4.it activities one pager

IT Act iv i ty

INDEX

1. Inventory Management/Asset Management/Audit

2. Mail/ Server Monitoring & Management

3. Backup & Restore Backup & DR Services

4. Software Deployment

5. Server Monitoring & Management

6.

7. Patch Management

8.

9. Anti Virus Management

10.

Exchange

Standard Operating Environment (SOE)

Virtualization Management

Active Directory Management

11. OS Upgrade

12. End Point Security Management

13. Hard Disk Optimization (Hard Disk Health Check)

Inventory Management/Asset Management/Audit

Definition:

How is it done in a real world scenario?

Implication on business: (Problem & Diagnostics)

How is it done in Automated Managed Services?

Inventory Management is the process of keeping a track of assets. computers desktops and Laptops along with software installed, network devices can be tracked and monitored periodically as a part of inventory management.

Each & every IT Asset information is collected manually & tracked using spread sheet like Excel.

Manual data collection is always error prone. Moreover, lack of visibility into one's assets cantranslate into financial loss to an organization.Tracking software inventory, License metering is a tedious processLack of proper data on assets may lead to wrong purchase decisions.Resource utilization efficiency will be low.

All the Asset information is available with a single dashboard.Any Changes in the Hardware configuration can be notified immediately.Software information details is automatically trackedAll the Network information can be tracked automatically.

Complete visibility on the IT infrastructure including Hardware, software and other devicesTracking of AMC, warranty information can be done automatically.No need to manually watch for thisinformation.Software inventory, effective usage of particular software can be tracked.Any change in hardware can be reported immediately, so that latest information is always available.

Benefits

Mail/Exchange Server ManagementMonitoring

Definition




Electronic mail is probably the most mission-critical application on the Internet today. Most businesses use email for communication with suppliers and customers - proposals, support requests, meetings are all scheduled over email, and any downtime, non-delivery, delayed delivery of e-mail can severely impact the business. And Mail Server/Exchange Server is responsible for uninterrupted delivery of e-mails. Exchange Server Management is a process of managing & monitoring the health of Exchange Mail Server and related processes to ensure uninterrupted e-mail operation for end users.

Exchange server critical services, SMTP Queue , response time and mailbox size related processesare monitored. CPU consumption, unusual activity etc is also checked. Management of this is donemanually either by taking physical control of the Exchange Server or using Remote Control.

Since most of the exchange server issues are detected, once the issues begin to crop up & are reportedby the end users, management of exchange server heavily revolves around a break-fix activity.

Impact on business continuity because of not receiving or sending e-mails on time. Exchange server downtime causes disruption in communication within the organization. This leads todelays in business critical e-mails being sent and received thereby impacting an organizationnegatively. A few hours of downtime can translate to a huge monetary loss, customer dissatisfaction,as well as put majority of workforce to inconvenienceTakes long time to find the root cause of a problem & hence longer downtime.

Exchange server critical services and processes are monitored using theAdvanced Monitoring and automated remediation services. Thus, theIT administrator can monitor for deviations in performance ofcritical services, pre-set auto repair/auto remediation stepsand minimize manual intervention on the part of the systemIT administration staff.The Exchange server is proactively monitored, preventive steps are enforced & corrective actions are performed automatically. For example, the Queue is monitored and clogs can be cleared by automatically deleting the email that has caused the clogs.

Ensures Mail/Exchange server is up and functional up to 99% of the time!

Increases the efficiency and uptime which translates to valuable savings of time and money spent in fire fighting ofemail related issu User satisfaction isvery high and productivity of ITdepartment personnel is enhanced.

Benefits

Backup & Restore Backup & DR Services

Definition




A plan for duplicating computer operations so as prepare proactively in an eventuality of data loss that can be triggered after a catastrophe e.g. a fire outbreak or earthquake. It includes routine off-site backup as well as a procedure for activating vital information systems in a new location.

The IT Staff ensures that critical server data is backed up onto Disk/ Tape drives. Organization criticaldata that is stored on severs , shared drives and shared folders too is backed up to the Disk / TapeDrivesBacking up of data on user computers is usually the responsibility of the users and IT administrationsinvolvement here if any is limited.

