1 Understanding of enterprise IT management mission
On the basis of fully understanding and integrating the management strategy of enterprises, the advanced management ideas and information technology are used to promote the reform and development of enterprises; Establish a first-class IT infrastructure that meets the needs of enterprises, rapidly improve their IT capabilities and application level, and meet the needs of their future development strategies. Therefore, establishing an efficient IT operation management system is the primary task. Generally speaking, the basic definition of IT operation management should include the following contents:
The basic principles of IT operation management: it should be the basic guide for the IT operation management system of enterprise groups;
IT operation management strategy: to determine the basic principles and starting points of various IT activities of enterprise groups;
IT operation management organization: define the authorization and responsibilities of various information technology activities of enterprise groups;
IT operation management process: define the process of information technology activities to ensure efficient operation;
IT operation resources and skill management: provide the skill resources needed for enterprise IT management and operation;
Operation and maintenance of IT operation system: ensure the cost efficiency and operability of enterprise IT operation system services.
2 Basic principles of IT operation management
The basic principles of IT operation management refer to the basic policies and guiding principles put forward to strengthen the strategic execution ability of enterprises in information technology. According to the characteristics of information technology development and the development needs of enterprise informatization, its basic principle framework should be composed of seven parts:
general policy
Strategic integration: information technology factors need to penetrate into the formulation of enterprise strategy;
Business partnership: enterprise IT will establish partnership with business users to understand and realize the business objectives of the enterprise;
IT projects should be regarded as investment: information technology projects should be regarded as an investment, and it should be based on supporting business needs;
Customer-centric: information management should be based on service level, with the focus on meeting the needs of business departments;
Configuration of IT components: IT should conform to IT architecture and IT standards;
Enjoy IT resources: IT resources should be regarded as an asset of the enterprise, and every employee of the enterprise has the responsibility and obligation to use and protect these assets correctly;
Communication between IT strategy and planning: IT strategy and planning should be effectively communicated within enterprise groups.
Information organization and process
Skilled and professional work team: maintain a skilled and professional work team to manage the whole structure to ensure the achievement of business objectives, and the business department participates in the management of the information department organizationally;
Management of strategy and planning: in order to adapt to changes in business and technology, it is necessary to regularly review and improve the effectiveness of strategy, planning, management and information service objectives;
Process and responsibility: Process and responsibility should be clearly defined.
Technical management
Using technological innovation: actively carry out technological innovation to enhance the core competitiveness of enterprises;
Use of industry standards: when there are corresponding industry standards and they can meet the business needs involved, the corresponding industry standards should be adopted;
Role of Internet technology: Internet/Intranet/LAN technology should be considered when providing future application systems and services.
IT operation service management
In the future, enterprises will pay more and more attention to the application of information technology hardware and software, that is, the concentration of physical and business logic. In this highly centralized mode, the definition of information center has also changed accordingly. From the organizational level, the information management organization transforms the IT department of an enterprise from a cost center to a service center; From the specific IT operation level, IT is not a traditional function-centered IT management model, but a process-centered, managing complex IT management activities, such as accident management, problem management, configuration management, etc., standardizing and standardizing these processes, and clearly defining the objectives and scope, costs and benefits, operation steps, key success factors and performance indicators, responsibilities and rights of relevant personnel and the relationship between each process. Its fundamental goal is embodied in:
(1) Provide business-oriented information services;
(2) provide high-quality and low-cost services;
(3) The services provided can be accurately priced when necessary.
data
Data collection: each data will only be collected once in the time and place where the enterprise just appeared, and then shared throughout the enterprise;
Data distribution: data distribution should meet the requirements of integrity and applicability, and should also consider data capacity, data demand, network capability and data security;
Data dictionary: there should be a company-wide data definition, which can be accessed and followed by all applications in the enterprise;
Data * * * Enjoy: An application should * * enjoy the existing data unless it must insist on meeting special security and integrity requirements;
Data ownership: each information unit needs to specify an owner, who is responsible for defining the usage rules and protection rules of data;
Data quality: All data can be obtained in approximate frequency, and the storage time depends on time. It should also be verified through the standard verification process to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the data.
