Infrastructure & Operations Research Center

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Table of Contents:

  1. 01
    Core Strategy
  2. 02
    Core Infrastructure and Cloud Services
  3. 03
    Infrastructure & Operations Management
  4. 04
    Service Desk
  5. 05
    Service Support and Change Management
  6. 06
    Communications & Collaboration
  7. 07
    End-User Device Management
  8. 08
    Resilience: DRP & BCP

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Featured Research

This capstone piece summarizes the research domains within the Infrastructure & Operations Research Center.

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Take a structured approach to navigate complexity and effectively prioritize the infrastructure and operations roadmap.

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1

Core Strategy

Empower Your Business With a Proven Cloud Strategy
Document Your Cloud Strategy
​​Create a Service Management and IT Operations Strategy​

Infrastructure Strategy

Build a Strategy to Modernize Your Infrastructure
Align your business and IT goals, then define your guiding principles to set direction.
Build a Strategic Infrastructure Roadmap
Building a strategic infrastructure roadmap is a business-driven exercise, not just a technical one.
Next-Generation InfraOps
Embrace the spectrum of Ops methodologies to build a virtuous cycle.
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2

Core Infrastructure and Cloud Services

Network, Data Center & Edge Architecture

Focus: Physical & logical infrastructure Design & Deployment

Enterprise Network Design Considerations
It is not just about connectivity.
Build or Refresh the Wireless LAN
Right-size your WLAN to support your ever-evolving business needs.
Considerations for a Hub and Spoke Model When Deploying Infrastructure in the Cloud
Don’t revolve around a legacy design; choose a network design that evolves with the organization.
Consolidate Your Data Centers
Benefits from data center consolidation are not guaranteed. Effective planning is the key to capture consolidation benefits.
Initiate Your Edge Computing Journey
The first step of your journey must be taken in the right direction.

Systems Management & Availability

Focus: Capacity, event handling, and visibility

Manage Your Capacity to Increase Your Availability
Maximize availability through proactive capacity management.
Engineer Your Event Management Process
Track monitored events purposefully and respond effectively.
Implement Systems Management to Improve Availability and Visibility
Without sound systems management practices, you don’t control outages, they control you.
Design Your Cloud Operations
It’s “day two” in the cloud. Now what?
Adding the Right Value: Building Cloud Brokerages That Enable
Considerations for implementing an institutional-focused cloud brokerage.

Cloud Optimization, Storage & Resilience

Focus: Cloud cost control, backup, disaster recovery & storage

Get Started With FinOps
FinOps is more than just identifying cloud savings; it’s empowering every cloud user to maximize the value of their spend.
Build a FinOps Strategy to Enable Dynamic Cloud Cost Management
Maximize cloud value to power exponential technologies.
Select the Optimal Disaster Recovery Deployment Model
Evaluate cloud, co-lo, and on-premises disaster recovery deployment models.
Create a Game Plan to Implement Cloud Backup the Right Way
Optimize your backup initiative and mitigate the challenges of the cloud.
Mitigate the Risk of Cloud Downtime and Data Loss
Resilience and disaster recovery in an increasingly Cloudy and SaaSy world.

Tool Evaluation & Market Intelligence

SoftwareReviews: Backup and Availability Software
SoftwareReviews: Backup and Availability Software
SoftwareReviews: Data Archiving
SoftwareReviews: Data Archiving
SoftwareReviews: Data Center Automation
SoftwareReviews: Data Center Automation
SoftwareReviews: Data Center Infrastructure Management
SoftwareReviews: Data Center Infrastructure Management
SoftwareReviews: Systems Management
SoftwareReviews: Systems Management
SoftwareReviews: Cloud Infrastructure as a Service
SoftwareReviews: Cloud Infrastructure as a Service
SoftwareReviews: Cloud Management
SoftwareReviews: Cloud Management
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3

Infrastructure & Operations Management

Governance & Organizational Readiness

Focus: High-level planning, role clarity, and aligning I&O with business goals

Improve IT-Business Alignment Through an Internal SLA
Understand business requirements, clarify current capabilities, and enable strategies to close service level gaps.
Manage Your Technical Debt
Make the case to manage technical debt in terms of business impact.
Develop Infrastructure & Operations Policies and Procedures
Document what you need to document and forget the rest.
Map Technical Skills for a Changing Infrastructure & Operations Organization
Be practical and proactive – identify needed technical skills for your future state environment and the most efficient way to acquire them.