Absence of a centralized Administrators console leaves room for errors and there is high possibilityof the data backup process not being efficiently carried out.Most common yet overlooked instances of data loss, damage etc that can happen in the end usersenvironment is not taken into consideration. And being unprepared can cause the company as well as the end user loss of precious time, money and effort, in an eventuality the data loss or the asset isdamaged.

First and Foremost this critical activity is integrated into the Virtual Administrators console fromwhere the IT Administration team can have complete visibility over all IT Critical activities. Througha highly intuitive interface, incremental backups as well as complete backups are scheduledand made to run automatically at specific times. Offsite replication too isscheduled and all this happens seamlessly in the background. Backup procedures are configured to ensure that end users data is alsoprotected. Critical system files, registry changes, vital documentsand folders all of them are automatically backed up to ensure anunparalleled user experience in terms of security and alsopeace of mind.

Data backup The lifeline of every organization is tightly integrated, completely automated and secured and is a part of the Administrators console.

From Servers to end-users all of the data backup activities, logging, storage, offsite transfer and retrieval is done with minimal stress to the IT Team and minimal risk to the organization. Automation ensures that errors due to human and physical intervention are completely cut down

Benefits

Software Distribution:

Definition




Installation of software is the act of putting the program onto a computer system. The requisite process varies for each software and each computer.

The IT Staff or the user installs the software from CD, the internet, a file share etcIT Staff actively involve themselves in getting this task done either physically or taking control of each and every machine remotely. Both methods are break-fix.During the installation of the software at some point or the other there will be human intervention (in 99% cases) without which it is not possible to successfully install the application

Consistency of the entire process cannot be guaranteed. In a big organization that might mean different version of the software is installed thereby making it difficult to maintain a consistentsoftware environment.Software installation poses its own set of challenges and hurdles. Wastage in terms of time of the ITStaff as well as the end user impact the IT organizations productivity. Other critical IT activities canbe impacted or the attention of the IT Administration might be diverted from other more criticalactivities like Server Management, Backup and Disaster Recovery, Network Management etc. Human intervention before, during and after the installation process introduces an element ofuncertainty and inconsistency to the entire installation process. For e.g. many a times certainimportant features of Microsoft office are not checked during installation as a result, the samesoftware Installation across the organization might vary depending on which IT staff installed theapplication. In large organizations Software and License keys might be compromised with.

The entire software deployment process across the organization isautomated, seamless, highly configurable yet consistent, secure and least intrusiveMinimal involvement of IT Staff and their precious time.Deployment is done through a central Virtual SystemAdministrator and can be scheduled, staggered andmanaged in a multitude of waysCopies of the Software and the Licenses are securelystored

Huge Savings of time. Up to 90% of the software installations are completely automated and involve minimal to zero user intervention IT staff can concentrate on other more important tasks. Software consistency across the organization, check on the number of licenses used as well as prevention of leakage of the same.

Benefits

Server Monitoring & Management

Definition:




Servers play a very critical role in an organization. As the name implies, servers serve by providing services and there are a variety of critical servers- Web Server, Application Servers, Mail Servers, Proxy Server, Telnet Server to name a few. Server Monitoring & Management includes monitoring of the critical parameters of servers like CPU, Memory Usage, related services and processes, applications, event logs, hardware parameters etc, to ensure good server health & performance

Servers are managed using tools specifically developed for the particular type of Server. Dependingon the number of different servers in an organization the tools required to manage the servers willalso varyWhen any inconsistency is noticed or a degradation in performance is noticed the IT team decides totake a call. Else management is pretty much the same, swing into the action the minute an issue isdetected

IT acitivity related to server management is very complex and decentralization of the managementactivities take a toll on the performance of both the IT Staff as well as the server.There is a direct impact on business continuity in an eventuality of server failure or malfunction andthis can cause considerable loss to the organizaton

Server management services in the AMS provides a centralized solution- a single pane of glass toall server specific requirements that range from monitoring processes, applications andservices to auto remediating issues, so as to mimimize the workload on systemadministrators.The AMS way guarantees that server failures will be minimized andtotally eradicated, thanks to the proactive management of servicesand applications.

