What with all the buzz about cloud computing, agile operations, and the consumerization of IT (don't pretend you didn't spend most of your day skimming TechMeme for iPad news) it's easy to forget that the nuts and bolts requirements of sustaining IT operations haven't gone away. The network still needs to be up and running, even with the influx of Apple-bound traffic.

So it seems like a good time for a reality check and a link to Microsoft's recently released Getting Start with Microsoft Operations Framework version 4 guide. We can talk about agility and outsourcing all day long, but you still need a solid operations and service management framework, and MOF is still the best option if you are primarily a Microsoft shop.

If you have yet to implement ITIL or MOF or some witch's brew combination of your own devising, go now and take a look. It's hard to move forward with any of the other trends of the day if you are spending all your time fighting fires in your existing infrastructure.