Reducing Complexity through

Standardization and
Consolidation

In This Chapter
Identifying sources of complexity
Finding value in standardization and consolidation
Applying the 80/20 rule
Understanding opposition to standardization
Planning for data-center consolidation

Recognizing Complexity in the

Enterprise
The complexity of the technological environment
increases both costs and support requirements.
A useful rule is that cost and support increases can be
generally said to be the square of the number of
equivalent solutions in use.
2 different workstation operating systems will require roughly
four times (2 2) the level of effort and cost to support to
maintain, update, configure, support, and secure than if only a
single operating system were in use.

Common sources of complexity

Application stack
Hardware
Identity management
Application development
Legislative and regulatory mandates
Connectivity

Application stack
Application stack refers to the operating system, applications,
services, user applications, and other solutions that together form the
operating environment for a computer.
Application stack may also refer to the technology stack, particularly
in reference to suites of integrated products by a single vendor or
partner vendors.
Both commercial and open-source stacks including IBMs
WebSphere environment; Microsofts technology stack; and LAMP
(Linux Apache, mySQL, Perl/PHP/Python) are popular in enterprises.
In organizations without standardization, multiple stacks may be in
use, which leads to support complexities as well as difficulties when
users move from one part of the organization to another.

Hardware
Keeping track of multiple vendors, warranties, and contracts
increases administrative overhead and makes procurement more
difficult.
The time between software update/patch release and
implementation increases due to requirements for testing on
multiple hardware configurations.
Testing before deployment avoids interruption of service should it
fail on a particular hardware build. Unfortunately, it isnt unusual
for software updates to be incompatible with drivers for individual
components.
The more types of hardware you have, the more complex and
costly disaster recovery efforts become.

Identity management
Identity management, including directory services, is the core of an
enterprise network. It handles user identification, authentication, and
authorization
Complexity arises when multiple directory services or identity
management solutions exist in resource silos throughout your enterprise;
integration must occur across different directory services; or multiple
vendors products are in use, even though the organization has the option
to use only a single standard or product if mandated by a particular
business function or application..
Reducing complexity in identity management also enhances security by
decreasing the number of logons a user needs to conduct business. This
lessens the tendency to use the same password everywhere or write
logon/password credentials on sticky notes stuck to monitors or hidden
under keyboards.

Application development
Programming style and languages are the foundation of your organizations
application development and customization efforts. The programming model (objectoriented or nonstructured, for example) determines the way in which data will be
accessed and manipulated. Complexity most often occurs in application development
when multiple programming languages are in use.
Although some development platforms, such as Microsofts .NET, support
compatibility among different languages, that compatibility does not exis between all
languages. As a result, you may have problems with application integration, and you
may wind up with equivalent custom code libraries for multiple languages)
Another problem with lack of standardization and use of multiple languages is finding
developers who are familiar with all programming languages in use.
As a result, some programmers may recode applications in their preferred languages
in an ad-hoc manner. In addition, development costs can be increased by the number
of computing platforms in use, due to more complex design and testing requirements.

Legislative and regulatory mandates

Encryption
Segregation of data
Mandated protocols
Data classification systems that support mandatory
access controls

Connectivity
It is a rare organization that does not need
communication among different technologies. Modern
networks may require connectivity for various types of
mobile devices (such as cellphones and laptops),
internal and external users, and applications.
Complexity arises not just from connectivity
requirements, but also from underlying requirements for
security such as encryption and authentication.
Reduction in complexity does not result in a reduction in
connectivity.

Complications of complexity
Higher personnel costs
Employ a smaller number of individuals with knowledge of multiple solutions
Employ a larger number of individuals with more specialized knowledge.

Increased costs for business continuity and disaster recovery

Recovering from a disaster is difficult in the best of circumstances and is made more so if
planning has to include requirements such as restoration of customization and integration
between multiple vendors products.
Cost is also increased, particularly in the case of hot and warm recovery sites, if multiple
hardware types must be maintained.

Higher software costs

Multiple equivalent solutions often require multiple tools and utilities, including anti-malware
software and management tools, to secure and maintain each solution according to its own
requirements.
Splitting licensing among multiple products may result in the organization missing out on volume
discounts.

Redundancy
The number of resource silos and other types of inappropriate or undesirable redundancy in place
in the existing enterprise configuration.

Planning for Consolidation

Applying the 80/20 rule
Finding value
Planning for technology end of life
Maintaining the help desk
Consolidating skills

Levels of planning
Strategic planning, which is long term (at least 3 to 5
years out), encompasses the entire organization, and
occurs at the executive level.
Tactical planning, which is medium-term planning (1
to 2 years) and occurs at the middle-management level.
Tactical plans are developed from strategic plans.
Operational planning, which is short term, occurs at
the business unit or workgroup level and is concerned
with day-to-day operations. Operational plans are
developed from tactical plans.

