by Tim Jones
One aspect of the software-defined data center (SDDC) that is not solved through software and automation is how to support what is being built. The abstraction of the data center into software managed by policy, integrated through automation, and delivered as a service directly to customers requires a realignment of the existing support structure.
The traditional IT organizational model does not support bundling compute, network, storage, and security into easily consumable packages. Each of these components is owned by a separate team with its own charter and with management chains that don’t merge until they reach the CTO. The storage team is required to support the storage needs of the virtualized environment as well as physical servers, the backup storage, and replication of data between sites. The network team has core, distribution, top of rack, and edge switches to support in addition to any routers or firewalls. And someone has to support the storage network whether it is IP, InfiniBand, or Fibre Channel. None of these teams has only the software-defined data center to support. The next logical question asked is: What does an organization look like that can support SDDC?
While there is no simple answer that allows you to fill a specific set of roles with staff possessing skill sets from a checklist, there are many organizational models that can be modified to support your SDDC. In order to modify an organizational model or to build your own model to meet your IT organization’s requirements, certain questions need to be answered. The answers to the following five steps will help shape your new organization model:
- Define what your new IT organization will offer.
Although this sounds elementary, it is necessary to understand what is planned on being offered in order to know what is necessary to provide support. Will infrastructure as a service (IaaS) be the only offering or will database as a service (DBaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) also be offered? Does support stop at the infrastructure layer, or will operating system, platform, or database support be required? Who will the customer work with to utilize the services or to request and design additional services? - Identify the existing organizational model.
A thorough understanding of the existing support structure will help identify what support customers will expect based on their current experience and any challenges associated with the model. Are there silos within that negatively impact customers? What skills currently exist in the organization? Identifying the existing organization and defining what will be offered by the new organization will help to identify what gaps exist. - Leverage what is already working.
If there are components of the existing organization that can either be replicated or consumed by the new organization, take advantage of the option. For example, if there is already a functioning group that works with the customers and supports the operating system, then evaluate how to best incorporate them into the new organization. Or if certain support is outsourced, then incorporate that into the new organizational model. - Evaluate beyond the technical.
The inclusion of service architects, process designers, business analysts, and project managers can be critical to the success of your new organization. These resources could be consumed from existing internal groups such as a central PMO. But overlooking the non-technical organizational requirements can inhibit the ability of the IT organization to deliver on its service roadmap. - Create a new IT organization.
Don’t accept the status quo with your current organization. If the storage, compute, and virtualization teams all report through separate management chains in the current organization, the new organization should leverage a single management chain for all three teams. Removing silos within the IT organization fosters a collaborative spirit that results in better support and better service offerings for customers.
Although there is no one size fits all organizational model for the software-defined data center, understanding where your IT organization is currently and where it is headed will enable you to create an organizational model capable of supporting the service roadmap.
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Tim Jones is business transformation architect with VMware Accelerate Advisory Services and is based in California.
