Forrester Report: Knocking The NOC: Enter The New Operations Center
This Forrester report of mine was published on April 30, 2009:
Knocking The NOC: Enter The New Operations Center
The operational hub of any well-run and complex organization is a strong operations center. In IT, this function is often fragmented into pockets that tend to be too isolated. Such isolation is a principal cause of much of the chaos that characterizes IT, therefore leading to an eventual crisis of punitive outsourcing. To address the increasingly complex needs for delivering business value, the IT organization must consolidate and streamline these functions. Combine the service center (aka, the help desk or service desk) with a command center and condense operational tool ownership within this structure. Approximately 80% of the IT budget is spent on operations, and a frightening proportion of this 80% is wasted by inefficiency. A properly unified operations center will prove to be the single most powerful weapon against operational waste in IT.
It is available on the Forrester web site. This report is for Forrester clients only. Its distribution is restricted by the terms of Forrester Research client agreements.
July 24th, 2009 at 17:49
I actually got to read it…
C3I, while it establishes a chain of command and deals with span of control, you really didn’t lay out the principles behind C3I. It isn’t the top down structure that you propose that makes C3I work, its the fact that the decision making is done at the lowest level possible and that the information needed for effective C3I is based upon Situational Awareness.
Guidance? We need to be empowered.
The NOC actually began earlier than the 90s. Networking was not a new innovation and it was not so immature as you tout. SNA networks abounded and they are VERY STRUCTURED. Telco networks in like manner. AT&T Datakit… Remember.
It wasn’t always called the NOC. In fact I’ve seen a multitude of names. In AOL, there were 64 NOCs distributed around the world. Boeing’s Banana was an excellent Operations Center. Again, you’re hung up on a name.
Where is the Service Desk?
I think your model is askew here. In the most effective Operations organizations, “Help Desks” that just route calls need to go away. Have folks that are customer facing that cannot solve problems is a HUGE waste of money. Having Generalists that only know ITIL is making the problem much worse. I want folks that can think on their feet, go through incident resolution and work arounds VERY QUICKLY, and have great customer skills.
When Incidents become problems or an incident takes too long, then escalate. Drive as much knowledge and problem solving at the first interface with the customer, as you can. Triage and SME and even Engineering Teams need to make problems into incidents by documenting the process and knowledge around restoration.
I don’t want IT Operational automation tools experts on the desk! DOH! I want them EMPOWERIN G Level 2, 3 and 4 personnel to share knowledge and process down to the lowest level necessary to make the decisions.
Dude. In your 3 levels of incident escalation.What are you talking about? In ITIL, an Incident is a problem that has a known corrective action or workaround. A Problem is an incident that requires further diagnosis / investigation to correct the issue.
I don’t get the “Breadth” of technical skill. As technical folks mature, they get exposed to alot more problem sets, situations, and technologies. Like me - I can admin a box, perform a vulnerability test, analyze sniffer traces, or diagnose BGP issues. (Not to mention I might know a wee bit about enterprise management applications.)
Dude, I think your paper is so far off the mark…. I think it is misleading, uninformed, and frankly dangerous. In the wrong hands, this mentality could literally destroy an IT organization.