Service Delivery, Outsourcing & Process Optimization

Focus: Acquiring, outsourcing, and documenting infrastructure services and processes

Effectively Acquire Infrastructure Services
Acquiring a service is like buying an experience. Don’t confuse the simplicity of buying hardware with buying an experience.
Outsource IT Infrastructure to Improve System Availability, Reliability, and Recovery
There are very few IT infrastructure components you should be housing internally – outsource everything else.
Outsource Systems Management to Improve Capabilities and Reduce Costs
Outsourcing is like a marriage. Treat it like a partnership, not a competition.
Define Requirements for Outsourcing the Service Desk
Prepare your RFP for long-term success, not short-term gains.

Performance & Continuous Improvement

Focus: Metrics, automation, and driving operational excellence

Take Control of Infrastructure and Operations Metrics
Make faster decisions and improve service delivery by using the right metrics for the job.
Build Seamless IT Operations With Automation
Create a framework to improve processes, reduce risks, and scale effectively.
Deploy AIOps to Improve IT Operations
Transform your organization and revolutionize IT Operations by fostering a data-driven approach.
Build a Continual Improvement Program
Don’t stop at process standardization; plan to continually improve and help those improvements stick.
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4

Service Desk

Improve Core Service Desk Operations

Focus: Core setup, right-sizing, metrics, and customer experience

Analyze Your ITSM Ticket Data
Take a data-driven approach to service desk optimization.
Standardize the Service Desk
Build a solid foundation for future IT service improvements.
Right-Size the Service Desk for Small Enterprise
Turn your help desk into a customer-centric service desk.
Transition and Operationalize Incoming Projects
Create a document and release process that prepares the operational and support team to take over project support on launch day.
Deliver a Customer Service Training Program to Your IT Department
Focus on the missing piece of the puzzle to provide exceptional service delivery.

Optimize Service Desk Processes

Focus: Evolving the service desk through consolidation, shift-left, and field support.

Optimize the Service Desk With a Shift-Left Strategy
The best type of service desk ticket is the one that doesn’t exist.
Build a Service Desk Consolidation Strategy
A consolidated service desk not only drives more efficient service but is the foundation for optimization and innovation.
Transform Your Field Technical Support Services
Improve service and reduce costs through digital transformation.
Reduce Shadow IT With a Service Request Catalog
Foster business relationships through sourcing-as-a-service.
Design a VIP Experience for Your Service Desk
Keep the C-suite satisfied without sacrificing service to the rest of the organization.

Tools, Automation, & Workflow Enablement

Focus: Enhance service delivery

IT Service Management Selection Guide
Speed up the process to build your case and select your ITSM solution.
Build an ITSM Tool Implementation Plan
Plan ahead with a step-by-step approach to ensure the tool delivers business value.
Build a Chatbot Proof of Concept
Create value for your business with your chatbot implementation.
Accelerate Your Automation Processes
Integrate automation solutions and take the first steps to building an automation suite.
SoftwareReviews: IT Service Management
SoftwareReviews: IT Service Management
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5

Service Support and Change Management

Improve Incident, Problem & Change Management

Focus: Reactive and proactive service management

Improve Incident and Problem Management
Rise above firefighter mode with structured incident management to enable effective problem management.
Incident Management for Small Enterprise
Turn chaos into control with a practical incident response program.
Optimize IT Change Management
Right-size IT change management to protect the live environment.
Align Projects With the IT Change Lifecycle
Increase the success of your changes by integrating project touchpoints in the change lifecycle.

Improve Asset & Configuration Management

Focus: Lifecycle and governance of IT assets and Cis

Develop an IT Asset Management Strategy
Define your business-aligned approach to ITAM.
Implement Hardware Asset Management
Build a process to track assets across their entire lifecycle.
Implement Software Asset Management
Go beyond tracking licenses to proactively managing software throughout its lifecycle.
Automate IT Asset Data Collection
Acquire and use discovery tools wisely to populate, update, and validate the data in your ITAM database.
Harness Configuration Management Superpowers
Create a configuration management practice that will provide ongoing value to the organization.

Tool Evaluation & Market Intelligence

IT Asset Management (ITAM) Market Overview
Asset management isn’t a dying process, it’s just more complicated.
SoftwareReviews: IT Asset Management
SoftwareReviews: IT Asset Management
SoftwareReviews: Software Asset Management
SoftwareReviews: Software Asset Management
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6

Communications & Collaboration

Modernize Communication & Collaboration Platforms

Focus: Strategic planning, infrastructure modernization, and readiness for cloud-based solutions.

