• chaotic;
• reactive;
• proactive;
• service;
• benefit.

Chaotic the level is characterized by multiple support services, an undeveloped maintenance service.

• commodity (goods);
• utility (resource);
• partner (partner);
• enabler (support).

In the profile commodity the enterprise sees IT services as its main investment to automate fundamental administrative functions at minimal cost. When optimizing the IT infrastructure in organizations with this profile, the focus is on reducing costs.

For profile utility companies that are initially cost-focused but recognize the importance of building relationships with customers. For these businesses, IT infrastructure optimization serves as a means of meeting service level agreements, reducing response time, availability, and other customer service related parameters.

Profile partner involves considering the IT infrastructure of the enterprise in terms of impact on the business. Although cost reduction is always relevant, the main focus is on getting the economic effect of investments in Information Technology. In these situations, the business units work with IT to improve the overall quality of the IT service and achieve end points. activity goals enterprises.

In companies of this profile enabler IT infrastructure serves as an important element of a business development strategy. IT initiatives are the main driving force behind business development and are seen as a necessary condition for competitiveness.

In the Microsoft methodology for optimizing the IT infrastructure, the levels of maturity of the IT infrastructure of enterprises are distinguished. The IT infrastructure maturity model developed by Microsoft includes four levels [ 6.4 ] :

• base;
• standardized;
• rationalized;
• dynamic.

A basic level of the maturity of the IT infrastructure is characterized by the presence a large number manual processes, minimal centralization of management, lack of standards and security policies, backup, system image management. The management of the enterprise and the IS service is poorly oriented in the capabilities of the existing IT infrastructure and its potential to improve business efficiency. At the same time, the costs of managing the IT infrastructure are high, as are the risks of ensuring the quality of the provision of IT services.

Enterprises with basic maturity level IT infrastructures can improve business efficiency when moving to a standardized level, by reducing costs by implementing the following areas:

• development of standards and policies, as well as strategies for their application;
• reduce security risks by creating defense in depth;
• automation of many manual and time-consuming operations;
• implementation of best practices.

Standardized level the maturity of the IT infrastructure involves the introduction of control points based on standards and policies for the administration of desktop computers and servers, the definition of rules for connecting machines to the network, the maturity of the IT infrastructure of the enterprise, the costs of managing desktop computers, servers and network switching equipment are minimized, and support processes and IT service delivery is beginning to play an important role in supporting and expanding business. When ensuring information security, the focus is on preventive measures, and for any security threats the enterprise responds quickly and predictably.

The enterprise uses fully automated deployment, with minimal operator involvement. The number of software system images (images) is minimal, and management process desktop computers is minimized. The IS service maintains a database of configuration items with comprehensive information.

dynamic level the maturity of the IT infrastructure of an enterprise implies an understanding of the strategic value for the effective conduct of business and obtaining competitive advantage. This level assumes that all costs of the IS service are transparent and under full control, users have access to the data necessary for their work, an effective teamwork at the level of both employees and departments, and mobile users receive almost the same level of service as in the offices.

The processes of support and provision of IT services are automated. This is implemented using specialized and built-in software tools that allow you to manage information systems in accordance with changing business requirements. Investment in Information Technology give a quick and pre-calculated return for business.

For this level of maturity of the IT infrastructure of the enterprise, it is typical effective management support and delivery of IT services and continuous optimization of service support levels.

Enterprises with dynamic maturity level IT infrastructures have the ability to adopt the new IT technologies needed to sustain business growth, the benefits of which far outweigh additional expenses.

To ensure the successful functioning of the enterprise, its IT department develops information infrastructure(applications, servers, disk arrays, networks), which allows to provide a service of the appropriate level.

The historically established way of building IT departments fully reflects the structure of the information systems. At the same time, each specific unit supports a certain information system. With this approach, as a rule, there is no effective system of interaction with business users and there are problems with determining the quality of the services provided.

Along with the first information systems, there was a need to manage corporate infrastructure.

Information technology in companies is usually understood as a set of information systems that support and automate existing business processes.

