* Looking back over the past six years
On behalf of EMA, I wanted to take this opportunity to let you readers know that this will be our last column for Network World’s Network/Systems Management Newsletter. EMA Senior Analyst Mike Karp wrote his last column for Network World’s Storage in the Enterprise Newsletter last week. By my tally this is the 345th column I’ve written – and although it’s been something I’ve enjoyed immensely, and learned from your feedback in the process, after more than six years it’s clearly time to open up this column space to fresh voices, and welcome in Network World Senior Editor Denise Dubie as my successor. Welcome Denise.
So for my last column, I thought I’d examine some of the highlights over the last six-plus years, and where I was wrong, right, or in between on a few things. Being an out-of-the-box thinker, I have developed an out-of-the-box grading system for myself:
* Right/but (since there are always loose ends) = Good.
* We’ll see = The jury’s still out.
* Close but no cigar = Reality deviated from my expectations, but I wasn’t that far off.
* No cigar = At minimum, it’s way too soon to take up a new vice just to celebrate.
OK, here goes:
* Service Accounting and chargeback in the enterprise: No cigar (yet). My very first column was about the strategic importance of modeling service consumption and providing accurate chargeback in the enterprise. I’ve never abandoned that belief – (I’m right ____ ___ !) but it’s still a low priority among most of our enterprise clients. Virtualization is giving this space renewed interest.
* Next Generation Asset Management (NGAM): Right/but. While I introduced the actual term “NGAM” in a column in late 2005, years before, I wrote about “asset performance management” in which assets are managed as “performers” rather than just lumps of plastic, metal and code. NGAM took this to the intersection of service management and asset management. Last year, we got great pick up among both our IT clients and the vendor community on this. But it’s still early in the game. So time will tell us more here.
* Configuration management as a keystone to management in general: Right/but. Actually this is really a combination of “no cigar” and just simply right. Our research and dialogue shows that you in IT are really catching on to the strategic value of integrating configuration management into service assurance, and managing change. But the “hot market” in dollar size, for instance, network configuration has been a slow boil at best — although it’s picking up now. I’m very optimistic about the future on this one.
* Network event management systems as central points of integration: No cigar. Hindsight is everything, and about four or five years ago, when I was championing the value of network root-cause platforms with strong autodiscovery as central integration points for asset and resource management, and ultimately application management and other areas, I certainly didn’t foresee the acquisition buying frenzy that would render this vision something of a sideshow. But then, you know, the jury is still out on how these solutions will provide meaningful cross-domain resources to their new acquirers. In some ways it’s an opportunity that the frameworks are just waking up to.
* Flow-based management as a dynamic requirement for SOA and next-generation application management: We’ll see. All right, so by “flow” I’m linking everything from NetFlow and SFlow to packet analysis to route analytics to fill in the blank. This is “blood-stream” vs. device-centric. And it’s more real-time (or can be) than polling. Too soon to tell for sure just how right or wrong I am on this one.
* CMDB as the keystone in an architectural revolution in IT service management: Right/but. OK, so you were waiting for this one. Since the Configuration Management Database is really an integrated and consistent view of “what’s true,” it’s forcing one of the most interesting political and technological assessments in decades (and one that’s also just common sense) – defining “trusted sources” or what I call “trusted-source planning” to set the foundation for integrating and reconciling management tools across all of IT. The fact that CMDB also forces an alignment between technology and process as per ITIL is of course pretty important, as well. But there are lots of reasons why this potentially “glorious” revolution could either be marginalized or turn bad. Only time will tell.
Thanks again for being such good and, in my opinion, devoted readers. In order to stay current on news, research, events, Webinars and other insights from EMA do note that I and fellow EMA analysts, Mike Karp, Andi Mann, Julie Craig, and Dan Twing will now be contributing regular articles to EMA’s monthly e-newsletter, sharing highlights from their research in EMA Webinars, and continuing as thought leaders on key IT management topics in a variety of other online resources, print publications, and live events. We value your readership and invite you to keep on top of the latest in IT management and other insights from EMA – drop by here to get on our mailing list.
And please feel free to continue to correspond with me, as well as the rest of our EMA team. My e-mail; Andi Mann; Julie Craig; Mike Karp; and Dan Twing.
I do look forward to hearing from as many of you as possible. Stay in touch.
