AI03 Process Description

AI03: Technology Infrastructure Acquisition and Maintenence

1. Description

Hardware acquisition, standardizing on software, assessment of hardware and software performance, and consistent system administration. Many of these activities introduce minor changes to the infrastructure which are typically defined as "standard changes"; a change to the infrastructure which follows an established path, is relatively common, and is the accepted solution to a specific requirement or set of requirements. The factors defining a standard Change are:

the tasks are well-known and proven
authority is effectively given in advance
the train of events can usually be initiated by the Service Desk
budgetary approval will typically be pre-determined or subject to standard cost charging procedures.

Once the approach has been established and documented, a standard Change process should be developed and promulgated to ensure that such Changes are efficiently processed to support the organization's business needs.

2. Service Activities

New HW and SW Assessment: assess new hardware and software for any impact on the performance of the overall system
HW and SW Acquisition, Move and Changes: Acquisition or modification of computer hardware and/or software (including providing, upon request, access to standard set of technology resources used within the Cluster) for use in business operations including issuance of Requests for Proposal/Resources, Purchase Order requisition, delivery and set-up, equipment removal or change, or
HW preventative maintenance: routine and periodic hardware maintenance to reduce the frequency and impact of performance failures. System software set-up including testing before use in the production environment is authorized.

3. Key Goal Indicators

Reduced number of platforms diverging from the agreed technology infrastructure
Number of delays in systems implementation due to inadequate infrastructure
Reduced ratio of maintenance efforts relative to new development
Reduction of time to market of systems due to a predefined and flexible infrastructure
Reduced downtime of infrastructure
Reduced number of systems with serious interoperability problems
Number of application performance problems related to inadequacies in the technology infrastructure

ebc Service Commitments

develop Cluster standards for applications, and retire existing products/services as appropriate. Appropriate scope to workflow, correspondence management, document management, Web content management, management, travel expense claim processing and case management.
formal review/evaluation of new products for EBC use, in area of operational excellence and efficiency, concluding in business case and go/no go decision and implementation as appropriate,
analytical review of EBC's NT platforms, an assessment of the EBC positioning re MS support to the operating system, a risk assessment, costs analysis and strategy for moving ahead in 04-05,
Implement e-Forms for EBC business operations including identification of potential use with business benefit, business case, development and implementation,

4. Key Performance Indicators

Reduced number of different platforms
Age of platforms
Number of shared functions and resources
Number and frequency of changes
Number of breakdowns due to a lack of preventive maintenance
Number of breakdowns due to system software changes
Costs, based on effort and lapsed time, for major modification to system software or infrastructure

ebc Service Commitments

Toolset Provisioning

Workstation Provisioning

Upon receipt of an authorized Purchase Order, ebc will acknowledge that it is arranging the provisioning within 1 day and arrange for a standard desktop or laptop to be delivered complete with a standard image of all ebc standard software within 14 days 98% of the time.

For premium service the above delivery will be guaranteed within 5 days, 95% of the time,

Additional, approved software (not part of standard offering) will be installed in 5 days, 95% of the time while non-approved software will be installed in 7 days, 95% of the time.

Access to Electronic Resources - including intra/internet Access

upon receipt of an authorized (signed by proper authority) network access requests will be acknowledged within 1 day and completed within 5 days in 95% of all requests,

Electronic Mail

a request for an e-mail account will be acknowledged within 1 day of submitting a request through the Service Desk and an Outlook mail account will be established and included in the Government's Global Address List (GAL) within 2 days for 98% of all requests,

Client Technology Assistance

requests for assistance with software or hardware will be acknowledged within 20 seconds of making a call to the ebc Service Desk, 85% of all requests will be resolved or referred to technical resources for resolution within 15 minutes

Network Moves, Adds and Changes (MACs)

LAN Jack MACs

requests for a MAC of a LAN jack will be acknowledged within 2 days and a technician will be onsite within 5 days,

the time to complete the job will depend upon its' complexity. Guarantees are offered within the following volume bundles 95% of the time

# Jacks to Be installed	Days to Complete
1 to 5	5
6 to 10	10
11 to 16	15
> 17	40 or To be arranged

a request to activate or de-activate an existing jack will be acknowledged within 2 days with a technician onsite within 5 days to complete the job within 5 days. This will occur 95% of the time.

Workstation Re-image

A request to re-image a workstation will be acknowledged within 2 days.
for basic service a technician will appear onsite within 5 days and complete the re-imaging within 5 days
for business units with premium service service arrangements a technician will appear onsite within 2 days and complete the re-imaging within 2 days
the above two commitments will be met in 95% of all requests

Mobile Services

A request for remote dial-up over a VPN connection will be acknowledged within 2 days and upon providing the dial-in number. The request will be completed within 5 days, 98% of the time.
a request for a high-speed connection using VPN over Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or cable will be acknowledged within 2 days. The requester must have an existing connection.
A DSL request will be completed within 7 days while cable will require 17 days to complete
The completion guarantees will be met 95% of the time.
A request for wireless access (Blackberry, iPAQ or other hand-held) will be acknowledged within 1 day. The requester will complete a woreless provider request form. The service will be completed within 15 days, 95% of the time.

Modify Workstation Configuration

An "In-stock" modification (one where non-standard items being configured on the machine are held in-stock by the supplier and do not require ordering) will be acknowledged within 2 days of receipt of an authorized Service Request (authorized implies correct approval for purchase of items). The request will be completed within 7 business days, 95% of the time.
An "Order-required" modification (one where non-standard items being configured on the machine are not held in-stock by the supplier and require special ordering) will be acknowledged within 2 days of receipt of an authorized Service Request (authorized implies correct approval for purchase of items). The request will be completed within 15 business days, 95% of the time.

5. Critical Success Factors

The acquisition and implementation methodology is strongly supported by senior management
Acquisition practices are clear, understood and accepted
There is ease of integration across different technology platforms
Well articulated business strategy and related architectural requirements are defined and supported by senior management
An up-to-date inventory of hardware and software infrastructure is available
Relationships with vendors are well developed
The ability exists to adequately establish the cost of overlap between different technology platforms
Policies are defined to promote well considered choices between internal development, leveraging external infrastructures and outsourcing
The selection process focuses on using reusable components
Policies are defined to manage dependencies on single source suppliers
There is coordination with the change management processes and systems
A well defined life cycle methodology is used to select, acquire, maintain and remove infrastructure technology
Acquisition duly considers performance and capacity requirements by integrating with capacity and performance management processes
An appropriate set of automated support tools is available, saving time on selection by focusing on the best of breed

6. Additional Information

Maturity Level Characteristics


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