IT that is used in the service differ in a number of features:

• The variety of applied IT, which is associated with the presence of a large number of subject areas related to the service sector, and their diversity.
• IT intelligence. The service must implement the whole range of intellectual services related to individualization, i.e. with a more efficient operation of the product in the specific conditions of its use by this consumer (or with the expansion of the sphere of usefulness of the product for him).
• Unification and standardization, the need to take into account Russian and international standards governing the use of IT in the service sector.
• Individualization of IT, focus on a specific user. The success of service activities is determined by the demand for the service offered and by how accurately and in a timely manner the service company is able to determine the needs and individual preferences of each of its customers, offering a product or service at a higher level than competitors, which is possible thanks to IT.
• IT scalability to meet the needs of both small and large service businesses.
• Adaptability of IT, the ability to meet a variety of customer requests and needs, transform directly in the service process.

Information technology is a system of organizational structures that ensure the functioning and development information space enterprises and means of information interaction. basis information technologies constitutes the IT infrastructure.

Infrastructure(lat.infra - below, under and naT.structura - structure, location) - a complex of interconnected service structures or objects that make up and / or provide the basis for the functioning of the system

Information technology infrastructure (IT infrastructure)- this is an organizational and technical association of software, computing and telecommunications facilities, links between them and operational personnel, ensuring the provision of information, computing and telecommunications resources, capabilities and services to employees (divisions) of an enterprise (organization) necessary for the implementation professional activity and solving relevant business problems.

IT infrastructure includes a set of various applications, databases, servers, disk arrays, network equipment and provides consumers with access to information resources. IT infrastructure becomes a technological component of any service and ensures its provision in accordance with agreed rules and procedures.

Enterprise IT infrastructure- this is a single complex of software, technical, communication, information, organizational and technological means of ensuring the functioning of the enterprise, as well as means of managing them.

To ensure efficient operation modern enterprises need an IT infrastructure consisting of an integrated set of systems, programs and services. IT infrastructure must be integral, as reliable as possible, well-designed, have a large margin of safety, correspond not only to the current state of the business, but also take into account its development in the future.

The underlying IT infrastructure is the technological underpinning for the operation of other layers of the corporate architecture. Proper design allows you to:

• Reduce IT costs;
• Simplify the modernization of existing infrastructure;
• Minimize the likelihood of downtime or system failure;
• Maintain the security of the organization's infrastructure at the proper level;
• Provide simple IT infrastructure management;
• Improve the reliability of the organization's IT infrastructure.

One of the conditions for the effectiveness of the functioning IT infrastructure is the established practice of its operation. The operation of the IT infrastructure should be based on policies and procedures developed and established as corporate standards. The distribution of functions and tasks within the IT department should ensure timely maintenance of all elements of the IT infrastructure.

Maintenance is a set of measures of the software and hardware level, carried out at the stage of production operation and aimed at ensuring the required reliability and efficiency of the information system.

At the moment, we can distinguish the following group of tasks solved by the IT department:

• Ensuring efficiency, accessibility, confidentiality of processed information.
• Ensuring the operation of the IT infrastructure.
• Prevention and elimination of failures.
• Crisis planning and management.
• Providing automatic monitoring of IT health.
• Ensuring the reliability of the IT infrastructure.
• Security information security.
• Modernization of equipment.
• Minimize the cost of maintaining the IT infrastructure.

Ideally, IT infrastructure responds to environmental changes

functioning, increasing load, tightening business requirements, while maintaining its functionality, integrity, readiness, and the agreed level of security. The development of the market forces the organization to change business models, which, in turn, requires adequate changes in the IT infrastructure.

Enterprise IT Infrastructure Components

Over time, the composition of the IT infrastructure has changed.

In the days of mainframes, the infrastructure was:

• communication lines,
• modems,
• power supply systems,
• conditioning.

During the development local networks the infrastructure has remained the same, but the structure of its elements has become more complex.

Transition to global networks further complicate the concept.

At the same time, the complexity increased:

• by increasing the number of elements,
• connections between them
• due to the complication of the internal structure of the elements, the redistribution of functions between them.