Applying the 80/20 rule

The 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle.
In essence, the 80/20 rule states that 80 percent of
consequences come from 20 percent of possible causes.
In technology, applying a similar 80/20 split aids in
understanding :

the impact of application development

resource allocation
user productivity suite selection
a variety of other broadly applied strategies.

Finding value
Standardization and modernization initiatives offer
distributed and complex organizations opportunities to
decrease both support complexity and acquisition cost
by taking advantage of economies of scale. Managing
1,000 of one item is cheaper than managing one each
of 1,000 similar-but-different items.
Vendors often agree to better per-item costs when you
contract to purchase large quantities. And when you
employ a standard across the extended enterprise,
support requirements are greatly simplified.

Planning for technology end of life

Planned obsolescence
must make decisions regarding lease agreements versus outright purchase before procurement can
occur
make sure that media and hardware disposal strategies encompass all solutions eventually.
it necessary to maintain legacy equipment because an alternative doesnt exist or has been deemed too
costly to acquire

Hidden obsolescence
By providing modern technologies, the lifespan of legacy technologies and old big iron systems may be
stretched out almost forever
Hardware replacement, service patch and update, maintenance skills, and even data center facilities
requirements can become risks to continued operation when legacy systems are maintained beyond
obsolescence

Cyclic replacement
The rate of change in both hardware and software means that modern technology is not designed to be
used indefinitely, or even simply until it fails.
Using outdated hardware places limits on your organizations performance and its ability to implement
modern software.
Cyclic replacement, in which a percentage of resources is replaced yearly, also allows for better resource
management so that you can plan and schedule a fixed number of upgrades

Maintaining the help desk

Help desk staff must have the necessary administrative
privileges or access to tools that proxy those privileges
in order to troubleshoot issues in a timely manner.
Help desk staff must also have access to all
technologies in use throughout the enterprise, including
multiple versions, if applicable.
Planning should include that todays mobile and
geographically diverse workforce is likely to require 24
7 help desk support.

Addressing Concerns about

Standardization
Reduced functionality
What if functionality available in the current solution is not present in the new one?
Although standard business productivity software, tend to have similar performance, it becomes more of a concern if
the software has been customized through the use of templates, macros, or workflows.

Decreased productivity
occur when technologies change as a reason to maintain the status quo.

Incompatibility with existing applications

database management system
file stores, moving from a case-sensitive operating system (Linux) to a case-insensitive (Microsoft Windows) requires
greater effort to ensure that filenames that differ only by case are not overwritten

Risk of technology monoculture

Dont put all your eggs in one basket
increased risk due to the rapid proliferation of malware (such as viruses or worms) throughout similar systems, and
similar vulnerabilities in multiple products by the same vendor, which may compromise the entire application stack.

Preparing for opposition

concerns over disruption of business, loss of functionality
Personal reason : loss of authority, administrative access, and direct access to hardware

Consolidating the Data Center

Enterprise architecture projects may involve efforts to consolidate
separate information technology silos into a centralized data center, to
consolidate technology resources already within the data center, or both.
Each of these situations offers opportunities projects that result in resource
availability for future projects; administrative, procurement, and licensing
cost reductions; and an overall decrease in complexity.
The most effective solution for dealing with separate information resource
silos (including technology, personnel, and skills) is consolidation into a
centralized data center. This type of consolidation requires changes to
administrative procedures, such as planning, budgeting, procurement, and
acquisition.
Data center consolidation solutions affect the entire organization, including
internal and external users, interconnectivity with partners via data
transfer and extranets, and internal communications.

Identifying the benefits

Improved resource use
Improved document recovery
Improved security
Additional benefits
File storage and backup solutions
Service delivery
Increased data availability to executives

Reducing complexity through

virtualization
Virtualization of servers reduces complexity by decreasing the
number of physical servers that must be maintained. The physical
servers that host virtual systems must be robust; however, one
robust server can host as many virtual systems as its processing
power, memory, and storage will allow. The physical system can
host virtual systems with the same or different operating systems,
depending upon the virtualization technology in use.
Because a virtual server is, in essence, a file on the host server, it
can be moved from one physical host to another very quickly and, in
some cases, automatically. This ability allows critical services to be
restored rapidly in the event of a hardware failure. Finding a server
with the same hardware configuration is not necessary, as it would
be with a traditional server.

Implementing desirable redundancy

Data storage solutions
Failover solutions
Load balancing
Technology personnel
Alternative sites
Caching

Planning the centralized facility

Various methods of cooling, such as rack fans, watercooled cabinets, and blanking panels
Organization of rows and racks to minimize hot spots
Recovery from natural and human-caused disasters
Physical security

Automating the Data Center

Patches and updates
Image-based deployment
This type of deployment utilizes snapshots of configured
computers that can be copied to others

Backup solutions