麦肯锡05年2月最新报告：管理下一代的IT基础架构

1Managingnext-generationITinfrastructureThedaysofbuildingtoorderareover.Thetimeisripeforanindustrialrevolution.JamesM.Kaplan,MarkusLöffler,andRogerP.RobertsTheMcKinseyQuarterly,Webexclusive,February2005Inrecentyears,companieshaveworkedhardtoreducethecostoftheITinfrastructure—thedatacenters,networks,databases,andsoftwaretoolsthatsupportbusinesses.Theseeffortstoconsolidate,standardize,andstreamlineassets,technologies,andprocesseshavedeliveredmajorsavings.Yeteventhemosteffectivecost-cuttingprogrameventuallyhitsawall:thecomplexityoftheinfrastructureitself.Therootcauseofthiscomplexityisthebuild-to-ordermind-settraditionalinmostITorganizations.Thetypicalinfrastructuremayseemtobehightechbutactuallyresemblesanold-fashionedautomobile:handmadebyanexpertcraftspersonandcustomizedtothespecificationsofanindividualcustomer.Todayanapplicationdevelopertypicallyspecifiestheexactserverconfigurationforeachapplicationandtheinfrastructuregroupfulfillsthatrequest.Theresult:thousandsofapplicationsilos,eachwithitsowncustom-configuredhardware,andajumbleofoftenincompatibleassetsthatgreatlylimitacompany'sflexibilityandtimetomarket.Sinceeachservermaybeconfiguredtomeetanapplication'speakdemand,whichisrarelyattained,vastamountsofexpensivecapacitysitunusedacrosstheinfrastructureatanygiventime.Moreover,applicationsaretightlylinkedtoindividualserversandstoragedevices,sotheexcesscapacitycan'tbeshared.Now,however,technologicaladvances—combinedwithnewskillsandmanagementpractices—allowcompaniestoshedthisbuild-to-orderapproach.Adecadeintothechallengingtransitiontodistributedcomputing,infrastructuregroupsaremanagingclient-serverandWeb-centeredarchitectureswithgrowingauthority.Companiesareadoptingstandardizedapplicationplatformsanddevelopmentlanguages.Andtoday'shigh-performanceprocessors,storageunits,andnetworksensurethatinfrastructureelementsrarelyneedhand-tuningtomeettherequirementsofapplications.Inresponsetothesechanges,someleadingcompaniesarebeginningtoadoptanentirelynewmodelofinfrastructuremanagement—moreoff-the-shelfthanbuild-to-order.Insteadofspecifyingthehardwareandtheconfigurationneededforabusinessapplication(Ineedthisparticularmaker,model,andconfigurationformynetwork-attachedstoragebox...),developersspecifyaservicerequirement(Ineedstoragewithhigh-speedscalability...);ratherthanbuildingsystemstoorder,infrastructuregroupscreateportfoliosofproductized,reusableservices.Streamlined,automatedprocessesandtechnologiescreateafactorythatdeliverstheseproductsinoptimalfashion(Exhibit1).Asproductordersrollin,afactorymanagermonitorstheinfrastructureforcapacity-planningandsourcingpurposes.2Withthismodel,fillinganITrequirementisratherlikeshoppingbycatalog.Adeveloperwhoneedsastorageproduct,forinstance,choosesfromaportfolioofoptions,eachdescribedbyservicelevel(suchasspeed,capacity,oravailability)andpricedaccordingtotheinfrastructureassetsconsumed(say,$7amonthforagigabyteofmanagedstorage).Thesystem'stransparencyhelpsbusinessusersunderstandhowdemanddrivestheconsumptionandcostofresources.Companiesthatmakethetransitiongainbigbusinessbenefits.Byreducingcomplexity,eliminatingredundantactivity,andboostingtheutilizationofassets,theycanmaketheirinfrastructure20to30percentmoreproductive—ontopofthebenefitfrompreviousefficiencyefforts—therebyprovidingfargreateroutputandflexibility.Evenlargersavingscanbeachievedbyusinglow-cost,commodityassetswhenpossible.Developersnolongermustspecifyanapplication'stechnicalunderpinningsandcanthereforefocusonworkthatdeliversgreaterbusinessvalue;thenewmodelimprovestimestomarketfornewapplications.Nevertheless,makingthistransitioncallsformajororganizationalchanges.Applicationdevelopersmustbecomeadeptatforecastingandmanagingdemandsothat,inturn,infrastructuregroupscanmanagecapacitymoretightly.Infrastructuregroupsmustdevelopnewcapabilitiesinproductmanagementandpricingaswellasintroducenewtechnologiessuchasgridcomputingandvirtualization.1AsforCIOs,theymustputinplaceanewmodelofgovernancetomanagethenewinfrastructureorganization.TheroadforwardDeutscheTelekomknowsfirsthandthechallengesinvolved:over18months,hopingtobalanceITsupplyanddemand,itimplementedthisnewinfrastructure-managementmodelattwodivisions(seesidebar,3Next-generationinfrastructureatDeutscheTelekom).Intheolddays,thecompany'sITinfrastructure,likemost,wasalandscapeofapplicationsilos.Todayaccurateforecastsofuserdemandarecritical,sonewlymintedproductmanagersmusttakeahorizontalview,acrossapplications,toassessthetotalneedsofthebusinessandcreatetherightproducts.Theymustthenworkcloselywithinfrastructureteamstoalignsupply—infrastructureassetssuchashardware,software,andstorage—withdemand.Inthepast,employeesoftheinfrastructurefunctionwereordertakers.Now,theycanbemoreentrepreneurial,choosingthemixofhardware,software,andtechnologythatoptimizestheinfrastructure.Tokeepcostslow,theycanphaseingridsoflow-endservers,cheaperstoragedisks,andothercommodityresources.Factorymanagersnowfocusonautomatingandindustrializingproduction.AlthoughDeutscheTelekom'stwodivisionsdidn'tradicallychangetheirorganizationalorr