For example: channel management programs have moved to network device management. That is, in parallel with the complexity of the equipment, mathematics became more complicated - infrastructure management programs

The standard network complex infrastructure of any company includes the following components:

The physical composition includes:

• wiring, routers,
• switching devices,
• servers, desktops,
• cable system;
• passive and active network hardware;
• client jobs;
• additional equipment (printers, fax machines, authorization devices);
• system software (operating systems (OS), information security tools, device drivers);
• standard application software (spreadsheet processing tools, word processing, email, files);
• network services (DNS servers, packet protection, authorization, Internet access and application servers - database management systems (DBMS), mail services);
• technical support services, dispatching and quality control center.

Organizational and administrative components:

• instructions for setting up a server and client software site, work schedule;
• rules for dividing the network into areas in accordance with the needs of security and performance;
• special software focused on providing certain business processes (design, inventory control, accounting, interaction with suppliers, production management).

Information infrastructure of various levels (global, national, industry, organizations, etc.) contains:

• distributed information resources, including web resources (websites, portals, etc.), banks and databases (including those with remote access), digital libraries, electronic journals;
• distributed computing resources, including shared computing centers, supercomputer centers, network computing resources of organizations, individual computers;
• telecommunications resources that ensure the interaction of remote users with information and computing resources.

Types of IT infrastructure

Basic concepts
Infrastructure (lat. infra - below, under and lat.
structura - structure, location) -
complex of interconnected service
structures or objects that make up and/or
providing the basis for
system functioning.
Information Technology (IT)
information technology, IT) - a wide class
disciplines and fields of activity,
related to control technologies and
data processing, including
using computer technology.
IT = CT

Modern companies with an efficient IT infrastructure gain a significant competitive advantage at a strategic level. Moreover, the constant development of business, for example, the expansion of the branch network, entering new markets, the complication of processes, entails the continuous complication of the company's software and hardware complex. Therefore, the need for sound IT management, especially for large organizations, comes to the fore.

An important feature of modern large companies is efficiency, accuracy and work with a huge amount of information that needs to be stored and protected. The IT infrastructure of such organizations, which consists of a large number of components - applications, communication services, server infrastructure, workstations and data storage systems, information security systems, network and engineering infrastructure - requires systems approach to management. Key tasks are a competent choice of software and hardware solutions, adequate management of all company systems, ensuring uninterrupted and safe operation.

Traditionally, the requirements of various companies for IT infrastructure depend on the characteristics of the business.

For example, for large trade enterprises the ability to quickly expand the retail network is critical: open new stores and warehouses and quickly integrate them into the overall IT system. In this regard, the IT infrastructure of retail chains is characterized by scale and large territorial distribution.

In the banking sector, priorities are traditionally shifted towards security: great importance is attached to the protection of financial and personal information. Banks have always used the practice of reserving data centers at a remote site and a deeply echeloned data access system.

Modern business development trends large companies providing mass services cause a number of requirements for IT infrastructure, regardless of the specifics of their activities.

Such trends make the following requirements for IT infrastructure especially significant (see figure):

• uninterrupted work;
• scalability;
• security;
• the rate of change;
• transparency and manageability;
• adequate cost of ownership.

Let's consider how the listed requirements are reflected in the necessary IT properties of modern large companies.

Uninterrupted work

First of all, IT infrastructure should not interfere with business processes. IT of modern large companies is required to work 24x7; even short-term failures lead to downtime of critical business processes, to large financial and reputational losses.

Failures occur for two main reasons: equipment failure and various errors - user or software.

The problem with the equipment can be solved by duplicating or combining several instances of devices into a cluster. Then, if one of them fails, the rest will do its job. In particular, the virtualization mechanism allows you to further expand the possibilities of duplication.

To protect against user errors and software failures, companies create a backup and recovery system that allows you to restore up-to-date data in a short time.

Possible problems and failures are better prevented or stopped at an early stage than corrected. For these purposes, large companies use proactive monitoring systems that inform administrators about problems in the IT infrastructure before these problems lead to unpleasant consequences and stop business processes.

Scalability

Proactive monitoring is also necessary to timely identify bottlenecks in the IT infrastructure that limit business scalability. Regular tracking and patching of these locations greatly reduces the likelihood that a company's entire IT infrastructure will have to be rebuilt as a result of business expansion.