Server Management will become one

integrated activity as the IT Administrators

have a central console where in they will be

able to monitor, track and manage all their

servers

Ensures more than 99% server uptime with

complete visibility into the functioning, health

and status of each and every server increases

the efficiency and uptime. Reduces the

chances of data loss & load on IT staff. User

satisfaction. High productivity of manpower.

Benefits

Maintaining Standard Operating Environment (SOE)

Definition




A standard Operating Environment is of vital importance since it facilitates better manageability of the endpoints by

ensuring a consistent environment across the organization.

Since SOE encompasses a plethora of services its enforcement varies from organization to organization, however

given the nature of activity, most of SOE related tasks and enforcement require fairly high involvement of human

resources. Given below are a few activities related to enforcing SOE

Ensuring that Software version control is in place and only approved softwares are installed in the network

Enforcing security measures by manually disabling USB access, CD Drive access etc

Configuring and enforcing user restrictions

Maintaining and monitoring hardware with uniform configuration settings ( includes driver updates , Bios

upgrades etc)

Challenging task is tracking of Software versions in use and controlling software updates, to ensure that

recommended version is not automatically upgraded

User over-riding or malfunction of enforced security measures can negatively impact the organization

Highly human resource intensive

Tracking changes in hardware/software a challenging task

Recommended Software is remotely deployed and version control is enforced

Proactive monitoring 24 by 7 ensures that every security policy remains enforced and a

Breach if any, is immediately notified to the concerned administrator

Configuring and Enforcing user restrictions is a one time process, after which

it is automatically applied to all endpoints in the network

Hardware changes are immediately notified. Driver updates can be

automatically applied to all concerned endpoints.

) Complete visibility and control overone’s environmentMinimizes the load on the ITAdministration staff.Significant reductions in the TotalCost of Ownership (TCO) as well asprovides a framework for IT staff toeffectively support and implementthe company's IT fleet with minimalend user intervention.

Benefits

Patch Management

Definition


Implication on business: (Problem and Diagnostics)


A patch is a piece of software designed to fix application related issues, update a computer program or it's supporting data to enhance its usability and user experience. Patch management involves automating the task of monitoring and deploying patches to ensure that all applications with patches and updates are immediately patched.

With Microsoft centric automatic updates the onus of updating lies on the individual user alerted by pop-up advising him to update the system. For other Software's it is a painstaking task to keep checking for new updates and ensuring that patches are updated. It's a well known fact that less than 5 % of the users actually patches (update) their system on regular basis.

Predominantly Microsoft Centric patching is carried out using the basic inbuilt Patch Update Service or through a centralized patching application. Other applications are patched more inconsistently

Inconsistent patch updates are the doorway to poor system performance, security threats andvulnerabilities. Inconsistency is primarily due to the high level of manual intervention required and user typically avoids it. Business critical applications and services if not patched will affect end user experience therebyaffecting productivity.

AMS ensures each and every end point is always updated with the latest patchesautomatically and without any human intervention via the inbuilt patch engine.Business critical applications and other essential software can beautomatically patched, updated and monitored to ensure consistencyacross the entire organization.

A fully compliant and patched software environment is consistently maintained ensuring that all the systems on the network are secure and protected.Business critical applications runsmoothly and efficiently, minimizingdowntime, application crashes andenhancing user productivity.Ensures patch (update) of other businesscritical non-Microsoft software.

Benefits

Virtualization Management

Definition




Virtualization Management aims at eliminating the blind spots resulting from virtualization. It enables the system administrator to have visibility into the performance of the physical server as well access to complete information regarding the Virtual environment that includes the number of Virtual Machines hosted, their OS, disk and memory allocated to each of the VMs and their utilization.