application system
User requirements: all application systems must be adopted or designed according to the user's business requirements and approved by the business sponsor;
Public evaluation criteria: all application systems (including software packages) in the enterprise will be evaluated by a set of public evaluation criteria;
Introduction and management: adopt standard software packages. For the introduction of new application system suppliers, it is necessary to establish corresponding control strategies and systems, and it is suggested to focus on international leading standard software packages.
network
External connection: the network must make external connection more convenient;
Industry standards: Industry standards will be used for internal and external communication;
Single logical network: in practice, there will be only one logical network to provide applications and data access for each interconnected system;
Internet technology: Enterprise network supports Internet technology.
systems management
Service level management: resources will be selected, allocated and managed to meet the service level objectives of the business;
Performance and capacity management: the design of the solution should be convenient for performance and capacity management;
Safety and convenience management: safety measures should be comprehensive, but should not prevent users from completing their work;
Availability management: according to the service level agreement reached in advance, users should be able to obtain the required resources anytime and anywhere;
Disaster recovery plan: the ability to recover key business functions from disasters, in order of importance.
3 IT operation management strategy
When considering the future IT management system of an enterprise, the first thing we need to know is the IT management strategy of the future enterprise. IT management strategy is to provide some basic principles for the rational distribution and combination of various management functions, businesses and resources inside and outside the company and between management and business units at all levels, so as to ensure the realization of enterprise IT mission and fully optimize the cost and efficiency objectives.
IT management operation mode
When analyzing the enterprise's IT management strategy, we are based on the IT management operation model shown in the figure below. The model has been applied in many large international companies with mature IT technology and achieved good results.
On this basis, the operation mode of enterprise IT management, combined with the actual situation of the enterprise itself, the enterprise IT mission, positioning and strategic choice, and the future development mode, rationally allocates and combines various management functions, businesses and resources between the group and all ownership companies and between external affiliated units.
Internal/external allocation strategy selection
Business outsourcing has become an important trend in the operation of excellent enterprises around the world, especially the outsourcing of IT business. By using external resources, enterprises' IT operations can reduce costs and risks and focus more on their core competitiveness. We need to consider the IT management strategy more specifically to ensure the success of this strategy.
The principle of considering internal and external distribution is to distinguish the strategic value of enterprises according to IT management functions and business. Management functions and businesses that can have a significant impact on the strategic interests of enterprises, including basic principles, strategies, standards, planning, architecture, user needs, etc. , should be regarded as the key ability of the enterprise, and external resources can be introduced to provide related consulting services. The management functions and businesses that have little to do with the company's core competitiveness, including scheme implementation, provision of operational services, IT services and solution support, IT assets and infrastructure management, can be considered for internal management or outsourcing according to the comparison of internal and external advantages in efficiency, cost and resources.
Selection of centralized/decentralized control strategy
It mainly includes two aspects:
Planning, control and standards
Resources, including human resources, technical resources and software and hardware resources.
According to the different considerations of centralized control or decentralized control in the above two aspects, four optional strategies can be formed as shown in the following figure:
Through the previous analysis, we can see that the current enterprise IT management is mostly a way of "decentralized resources and decentralized control". This is the key factor that causes many problems in the company's current information system, which can no longer meet the needs of the future development of enterprises. Enterprises need to make new choices according to their actual situation and the best practices of information management today.
The centralized management and control of IT resources can be appropriately improved by balancing economies of scale and ensuring fast and effective support for the needs of business users. That is, in terms of IT management strategy, the transformation is as shown in the following figure:
Suggestions on information management strategy
Enterprises need to centrally manage and control information technology systems, standards and infrastructure to ensure the realization of the requirements of enterprises for future information systems in terms of cost efficiency, interoperability and support for key business processes;
Application systems and related infrastructure involving major business processes of enterprise groups and public enterprises, including data centers and public networks, are centrally built, managed and controlled by the group;
Independent application systems that meet the special business needs of specific business units, personal office software running on PCs, information system terminals such as PCs and printers, and local area networks, which are run by the information centers of various ownership companies under the unified standards and norms of enterprise groups;
Considering the scale benefit and the effectiveness of management, it is suggested that the concentration should be appropriately increased under the existing model. When implementing and building a unified information management platform for enterprises, the enterprise group information center should be established to complete the corresponding management and maintenance functions.