To improve scalability, unified solutions are used - from the same configurations operating systems And software to templates and scripts for deploying the infrastructure of entire branches (for example, new bank branches or retail stores). The more processes in an IT infrastructure are automated, the better, as a rule, its scalability and manageability.

Unified solutions also increase the speed of IT change in response to business developments. It's faster to change a common template once than to make changes to each instance. The simplest example of such an IT tool for replicating solutions is Group Policy. Once we change the policy setting on the central server, we are freed from having to change them on each server or workstation.

Security

The more complex the infrastructure, the more different systems it includes, the more vulnerable it is. The volume of data and the complexity of business processes directly affect the architecture of information security systems.

Behind the information processed in banking systems, there is real money. Obviously, access to such data can lead to serious losses. This feature dramatically expands the circle of potential intruders and increases security requirements.

The information security system in banks necessarily includes access rights management, encryption of communication channels, total monitoring, and detailed logging.

To a lesser extent, this issue concerns merchant networks, but here, too, the importance of financial and personal information, as well as the increase in the volume of electronic payments, exposes almost the same security requirements as in the banking sector.

The rate of change

Competition forces companies to constantly improve the level of service and the quality of services provided. Changing business processes should be supported by IT infrastructure services: if a decision is made to change, then it should be implemented as soon as possible.

An example is the development of the Internet and mobile sales and banking: banks and retail chains strive not only to follow new technologies and be “no worse than competitors”, but to work “ahead of the curve”, trying to be the first and offer customers ever new technological services and services.

Transparency and manageability

The simpler and more transparent the infrastructure, the easier it is to manage, the fewer errors, and the cheaper the maintenance. The transparency and manageability of the IT infrastructure means predictable IT response to business changes. This ensures an informed assessment of whether the infrastructure is capable of supporting the necessary business changes, and if so, in what time frame and at what cost. Transparency is achieved by collecting data about the company's information system. These can be reports on the operation of hardware and software, information about changes in the architecture, license accounting - everything that allows you to predict the behavior of IT in case of any changes. The more information about the processes and the state of the IT infrastructure is taken into account, the more accurately we can predict its behavior and, therefore, the more effectively we can manage it. But just getting information at a certain point in time is not enough. You need a history of state changes, a history of events that took place in IT. It is impossible to obtain such information without constant infrastructure monitoring. If each event is not only recorded, but also described and evaluated, this will make it possible to obtain a more complete forecast in case a problem occurs in the future, as well as reduce the time and financial costs of solving it.

Adequate cost of ownership

It should be borne in mind that the main costs of a large company are not for the purchase or creation of infrastructure, but for its support, which implies constant adjustment to the current needs of the business. For today's large companies with complex business processes, change in and of itself is not cheap. And multiplied by the scale, they often amount to astronomical amounts. Therefore, the requirement of a reasonable cost of ownership of IT infrastructure becomes especially important.

Modular structure allows you to change parts of the infrastructure, add new functionality and get rid of obsolete components with minimal cost, and common and proven technologies make it cheaper to integrate with other systems and make it easier to find support specialists. Therefore, initially the IT infrastructure should be built on a modular basis and based on mainstream technologies: this will make it possible to make changes to it in a short time and at minimal cost.

So, modern tendencies are such that for large companies the specifics of the business in relation to the IT infrastructure goes by the wayside. Business is becoming more technological, there are many new tools, which inevitably leads to the complexity of the IT infrastructure. If earlier IT only supported business processes, now they are becoming an integral part of the business, the very essence of innovation.

Introduction

Currently, information technology is one of the main tools for creating competitive advantages. Information technologies make it possible to organize such processes as management at a qualitatively new level. project activities, operations management, risk management, sales management, financial management and other business processes.

quality, timely and prompt execution The daily business functions of the Company's employees are largely determined by the reliability and functionality of the corporate systems used, while the operational activities depend on and are completely built on the capabilities of information systems.

The development of information systems, in turn, can only be carried out within the framework of appropriate infrastructure support. This concept includes the whole complex of interconnected systems, equipment and communication channels that unite stand-alone software and hardware systems into a single interaction environment. It is the capabilities of infrastructure support that determine the ability of applied information systems to process and transmit the required amount of information through communication channels, uniting all participants in information exchange into a single information technology space.

