Framework Offensive!

Mounting a systems management battle plan

USA Group Inc., an Indianapolis-based supplier of education loan and financial management services, has been rolling out pieces of Unicenter TNG from Computer Associates International Inc. since May 1997. While Allan Horn, technology operations vice president, admits that he had doubts about the complex project after the first few months, he now speaks like a true believer of ESM -- enterprise systems management. "If organizations do not implement these ESM suites to manage their entire technology operation, I think they are going to have a difficult time competing," he says.

In a similar vein, Western Resources Inc. is already realizing some benefits from its implementation of the Tivoli Management Environment (TME) suite from Tivoli Systems Inc., which it began deploying in January. And the Topeka, Kansas-based power utility and supplier of home security systems appears well on its way to its ultimate goal: "We want to be able to manage our entire [IT] infrastructure from a single point," says Kevin Winters, network services manager.

Contrast these experiences with those of Eastman Kodak Co. and Allstate Insurance Co. Both have reportedly been struggling to implement large-scale ESM systems -- TME at Kodak and Unicenter at Allstate -- for two years or more with no end, or ROI, in sight for either project.

Vendors of ESM suites and frameworks have touted their technology as a way for IS to gain control of and manage distributed networks and their hardware and software components. Such control, ESM backers say, will lead to more efficient IS operations, reduced total cost of ownership, improved service for end users, and better business-IT alignment.

It's a nice vision. But how real is it? And once the decision is made to take the ESM plunge, what approach should IS take when choosing and implementing systems management technology?

There is no denying the need for better control given the explosive growth of distributed computing. Unlike the mainframe days when systems management duties could be conducted from within the glass house, IS managers today are struggling to maintain control over expanding
networks of heterogeneous servers, desktop computers, applications, and other components -- often spread across the globe.

The widespread adoption of enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications such as SAP R/3 adding to the pressure to implement ESM: Deploying large-scale ERP systems frequently forces IS executives to re-think their IT management processes. And, in industries where merger and acquisition activity is hot, IS managers struggling to integrate and manage multiple, disparate IT systems are turning to ESM for help.

And then there are the potential paybacks. A 1997 report from International Data Corp. calculated that the business value of an integrated network and systems management suite, realized through improvements in IT reliability, maintainability, and availability, was $507 per user per year or just over $2 million per 100 users using a five-year net present value.

But beware. ESM technology is about as far from plug-and-play as you can get. The Gartner Group estimates that only 30% of all ESM implementation projects are successful (see chart, "Feasible Frameworks," below). "This is not simple technology. It's not for the faint-of-heart," says Paul Blish, a senior consultant with USWeb Corp.-Network Solutions who oversees ESM implementation projects.

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A report on TME 10 and Unicenter TNG installations, published in March by the Giga Information Group, highlights the problem. "Successes were few and far between. What we found instead were project delays, unexpected and escalating costs, and diminished support from business management for these projects. Some sites, in fact, reported the ESM project has both jeopardized the relationship between the IT department and the business units and will, conceivably, cost some of the affected IT managers their jobs." Ouch!

Not surprisingly, few involved with struggling or failed ESM implementations are willing to discuss the issue. Of Allstate's Unicenter project, a spokeswoman would only say that "we've been involved in it for some time now. And I think we're still in the middle of it."

Even those projects that succeed don't come easy -- or cheap. Large-scale ESM deployments of Unicenter TNG or TME can take years and cost millions of dollars. The price tag for consulting and systems integration services alone can be two or three times the sticker price of the software itself, says Patrick Dryden, a Giga Information Group analyst.

Why the poor track record? The complexity of ESM technology itself is problematic. "We've seen millions of dollars of framework products sit on the shelf because [the software] was too complex," says John Carty, president of CMC Systems in Westford, Mass., which installs ESM
systems. Rapid changes in the technology itself add to the problem: Analysts note that in 1997 Tivoli had 87 separate product releases for new or improved components of the TME product line.

