Outsourcing Toolkit

Outsourcing will bite in 2004

Published: 30 Dec 2003 13:20 GMT

On demand & SOA
This year has been a defining year for on-demand, utility computing, adaptive infrastructure -- or whatever you want to call it. According to Mark Linesch, Hewlett-Packard's vice president of adaptive enterprise programs, the concept is about "establishing a tighter, more dynamic link between the business and its IT infrastructure."

Now that's a noble goal. Every vendor and consultant talks about aligning technology and business, with business taking the driver's seat. But bridging the gap between the business and IT sides is more of cultural than a technological issue. Currently, the tools for bridging the gap are inadequate. A business person's vision is not easily translated, or programmed, into machine language today. On-demand computing isn't going to fix that problem, but it can lower the cost to deliver and maintain an IT solution.

In 2004, on demand and its brethren will continue to dominate the high-level conversations about strategic directions for IT and business. On demand can be pay-as-you-go pricing (utility computing) or a comprehensive blueprint for automating the data centre. Whatever form it takes, the concepts will continue to evolve in 2004 with new products and initiatives to bring new levels of efficiency through a wide variety of technologies.

During the coming year, I predict, the term "automation" will become more important than utility, on demand or any other moniker that purports to addresses the most significant concerns of enterprises. Underlying the initiatives from Sun, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, Oracle, HP and other vendors is end-to-end services that automate tasks. A computer is far more error-free and efficient than humans for performing repetitive tasks (as long as the program logic is correct). 2004 will be another year of laying the foundations for automation, providing an infrastructure to support automated configuration, patch management, provisioning and perimeter security. Similarly, you can expect progress in systems that are self-managing and healing.

Given the tangle of legacy systems and the complexity of most IT shops, progress in 2004 and beyond will be incremental without a major bulldozing effort. Given the long road ahead to automating IT, the New Year is a good time to develop an enterprise-wide strategic plan if you haven't already.