White Paper

Copyright 2010 TeamQuest Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Reaching this level takes more than a focus on technology. You also

need   to   establish   processes   for   exchanging   information. To   identify

and    verify    prediction    scenarios,    there    must    be    a    two-way

communication between the business and IT. If the business wants IT to provide a

certain level of service without excessive over-provisioning, it needs to supply IT with

growth projections and business plans. On the other hand, to demonstrate the value

of the information received, IT needs to share cost-benefit analyses of this planning

with the business. Building this mutual trust is integral to success.

At this level, since IT knows the characteristics and importance of different services,

they can start to optimize the usage of them by implementing chargeback mechanisms

where different parties pay for the actual use of resources. This will yield not only a

fair distribution of cost, but also a way for IT to influence the usage patterns. Offering

a discount during low activity hours might smooth out the peaks and troughs often

seen in a data center.

Level 4 Value

If you re at this level, you probably...

Measure and report on IT in business terms;

"

Have a set of tools and processes enabling you to align IT with the business; and

"

Are one of the very few organizations that have reached this level of maturity.

"

This is the final endpoint of Capacity Management maturity. At this point, there are

no additional technical steps to take. Rather it is a matter of taking advantage of

the earlier work to fully integrate IT into the business. Everything is looked at from a

business point of view, rather than a technical standpoint. The focus is on actions that

will benefit the company as a whole.

At this level, the organization realizes the full value, not just of implementing Capacity

Management, but of IT as a whole. Since IT s actions are fully and seamlessly aligned

with those of the business, they are directed toward helping the business achieve its

goals.

IT and business performance are tied together. In addition to IT services, business

processes are measured and audited for efficiency and effectiveness. It is possible

for IT and business units to accurately determine the cost of IT services and weigh

those costs against business benefits and risks in order to make the best decisions

regarding the use of IT.

A central process in organizations on this level is Continual Service Improvement. Even

though the highest level of maturity has been reached, there is a continuous need to

realign IT processes to the changing business needs.

6 of 8 Introducing a Capacity Management Maturity Model

Visit our website for more information on

Ca  acit   Mana  ement