Like the chicken and egg question, we may never know which came first -- the myriad of operational toolsets or the swivel chair. However, we do know that many operations centers have been stuck with them both.
In a typical center, countless fault, performance, configuration, trouble ticketing, inventory, element management, diagnostic and other tools confront operators, managers and executives. This situation seemed to become moot a number of years ago, as the interfaces of these tools began utilizing web interfaces. At that time, portals and "managers of managers" were developed and touted as the single pane of glass that operators and executives long sought after. However, this panacea has either not been deployed or has been scrapped before, during or after implementation due to its biggest shortcoming -- lack of data integration and correlation.
How Did We Get Here?
For years, companies have implemented software tools to monitor and manage their mission critical resources. Too often, the number of these tools has grown substantially as organizations struggled to meet ever growing business and technological demands. Even with all the recent acquisition activities among tool vendors and with the availability of tools providing greater flexibility and features, one toolset will never fit every need. The necessity for deploying various tools to meet specific business requirements will continue to be prevalent.
In addition to maintenance costs, supportability and complexity, a big issue that this tool proliferation causes is what is commonly referred to as the "swivel chair effect". Consumers of business services and resources (e.g. executives, managers, administrators, operators, and end users) are required to view data available from various sources through vendor supplied interfaces spanning multiple windows. This has forced companies to look into and evaluate software portals that can provide the data through a single pane of glass. While it is possible to portal most web-based application interfaces, the data is still not correlated, thus requiring users to extrapolate information from the raw data. For an operator pressured to restore service quickly, a manager pressed for time, or an executive without deep technical expertise, the delays caused by this non-integrated data is not acceptable. Uninformed or delayed decisions get made, services don't get restored quickly, frustration mounts, and the bottom line is ultimately affected.
Visualization to the Rescue
Fortunately, new technologies and techniques that ease the move to a truly integrated solution are becoming available under a broad umbrella called visualization. Visualization is the art of presenting data as information through various means (usually web front-ends) spanning one or more business-centric silos of data. Visualization has roots in service oriented architecture (SOA) concepts and as such is less about technologies and more about processes that allow for a horizontal view across an organization. In most cases, this is typically achieved through a customized solution driven primarily by business requirements which in turn are typically driven by service requirements to internal and external customers. The flexibility that this approach also brings is another key advantage, as the information needed by various companies and individual roles can differ greatly. Therefore, visualization implementations can support a broad range of many business areas throughout IT service support and delivery. Visualization implementation examples include front-ends (or views) for customers, service desk operators, process managers, service level managers, security, financial managers, and executives.
As organizations look to implement visualization across their many business units, they do however face several significant challenges. First, they must fully identify where the appropriate data resides to meet a business requirement. Second, access to the underlying data usually requires an Application Programming Interface (API) or, in some case, direct database access. After data is identified and flowing, the work of correlation of data across silos begins to produce the necessary information. This knowledge is usually in the minds of various stakeholders in the organization, and teasing it out sometimes requires some skilled question and answer exercises. Other common obstacles involve working within company security policies, and after development of the solution, taking ownership of the visualization component as it can cut across multiple existing silos.
On a recent project, Windward development and implemented a true visualization solution using the Adobe Flex framework. For the client, Windward created a single interface to access underlying asset management data sources and then rendered the raw data into well-designed visuals to allow for quick understanding. The use of different visuals ranging from charts to data-linked action items and text tables allowed the customer to quickly make decisions necessary to achieve business goals. And, by following a structured project methodology, involving all stakeholders and utilizing a unified design, development and deployment process, Windward was able to move the client through their challenges and deliver a successful solution.