Most of the Virtualization softwares have their own set of proprietary virtual management tools andit is with these tools that Virtual Management is done. All VM Management activities are carriedout using a console that comes with the software which the IT admin needs to be logged in to.Depending on the requirements of the organization Virtualization related investments are done andVMs are setup to address the requirements.

Free VM management tools have limited options. And the paid ones have an interface and thoughpowerful doesn't address the IT Admins main concern - A central management console. ThereforeVirtualization Management can become a daunting task.Poor visibility into ones Virtual Environment is the major reason as to why many IT Companieseither over invest and underutilize their Virtualization Servers or fail to realize that they haveinadvertently caused degradation in Virtualization Services due to improper utilization ,configuration, allocation of resources and management of their Virtual environment/servers.

With centralized management console and a dashboard, the IT Staff will have allinformation regarding the virtual environment at their fingertips.The administrator can through Virtual System Administration Consoleconstantly monitor and track the performance of his Virtualizationhardware and software. Based on the powerful dashboard, reports and console -Capacity planning and budgeting can be effectivelyexecuted with minimal wastage

Efficient System Administration,enhanced user experience, reduction inVM performance issues, higheravailability of Virtual server are some ofthe benfits of having a centralizedVirtualization Monitoring , alerting andreporting capability, by integratingVirtual System Administration consolewith the Virtualization Managementtools that are commonly used.Ability to also go beyond merevirtualization and take decisionspertaining to capacity management andbudgeting for maximizing utilization andsavings.

Benefits

Antivirus Management

Definition




Involves the Installation of Antivirus software, updating the virus definition files, monitoring and scanning for virus activity and virus signatures and most importantly being able to handle a virus issue by taking appropriate remediation steps.

Antivirus software is installed and then either the user takes the onus of ensuring that it runs well ormanagement is done from a centralized antivirus consoleAntivirus definition files are updated through the auto update feature of the antivirus software.Antivirus software scanning preferences presets are used or the IT staff personally ensures that thesettings have been enforced on all the endpoints.Infected systems are quarantined, taken off the network and what follows is a lengthy data backup,repair and restoration process

Since this is just one another activity that the IT staff has to do - enforcing , managing and schedulingantivirus scans is a big challenge.Failing of auto-update and the inability of the IT Staff to track it can again compromise the enduserssystem . Also disabling of certain preset settings by users for eg- On access scanning of pendrives,media cards etc could once again expose the individual user as well as the network to security threatThe damage to the quarantined infected system and the impact of damage done cannot be easilyassessed

An integrated Centralized console makes Antivirus monitoring just one ofthe other activities that the IT staff has to address. AV-Softwareinstallations are automated and all the actions are tracked from acentral console.Antivirus definition files are automatically updated andtracked leaving no room for error. All of the Antivirussoftware services , settings and presets are locked andmonitored. Any change is automatically reverted and reported. Options for the user to manipulate antivirussoftware settings are ruled out. Infected systems would be auto-quarantined ! Source of infection and be backtracked andAppropriate meaningful alerts would also besent to the concerned IT staff.

Automation on this front ensures that a lot of manual work is cut down. Policing is also not necessary and userexperience is very good.Liberates the user and IT staff fromtaking the responsibility of regularlychecking for or approving updates ofvirus definition files24x7 Monitoring rules out thepossibility of any outbreak within theorganization.

Benefits

Active Directory Management

Definition




Active Directory technology is Microsoft proprietary suite of network services that helps in managing a large Organizations network by creating and defining a structure , a hierarchy, setting roles and access rights of users and having a centralized management console to monitor, track and manage multiple users on the AD network. Active Directory (AD) Management is a process of running an AD and related services smoothly efficiently & without any downtime.

AD Management includes activities like creating/deleting or enabling/disabling user accounts forend user logon to PC. This is done either through physical access to the AD Server or through RemoteControl.Monitoring of AD server resources and health of AD and related services running on the server.Enforcing of end user security policy and managing the policies for the user.Linux and Mac users would be exempted from joining Active Directory

Lack of visibility and control over AD Management.AD downtime directly impacts the productivity of the Organization. When AD is down, affectedusers will not be able to log in to the system or will face issues while working on their systems. Insuch situations finding the root cause can be time consuming and could thereby impact the businessas well as user experience- thereby affecting the productivity.Mobile users cannot be monitored or managed using Active Directory.

