Research / Roles
Operations
Research / Roles
Operations
Selected research for the IT operations manager
This section focuses on core research and methodologies that are particularly relevant to those responsible for IT operations.
Infrastructure
Managing Discussions About Price Increases in
IT Operations Agrements
How do factors such as rising hardware and software prices, labour costs, and energy prices affect the cost of IT infrastructure operations? In this article, we answer these questions by examining the mechanisms that drive market prices for IT operations services and guiding customers through a scenario in which a vendor announces a price increase.
Public cloud IaaS – price comparison
This article reviews the key factors and elements required to accurately compare IaaS pricing across different cloud providers.
Digital sovereignty: Plan B for infrastructure outsourcing
What should an organisation do if its current outsourcing provider suddenly becomes unable to deliver its services? In this article, we outline how to develop a contingency plan (Plan B) for outsourced IT infrastructure services. We also examine five specific scenarios, each with a different emphasis on risk management, business continuity, and financial implications.
Storage strategy
This article outlines a methodology for developing a procurement strategy for the storage needs of an organization.
Storage Capacity Analysis
Growing data volumes and rising storage costs make capacity planning a key IT financial issue. The article presents a method for analysing and forecasting storage requirements 3–5 years ahead and shows how this can be turned into a solid basis for decisions on budgeting, sourcing and infrastructure investments.
Operational optimisation
Optimizing T&M Agreements
The following methodology outlines how to optimize the framework for procuring consulting services on a “Time and Materials” basis.
Cloud
FinOps – financial management of public cloud IaaS
FinOps is a discipline focused on establishing financial governance, transparency, and accountability regarding enterprise spending in the public cloud. This article reviews the core FinOps principles for managing public cloud IaaS costs.
Public cloud IaaS – price comparison
This article reviews the key factors and elements required to accurately compare IaaS pricing across different cloud providers.
Security
Pricing models for purchasing dedicated operational security services
In this article, we provide an overview of the most common dedicated operational IT security services currently offered in the market – for example, SOC. We review what these services include and take a closer look at how they are typically priced, as well as the factors that influence unit prices.
Digital sovereignty: Plan B for infrastructure outsourcing
What should an organisation do if its current outsourcing provider suddenly becomes unable to deliver its services? In this article, we outline how to develop a contingency plan (Plan B) for outsourced IT infrastructure services. We also examine five specific scenarios, each with a different emphasis on risk management, business continuity, and financial implications.
The expensive terms: Special security requirements
Certain terms in IT operations service agreements significantly impact the total contract price. In particular, the inclusion of specific security requirements has a decisive effect on the final cost of the agreement.
Other relevant research
IT sourcing strategy
This article presents a comprehensive framework for developing an IT sourcing strategy.
Assessment of staffing needs in the IT department
In this article, we review how an IT organization can map and assess the IT department’s staffing in order to spot areas of understaffing.