The uninterrupted operation and development of existing corporate information systems, as well as testing and implementation of new business applications in accordance with development plans, should be based on a reliable, modern, adaptive, flexible, functional IT infrastructure.

At the heart of the development of information systems of any organization, first of all, are the needs of the business. The requirements formed by the business are used in the analysis of the information systems market and the selection of the most appropriate solutions.

1. Strategic goals for the development of the Company's business

There is no single strategy for all companies, just as there is no single universal strategic management. Each company is unique in its own way, therefore, the strategy developed by each individual company is unique, since it depends on the position of the company in the market, the dynamics of its development, its potential, the behavior of competitors, the characteristics of its goods or services, the state of the economy, the cultural environment. and many more factors. And at the same time, there are some fundamental points that allow us to talk about the generalized principles of behavioral strategies and the implementation of strategic management. As a rule, the main strategic goal commercial organization is to ensure profitability and growth of business capitalization.

2. Goals of informatization strategy

The relationship between the strategic goals and objectives of the Company and the informatization strategy can be expressed as follows:

• The business strategy determines the directions for the development of the main area of ​​the Company's activity and the reasons for moving in this direction;
• The informatization strategy identifies those information technologies that are required to support and optimize the business strategy and shows how these technologies and systems can be implemented in the Company.

Thus, the informatization strategy is designed to determine a set of priority initiatives in the field of information technology, which will allow the consistent and coordinated development of the information technology complex of the Company, with the participation of all departments, based on uniform requirements to achieve the strategic goals of the Company.

3. Analysis and assessment of the current state of the Company's IT support

Goals and objectives of diagnosing the current state of IT support

The purpose of diagnostics is to determine the current state of IT provision for its further development in accordance with the developed IT strategy.

To carry out diagnostics, the following main tasks must be performed:
Diagnostics of IT support for basic, functional business processes and management tools;
Analysis of IT infrastructure;
Characteristics of ensuring information security;
Characteristics of the organizational support of information technology;
Typology and characteristics of IT support costs;

4. Formation of the concept of IT development

Basic principles of IT development

The development of information technologies of the Company should be based on the following principles:

• The development of information technology should be in line with strategic development Companies, and information technologies themselves, are a strategic component of the Company's business architecture;
• In the information technology architecture, both the structure of the Company's activities and the content of the key business processes of this activity should be fixed and supported;
• Satisfying priority business objectives: reducing costs, improving the Company's manageability, financial transparency, a single information space.
• IT investment protection: implementation of systems that are least exposed to the risk of business strategy uncertainty;
• End-to-End Solution: IT investments should go towards creating a “whole asset”.
• Balance between current and strategic objectives: the implementation of long-term projects in the field of IT should not lead to blocking the current work of functional units.

The real return on the automation of the Company can only be obtained through the optimization of management processes in the Company, the management of operational processes and the management of financial funds. Therefore, the development of the IT Company should go in four main directions:

• Consistent automation of all operational processes providing increased cost reduction and improvement key indicators the effectiveness of the company's business units;
• Development of a corporate information system based on an integrated solution and effective procedures for collecting, processing and providing information;
• Creation of an information technology infrastructure that satisfies modern requirements in terms of reliability and safety;
• Improving the efficiency of users and IT staff.

5. Approach to the implementation of the concept of IT development

IT Development Concept Implementation Projects

The scope and timing of projects implementation are determined based on the results of assessing the current state of the Company's IT support, a detailed analysis of the results and determining the direction of the Company's IT development. The project implementation program begins with the implementation of a set of works to prepare for implementation and detailed planning of work on individual tasks of automating business functions as part of the IT development strategy.

6. Organization of work on the implementation of the concept

Roles and functions of IT departments

IN organizational structure IT department has separate subdivisions responsible for IT development - this is the IT project management department.
The activity of this division is built on a project basis. The head of this department forms the required number of project teams (according to the number of projects in their direction), in which specialists of the relevant specialization are gathered. At the same time, project teams can be formed from specialists who are administratively subordinate to other heads of departments, depending on the specifics of each specific project.