Users using heterogeneous OS cannot be integrated into Active Directory.

Virtual System Administrator Console tightly integrates with AD. Single Signon is possible for all users and every AD task can be managed from a centralized console.AD and related services, processes are constantly monitored andauto-remediated leaving no room for failure.For mobile users, auto integration into the AD and togglingbetween local group policy and central AD that haveconsistent rules, rights and permissions makes it easierfor the IT Admins to secure , manage and enforcecompliance.Users using heterogeneous OS can be made a partof AD and single sign on can be assigned to them. Thereby this automated tool transcendsthe barriers of AD, Group Policies and evenOperating Systems.

Centralized Administration and Management Console.

Benefits

OS Upgrade

Definition:




Once in every few years a new OS is released with newer features and functionality. OS Upgrade helps an organization to use the existing hardware and upgrade the OS so that the newer features can be utilized for the benefit of the organization

In real world scenario OS Upgrade is a manual process and requires high degree of human intervention. CDs or DVDs of the new OS are used to upgrade the workstation or server from an older version to the newer version.

Upgrading OS on a few thousand systems at a time can be quite time consuming. The system administrator needs to manually configure as well as install applications, assess the impact of the upgrade and check if the new OS is performing well. Some or all of these activities can also directly impact the end-users time, performance and experience.

A central Virtual System Administration Server will be instrumental in configuring as well as automating the up gradation of the OS from a centralized location. Only those systems that are fit for the upgrade would be upgraded and the rest would be left untouched. An OS upgrade report would give the Administrator visibility into the Up-gradation Status

Due to the minimal human intervention a lot of time would be saved and due to the intelligent up-gradation

a lot of issues due to Hardware and OS

mismatch would be proactively avoided.

Benefits

End Point Security Management

Definition:




End Point Security Management encompasses the gamut of security steps and procedures that are put into place to ensure that servers as well as workstations in a network computing environment are protected and secure

Security Management is done in a decentralized way using Active Directory, Firewall, and Content Filter etc.

Inefficient Security Management impacts servers, workstations & critical network devices sometimes causing loss of data, data theft, vulnerability to virus and Trojan infection, intrusion attempts and also causing network & application failures.

A central console gives the administrator the visibility and power at his fingertips to perform End to end security management using pre defined procedures and tools to monitor, auto-remediate and enforce security policies. Moreover these policies can be monitored, reinforced & reported for better control over devices connected and managed over the network.

The entire network in the organization will be

Secure and Protected. This will minimize the

workload on IT staff and maximize end user

Experience.

Benefits

Hard Disk Optimization (Hard Disk Health Check)

Definition:




Hard Disk Optimization is an IT Process of improving hard disk performance significantly & keeping Hard Disk free from physical damage.

Following are the some of the activities those are manually performed on each & every Hard Disk to keep them healthy-

Lack of automation in Hard Disk maintenance activities introduces user intervention & slowness in the complete optimization process which makes it very difficult for the IT Admin to manage & optimize bulk of Hard Disks. Also tracking the status of Optimization Actions taken on the Hard Disks & reporting them is a difficult task.

In automated managed Services a Central AMS System creates & stores a set of predefined automation instructions. Using this Automation Set it manages many end points simultaneously to perform multiple Hard Disk optimization tasks & track their status. This Automation Set can be scheduled to start to minimize the end point performance issues & user intervention as well. Since the Central AMS System tracks each & every Performance Activity it can present the status of any activity at any given point of time.

Defragment

Check for Disk Errors

Clean up Unnecessary Files and Optimize the Recycle Bin

Stop Hibernation

Convert to NTFS

Create More Space For the Master File Table

Disable Date and Time Stamp Updating

No User Intervention, Faster Service, No

Performance issues, Reporting & Tracking

Benefits

Documents

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