what they believe is the right solution without regard for any synergy between organizations and products.Business reciprocity is another possibility, which falls right in line with layer 8. Management agrees on an exchange of products for services and the entire company is forced to implement a product that in no way meets the criterion to fulfill their particular customer requirements. In order to meet customer demands and promised SLAs, additional products are purchased to provide the promised services. The original product then sits dormant on a shelf. |
لطفا منتظر باشید ...