Basic principles of management and control during the implementation of the concept

Management of the implementation process of the IT Strategy and control over the progress and results of each of the projects are built on the basis of the following principles:
Project goals should be set based on S.M.A.R.T.
The IT service should have a group of specialists - project quality auditors.
Every project should have a quality controller.
The Company must clearly define and approve the principles of project risk management.
The Company must approve uniform indicators for the control of project processes.
The motivation of project participants should be related to the result of the project.
Mandatory is the procedure for monitoring the project upon its completion.
A single frequency of control processes should be established.
After each project, internal “project lessons” (lessons learned) should be formed.

Conclusion

The primary task facing any IT manager is to ensure that the IT infrastructure and information systems of the enterprise meet the requirements of the business. The development of information technology requires significant investments, which is why it is of great importance for the head of the IT department qualitative analysis business needs to select information systems that meet these needs.

The IT infrastructure development concept defines the rules for building the company's IT infrastructure, the main architectural solutions and standards, infrastructure management model and management process requirements. The concept also defines the principles of transition from the existing state of the enterprise's IT infrastructure to the target one.

When developing the concept, an analysis of the current state of the Company's IT support is carried out, including an assessment of the existing IT infrastructure, the level of information security, and organizational support. After the analysis, various development options are evaluated, the direction of IT development in the Company is determined, the target IT architecture, requirements for infrastructure services are developed. Based on the data obtained, the level of compliance of the current state of IT with the target is determined and the stages of achieving the required level are formed, the choice of software and hardware solutions is made. Preparation and implementation of the selected solutions is carried out on a project basis.

Bibliography

1. Gurkov I.B. Strategy and structure of the corporation, Moscow, 2008, 288 p.
2. Mikhailov A. " Strategic planning system development information support". Moscow, 2001, 134 p.
3. Danilin A. Slyusarenko A. Architecture and strategy. "Yin" and "Yang" of information technology enterprises, Moscow 2005, 504 p.
4. White T. What does business want from IT. Minsk, 2007, 256 p.
5. Ermoshkin N., Tarasov A. Strategy of information technologies of the enterprise. How Cisco Systems and the World's Leading Companies Use Internet Business Solutions. Moscow, 2003, 360 p.
6. Marasko D. IT-projects: front-line essays. Moscow, 2007, 384 p.
7. Snedaker S. IT project management, or How to become a full-fledged CIO. Moscow, 2009, 616 p.
8. Thompson A, Strickland A. Strategic management. Moscow, 2000, 412 p.
9. Rumyantsev M. IT strategy: what's in my name to you. Moscow, CIO magazine No. 9, 2002. [ Electronic document] URL: http://www.cio-world.ru/offline/2002/8/22012/ Accessed 12.01.2009.
10. Mikhailov A. Consolidation of IT resources of the holding. Moscow, CIO magazine No. 5, 2003. [Electronic document] URL: http://www.cio-world.ru/offline/2003/15/26749/index.html. Accessed 12.01.2009.
11. Mikhailov A. Seven approaches to the development of IT strategies. Moscow, magazine "Director of the Information Service" No. 02, 2004. [Electronic document] URL: http://www.info-strategy.ru/publications/IT-strategy-2003/index.htm . Accessed 12.01.2009.
12. Nekrasova E. Strategic document. Moscow, CIO magazine No. 3, 2003. [Electronic document] URL: http://www.cio-world.ru/analytics/comments/25096/ . Accessed 12.01.2009.
13. Nekrasova E. Our slogan is "Not IT for IT, but IT for business". Moscow, CIO magazine No. 8, 2003. . [Electronic document] URL: http://www.cio-world.ru/casestudy/28817/ . Accessed 12.01.2009.
14. Erkola E. CIO tasks are becoming more complex. cnews | Analytics, 2003. [Electronic document] URL: http://www.cnews.ru/reviews/index.shtml?2003/05/29/144700 . Accessed 12.01.2009.
15. Rumyantsev M. Start from scratch. Moscow, CIO magazine No. 11, 2003. [Electronic document] URL: http://www.cio-world.ru/offline/2002/10/23168/ Accessed 12.01.2009.

Copyright © 2010 Shlyaptsev A.O.