Vendors were also guilty of overhyping the capabilities of their products when ESM systems first hit the market several years ago. "It was [IS managers'] belief that the framework would be a magic bullet that would do all system services," Carty says. "Unfortunately, CA and Tivoli have damaged themselves by setting the expectations unreasonably high for what a framework can do."

The problem has been compounded by the way vendors sell ESM technology, says Gartner Group Research Director Ray Paquet. While they tout the "modularity" of their systems and their ability to work with products from other suppliers, vendors often sell their ESM systems in a monolithic manner -- selling frameworks, tools, and services as a package in an effort to control the account. That approach encourages IT managers to buy and implement ESM in one big bite. The result: "In the best case you get indigestion," Paquet says. "Worst case, you choke on it and die."

But IS managers must shoulder their share of the blame for ESM train wrecks. Lack of planning and unclear goals for ESM projects, unrealistic expectations that ESM software can be installed as easily as point products, poor understanding of business processes, ill-defined roles and responsibilities, inadequate resources devoted to implementation projects, and lack of support from top management have all been factors in ESM failures.

And yet it can be done. Giga's Dryden has seen large organizations deploy ESM systems in as little as four months, albeit only after paying high fees to outside service organizations. But many success stories touted by ESM vendors tend to be limited in scope in terms of the size of the organization or in the number of systems management tools and functions being deployed. "I would still like to see some really big implementations first," says Laurel Dillon, director of systems automation and technical services at Aetna Inc. in Middletown, Conn., who is mulling the idea of purchasing an ESM framework.

Step one of any successful ESM project is understanding why enterprise systems management is wanted or needed in the first place.

ESM systems are generally implemented for one of three reasons: To improve system and network availability and reduce the risk of major failures; lower the TCO of an organization's IS operation; and improve the quality of service to -- and satisfaction of -- the IS operation's customers.

The latter, for example, was the driver for implementing an extensive ESM system for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (MPTN), owners of the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. The system, installed by USWeb Corp., included the Tivoli TME 10 Framework and Enterprise Console, BMC Software's Patrol application and database management system, Intel's LANDesk desktop asset management program, Peregrine Systems' ServiceCenter help desk software, and others. "The primary focus was to improve the level of service that was being delivered to the users," says Felix Favorito, USWeb associate partner.

For fast-growing Unit Parts Co., a remanufacturer of automobile starters and alternators in Oklahoma City, gaining control of a rapidly expanding IS system was the chief reason for implementing the Unicenter TNG framework and the asset management, software distribution, and help desk modules. The firm has grown from 40 employees to 300 in just four years and expanded to four facilities across Oklahoma. "We run a pretty small IT shop," says Chuck Babcock, chief systems engineer. "We were rapidly running out of bodies to keep our arms wrapped around the IT system."

For its part, USA Group implemented Unicenter TNG for problem prevention and improved system availability. Previously, USA Group had problem management systems in a dozen locations around the country. But those systems were not integrated and "did not paint a clear picture" of the company's overall IT environment, says Horn. The company is using Unicenter TNG's availability, performance and problem management tools, as well as the help desk system's diagnostic capabilities, to predict failures before they occur. "Using Unicenter TNG is like having a modern weather forecasting tool," he says.

Some experts believe that ESM implementations should focus on a single goal to stay on track. But some organizations manage to derive multiple benefits from ESM. Take the case of QSP Ltd. in Gateshead, U.K., which supplies financial applications and outsourcing services to such customers as the Bank of England. QSP began using a number of Platinum Technology's ProVision ESM tools in 1997 to help manage those services 24 hours a day.

The ESM technology helps QSP provide better service to its customers and so gives the company a competitive edge, says Colin Henderson, IT services director. But the systems management tools also help on the expense side of the ledger: Henderson estimates that QSP would have to nearly double the number of people it employs to monitor customer systems -- at an annual cost of some $600,000 -- without the tools. "It would take almost double the resources we have now," he says.

Kind en Gezin, a provider of home nursing services in Brussels, helps keep its IT TCO 25% to 35% lower than comparable firms through its use of Platinum Technology's software distribution, scheduling, and database management tools, according to CIO Luc Verhelst.