4 IT operation management mode and organizational structure
Management organization structure
According to the mission and direction of enterprise IT, the status of the future information management organization should be improved so that it can become:
Fully grasp the company's strategy, objectives, decision-making, operation and other necessary information;
Have sufficient authority to perform functions, ensure the close integration of information technology and company strategy, and promote the construction and application of informatization;
Be able to fully communicate and cooperate with other functional departments and business departments so that information technology can support business objectives;
Process and IT technology: closely combine the construction of information system with the combing and optimization of business process, so as to make the system construction change from technology-driven to business-driven, and truly play the leverage role of supporting business operation, thus bringing maximum benefits to enterprises;
Formulate and implement IT architecture standards and specifications, so that enterprise groups (including ownership companies) can run on an efficient IT platform;
The separation of project implementation and information system operation support enables the information management department to better play the role of inspection and checks and balances.
Combined with the previous analysis of enterprise information organization management strategy and operation mode, the setting of enterprise information management organization in the future is shown in the following figure:
Informatization Committee
As the initiator of enterprise information technology business, the non-permanent organization composed of functional departments under the leadership of the group president and the head of the ownership company undertakes the following functions:
To examine and approve the strategies and plans for informatization construction and business process optimization of the Group;
To examine and approve plans for information system construction and business process optimization, determine the key points of business process optimization and information system construction projects, and provide the required funds and business resources;
Review and evaluate the benefits and risks of information system construction;
Monitor the risks and benefits of enterprise informatization construction, and coordinate and make decisions on major issues.
Chief information officer
It is suggested that the position should be held by someone who has the thinking of enterprise strategic development, can coordinate as a whole and give enough decision-making power. As the executors and managers of the enterprise group's information strategy, the vice-presidents are also the deputy directors of the Information Committee, and undertake the following functions:
Ensure that the operation of information system is closely integrated with the company's strategic objectives;
Commercial value of management information system. Check the operation status and information system support of each business process of the group (including the ownership company), promote the communication and cooperation between the information department and the business department/unit, and ensure that the value of the information system is recognized by the business department/unit of the enterprise;
Determine the company's information system management norms, put forward the information strategy and technology application direction to the Information Committee, and ensure the service and support of the information system to the business;
Manage the company's information technology infrastructure and resources, examine and approve the company's information technology policies, systems, processes and standards, and adjust the information organization and important external cooperation.
Promote and monitor the implementation of the information system and business process projects of the group (including the ownership company), specifically monitor the operation level of the information system of the enterprise group, and report to the Information Commission and the group president.
Group information center
As the core department of information management, it implements the application of information system construction under the leadership of information director, ensures the combination of information system and strategy, supports business objectives, and improves the competitiveness of enterprises through process optimization. The functions undertaken can be divided into four parts: plan control, process management, project management and operation supervision. According to the specific situation of the enterprise, each part can be set as a project team, and the members of the project team can be concurrently held by the heads of relevant departments or business backbones. For example, the strategic development department can participate in the planning control project team, and the human resources department can participate in the process management project team. The specific responsibilities of each part are as follows:
1, plan control
Confirm business requirements with business departments/units * * *, formulate enterprise information system plans and plans, put forward suggestions on the priority of related information system construction and business process management projects, and report them to the Information Director and the Information Committee;
Track the development of information technology and related management experience, ensure the formulation and implementation of enterprise group information system planning, and serve to improve the company's competitiveness;
Timely formulate and update rules, regulations, standards and processes related to information system and business process management, report them to the Chief Information Officer and the Information Commission for promulgation, and supervise their implementation;
Manage the enterprise's information system architecture to ensure the requirements of information system in terms of cost-effectiveness, interoperability and ability to support key business processes;
Review the information system construction scheme and procurement within the group (including the ownership company), provide basis for the decision-making of the Information Committee, and ensure compliance with relevant architecture standards and rules and regulations;
Certification and evaluation management of external information technology suppliers to ensure that external information system suppliers implement the relevant framework standards and rules and regulations of the Group;
Monitor IT skills and resources in the whole group, provide guarantee for realizing the IT mission and objectives of the company, and make suggestions to the Information Committee on the development and introduction of relevant skills and resources.