Rationalize Your Collaboration Tools
Best-of-breed approaches create more confusion than productivity.
Establish a Communication and Collaboration System Strategy
Collaboration should drive your collaboration tool selection.
Modernize Communications and Collaboration Infrastructure
We don’t need to sell you on UC&C.
Assess Your Readiness to Implement UCaaS
Find the right solution for your organization, whether it is Teams Phone or another product.

Microsoft 365 Governance & Adoption

Focus: Managing, securing, and drivign value from Microsoft 365

Govern Microsoft 365
You bought it. Use it right.
Build a Minimum Viable Product for Data Classification With Microsoft 365
Kick-start your governance with data classification users will actually use!
Create a Post-Implementation Plan for Microsoft 365
You’ve deployed M365. Now what? Look at your business goals and match your M365 KPIs to meet those objectives.
Drive Ongoing Adoption With an M365 Center of Excellence
Accelerate business processes change and get more value from your subscription by building and sharing, thanks to an effective Centre of Excellence.
Collaborate Effectively in Microsoft Teams
Empower your users to explore Teams collaboration beyond the basics.

Tool Evaluation & Market Intelligence

SoftwareReviews: Unified Communications as a Service
SoftwareReviews: Unified Communications as a Service
SoftwareReviews: Contact Center as a Service
SoftwareReviews: Contact Center as a Service
SoftwareReviews: Web and Video Conferencing
SoftwareReviews: Web and Video Conferencing
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7

End-User Device Management

End-User Compute Strategy & Modernization

Focus: Transformation of the end-user environment

Build & Execute an Enterprise Device Management Strategy
Build a digital workplace for the workforce of the future.
Implement Desktop Virtualization and Transition to Everything as a Service
From VDI to DaaS, desktop virtualization is back. Choose the right solution, then develop an implementation plan that balances user experience, infrastructure complexity, and total cost.
Considerations for a Move to Virtual Desktops
What strategic, technical, and support implications should be considered in support of a move to VDI or DaaS?
Re-Envision Enterprise Printing
Don’t settle for printer consolidation; seek the elimination of print.

Secure, Remote, & Adaptive Workspaces

Focus: Enabling secure, flexible, and scalable device management for hybrid work

Create a Work-From-Anywhere Strategy
Ensure short-term survivability while working toward near-term innovation.
Simplify Remote Deployment With Zero-Touch Provisioning
Adopt zero-touch provisioning to provide better services to your end users.
Build a Digital Workspace Strategy
Ensure people spend less time searching, more time getting work done while working remotely.
Passwordless Authentication
Know when you’ve been beaten!
Legacy Active Directory Environment
Kill the technical debt of your legacy Active Directory environment.

Tool Evaluation & Market Intelligence

Endpoint Management Selection Guide
Streamline your organizational approach to selecting a right-sized endpoint management platform.
SoftwareReviews: Desktop as a Service
SoftwareReviews: Desktop as a Service
SoftwareReviews: Unified Endpoint Management
SoftwareReviews: Unified Endpoint Management
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8

Resilience: DRP & BCP

Disaster Recovery Planning & Execution

Focus: Building, testing, and deploying DR plan across environments

Create a Right-Sized Disaster Recovery Plan
Close the gap between your DR capabilities and service continuity requirements.
Select the Optimal Disaster Recovery Deployment Model
Evaluate cloud, co-lo, and on-premises disaster recovery deployment models.
Mitigate the Risk of a Cloud Outage
Mitigate the Risk of a Cloud Outage
IT leaders are still accountable for service continuity, even when those services are moved to the cloud. When an O365 outage occurs, the CEO is calling you, not Microsoft.

Business Continuity, Crisis Response & Data Protection

Focus: Organizational continuity

Develop a Business Continuity Plan
Streamline the traditional approach to make BCP development manageable and repeatable.
Data Backup Moves Closer to Data Protection
As threats to our data grow, traditional methods of protecting our information are changing to meet the challenge. 
Implement Crisis Management Best Practices
Don’t be another example of what not to do. Implement an effective crisis response plan to minimize the impact on business continuity, reputation, and profitability.

Tool Evaluation & Market Intelligence

SoftwareReviews: Business Continuity Management
SoftwareReviews: Business Continuity Management
SoftwareReviews: Emergency Notification
SoftwareReviews: Emergency Notification
SoftwareReviews: Backup and Availability Software
SoftwareReviews: Backup and Availability Software
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