RSSConcept: ERP for IT
An ERP like system specifically for the IT Operations is the idea being discussed at the Enterprise Ventures 2006 conference. In a panel session entitled "Big Governance: Expanding IT Management," representatives from companies such as Computer Associates and AMR Research noted issues with visibility into IT."Speaking with a lot of senior IT executives in [Global 1000] businesses, it's amazing to me how little visibility they have," into services being providing, how much they cost and how value can be measured, said AMR Research Director Dennis Gaughan.Opportunities exist for software companies to develop technology that would uncover information necessary to make better business decisions pertaining to technology, Gaughan said.
"At the core of the frustration that a lot customers have and people have relative to managing infrastructure and all the relative pieces of it, is we always take an asset-centric approach," such as with managing databases, he said. The industry has not matured enough to look at the entire management stack, translate data about assets, correlate that and pick out pieces of relevant information relevant to specific business problems, Nugent said.An actual ERP for IT system might be difficult for a single provider to offer but is possible, according to panelist Gary Oliver, president and CEO of Blazent, which offers business intelligence solutions for IT."I think it's very difficult for one company to be the provider of all that whole capability," Oliver said.
Nugent said he did not think it was possible for a single vendor to provide a SAP-like offering for IT infrastructure. A lack of standards is one issue, he said. SAP is the major ERP vendor.A lack of business-related skills among IT professionals also was cited as an obstacle in assessing the business value of technology. Finding someone with an MBA or business degree who can understand technology is a problem, Gaughan said."That's a huge issue with a lot of companies," said Gaughan
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Prashanth,
I agree with the notion that one vendor will have a hard time providing this kind of solution. Not so much because of the technology hurdle, but because the current vendor landscape and customer base is too far down a road of heterogeneous monitors. You’ve got systems level monitoring, network aware monitors, application monitoring agents, device-specific agents and tools; and they’re all being fed into different configurations, alert systems and dashboards depending on the company.
Mercury Interactive has tried for three years to evangelize the BTO vision, the sysman guys like CA and Tivoli have a similar message (but no more resounding), and now, as you saw firsthand at SAPPHIRE, SAP and the apps guys are trying to carve out a piece of the governance revenue.
Oh what a tangled web we weave when maturing markets necessitate creative ways to grow revenue.
All the best,
Jason