2. Process management
Participate in the company's information system planning and planning, and be responsible for the scheme, feasibility and resource requirements of business process optimization projects in planning and planning;
Track the technical development and management experience related to business processes, and promote the effective dissemination of relevant knowledge and skills throughout the group;
Participate in the formulation of rules, regulations, standards and processes related to business process management of the Group (including affiliated companies);
Participate in monitoring business process optimization.
3. Project management
Participate in the company's information system planning and planning, and be responsible for the scheme, feasibility and resource requirements of the planned information system construction projects;
Manage or coordinate enterprise information system construction projects, and be responsible for the objectives, progress, cost and quality of the projects. Supervise the information construction projects of all ownership companies;
Responsible for the external procurement of all approved group-level information system construction projects. As well as software and hardware selection and project implementation management.
4. Operation supervision
Negotiate with business departments and internal and external operation service providers to determine service levels and standards;
Participate in the information system planning and planning of the Group, and be responsible for the operation service level and standard requirements of the planned and planned information system construction projects;
According to the pre-established standards, check and accept the completed information system projects to ensure that the future operation of the system meets the relevant management standards and service level requirements;
Monitor the service and technical support of internal and external operation service providers to reach the set level and standard, and coordinate and solve related problems;
Manage and monitor the Group's IT assets and infrastructure to meet the requirements of corresponding service levels and standards, and ensure the long-term security of the Group's IT operation services;
Under the mechanism of service management, ensure that the services provided by information systems meet the specific needs of business departments.
Ownership company information center
As the IT management and support service department of this business unit, the information center of the ownership company accepts the management and guidance of the Group Information Center in business, but it can continue to be managed by the ownership company.
Implement the relevant IT management systems and standards of the Group, and provide IT management and support services for all business departments within the scope of this business unit;
Participate in the Group's information system construction and business process optimization projects, coordinate related work involving this business unit, and be responsible for the business requirements involved in this business unit;
Manage and maintain IT assets of business units, such as LAN, PC and other information terminal equipment, to ensure the normal operation of information systems involved in business units;
Responsible for the introduction and development of independent application systems to meet the unique business needs of the unit, and responsible for the corresponding maintenance and technical support.
External IT consulting service company:
External IT services and corresponding external capability resources that are strategically independent of the enterprise. Because the enterprise has made IT clear that the IT consulting service company is responsible for managing and operating the key infrastructure of information systems with important strategic value to the enterprise and providing corresponding services, which is also considered as an integral part of the enterprise's future IT here. The business relationship between IT and IT consulting service companies within the enterprise is managed by CIO, the information director of the enterprise, and the information center has specific tasks with the information departments of all ownership companies. As an independent part of enterprise IT, IT consulting service companies undertake the following responsibilities:
As a designated unit, it is responsible for providing key application system services to enterprises and charging service fees according to the principle of market fairness;
Under the principle of fair market, undertake consulting on enterprise IT planning, process optimization and IT management system standards;
Under the principle of fair market, undertake the design, implementation and development of enterprise information system scheme, as well as third-party project supervision and other services.
Reflections on the transformation of IT management organization
The Informatization Committee suggested that the leading group of enterprise group informatization application should be transformed;
From the perspective of information management of enterprise groups, the information center can still be managed by the strategic development department in the near future, strengthening the function of the strategic development department and strengthening/establishing its authority in IT planning control, process management, IT construction and operation management;
On the one hand, enterprise groups can consider integrating the existing information technology management talent resources (including ownership companies), on the other hand, gradually cultivate or introduce them, so that information centers can gradually independently undertake the mission of managing enterprise IT;
With regard to the application of the unified information system platform to be built by the Group, it is suggested to use the management right of the Group in the investment direction to promote its application in all ownership companies. In accordance with the principle of "overall planning and step-by-step implementation", starting with the informatization construction of financial management of the Group, the appropriate pilot units are selected for implementation, which fully reflects the advantages of the informatization management platform with facts and lays a solid foundation for comprehensive popularization and application.
5 IT operation management key processes
In order to manage the IT operation management of enterprises, a series of processes need to be established and implemented. Details are as follows:
Group information planning process
Ownership of the company's information planning review process
Group information bidding management process
Group information procurement management process
Ownership of the company's information procurement management process
Information management specification formulation and maintenance process
IT project establishment process
IT project management process
IT system maintenance process
It system security management process
It system security inspection process
6 IT operation resources and skill management
Facing the future mission, the management and operation of enterprise IT depends on the corresponding skills of people engaged in related work. At present, the most urgent skills that enterprise IT needs to strengthen are as follows:
IT management: Learn how IT organizations generate business value in enterprises or other industries with great missions;
Business analysis: collecting IT customer requirements and successfully transforming business requirements into IT requirements will help IT to be more customer-centric;
Project management: ensure that the implementation of the solution can produce the promised value in time within the financial budget;
Software package introduction and implementation: determine the appropriate software package and suggest the corresponding business process changes;
Business process analysis and optimization: find existing business process problems and promote process change;
System management: establish system management principles and use corresponding solutions to simplify daily operations.
Enterprises should comprehensively consider the following resource acquisition schemes to build the skills needed by IT in the future:
Integrating internal resources: using the existing information technology and human resources of the group (including the ownership company);
Internal training: gradually acquire skills;
Recruitment: quickly acquire skills;
Outsourcing: using external skill resources.
7 Operation and maintenance of information technology operation system
In the future, the information center of the enterprise will undertake the operation and maintenance of the physical system and business logic of the whole group. As an information service center, stable, efficient and timely information collection, processing and sending will directly affect the daily business operation of the whole group. Therefore, a reasonable and effective information service management model is the basis for realizing the IT information service level. According to the future business management mode of the enterprise and the software and hardware characteristics of the information system, the IT information service management mode is as follows:
The whole service architecture consists of five parts, namely, business management (business perspective), service management, IT infrastructure management, application management and security management. They are defined as follows:
1. Business management (business perspective): Understand IT service requirements from the perspective of business departments rather than IT service providers (technology), that is, when providing IT services, we should first consider business requirements. The business management module is used to help business managers analyze IT problems with business thinking, deeply understand the ability of IT infrastructure to support business processes and the role of IT service management in providing end-to-end IT services, and help them better handle the relationship between business departments and information departments and realize business interests.
2. Service management: Service management module is the core of the whole service architecture, which reasonably divides and manages most IT management contents in a series of typical processes. The service management module consists of two sub-modules: service support and service provision. Among them, service provision consists of service level management, IT service financial management, IT service continuity management, availability management and capability management, and service support consists of accident management, problem management, configuration management, change management and release management. Service management depends on the implemented system and the business demand characteristics of the business department;
3.IT infrastructure management. The essence of IT service management is also the management of IT infrastructure, but IT adopts a different way from the usual management, that is, it management tasks are standardized and modularized, and then packaged into services to provide to customers on demand. IT infrastructure management module covers all aspects of IT infrastructure management, from determining business requirements, implementation, deployment, and supporting and maintaining infrastructure. Its goal is to ensure a stable and reliable IT infrastructure to support business operations;
4. Application management: IT service management includes the support, maintenance and operation of application systems, which are developed by business departments, information centers or third parties. The function of IT service management should be reasonably expanded and participate in the development, testing and deployment of application systems. The application management module solves the problem of how to coordinate the two and make them serve the business department consistently.
5. Security management: Its goal is to protect IT infrastructure from unauthorized use. The safety management module provides comprehensive guidance on how to determine safety requirements, formulate safety policies and strategies, and handle safety accidents.
Application of service management mode
It is conceivable that the future data information center will be huge and complex. Such a highly centralized physical system and business logic system put forward very high operation and maintenance requirements for information management departments. The service management model provides a structured management framework for information centers to ensure information service quality and improve service satisfaction.
In the future enterprise system, it is necessary to establish such a service management control system based on the idea of "service management mode" proposed here, and integrate it with the organizational structure of the information center to monitor and manage the information services of the whole information center, so as to improve the application level of business systems and reduce the intensity of system maintenance.
"Service management mode" is necessary for the future information center, but as far as the current situation of enterprise informatization construction is concerned, it is not the current focus from the perspective of reducing risks and resource demand. Generally, the service management mode will be started only when the business operation of the business department has basically used the information system.