Data gathered through ESM technology can also be used by IS when dealing with corporate execs to measure the ROI of particular systems to design and execute service-level agreements.

So with so much to gain, why do so many system management projects fail? First off, some IS operations are looking for a panacea to correct a dysfunctional operation. Another problem is that many jump right in, pick a product, and try to install it with little upfront planning.

Even if such implementations don't fail outright, they only provide some measure of control over IT systems at a low level and never achieve the higher goals cited above. "If you're not mapping business needs onto a computing infrastructure and a system and network management system, ultimately all you're doing is element management," says Jim Grant, general manager of Hewlett-Packard's application and system management division.

Planning was a critical stage of the ESM implementation project at MPTN. As part of the 12- to 15-month project completed earlier this year, USWeb spent some six months assessing the systems management needs of MPTN and the casino, conducting product evaluations, designing
the system, and planning the implementation before actually beginning the installation work.

Many ESM vendors and systems integrators conduct needs assessment reviews as part of this process. Unit Parts took five days to install the Unicenter TNG framework, five days to deploy the asset management and software distribution tools, and ten days to roll out the help desk system.

Another reason for ESM project breakdowns is the failure to devote adequate resources to do the job. "Most IT staffs are too lean to implement these [ESM] tool solutions," says Tim Zeman, ESM practice leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Arlington Heights, Ill.

Virtually every IT shop contacted for this article hired outside expertise to assist with or manage the ESM project, either a consulting or systems integration firm or, in most cases, the service operation of the ESM vendor itself. Giga's Dryden says that ESM projects that rely on outside expertise appear to show quicker paybacks than those that do not.

Both CA and Tivoli have been building up their professional services operations: The need for project management and systems integration expertise was behind CA's bid to acquire Computer Sciences Corp. earlier this year. Right now Dryden gives Tivoli the edge in this area, although a number of IS managers interviewed for this article spoke highly of CA's professional services.

But using outside integrators or consultants to handle the work does not mean that IS is off the hook. In-house IT personnel with knowledge of the corporation, its business, and the data center are needed to adapt these firm's "generic" implementations to their own processes.

Unit Parts relied heavily on CA and two other consulting firms to handle the implementation. Still, Babcock says he had to devote a great deal of his time, as well as 25% to 30% of the time of two staff technicians, to the project.

IT staff participation is also critical for knowledge transfer, so when the consultants and integrators have left, the IS operation can fully utilize the ESM suite or framework and adapt it to changes in business processes.

Critical to the success of an ESM project is just how the system is rolled out. Some have taken the approach of undertaking long planning cycles, installing the ESM framework and then laboriously "bolting on" individual tools without activating any specific functions until the entire system is complete. The problem is that this approach can take months or years to complete -- if ever. With no evidence of return on the technology investment, corporate management begins to lose interest and funding may be diverted to other, more immediate projects.

Others quickly implement single apps without careful planning as to how the entire ESM system will function. Soon IS finds itself with a number of point products that are impossible to integrate and the ESM effort falters.

The March Giga report recommends a deployment approach somewherebetween these extremes: Implement some function-specific tools early on, such as for managing server availability or distributing applications to desktops. Do so in stages, limiting deployments to business units or specific geographies.

Western Resources took a phased approach when implementing TME beginning in January. "We chose the modules that would provide us with the quickest return on investment," says Winters. Specifically, his team deployed software distribution, remote control, and asset inventory and management tools to cover approximately 1,300 desktop computers in some 30 offices across Kansas. Western Resources is now able to remotely install new or upgraded software on these desktops, a job the utility had to pay contractors as much as $400,000 to perform -- for each deployment. And Winters believes the remote control tool will allow the central help desk to resolve 20% to 25% of all problems without having to send out a technician.

IS executives should also be aware of the personnel implications of bringing advanced systems management capabilities into an IT shop. Fearful that their jobs were being automated, IS staff at USA Group showed some resistance to the Unicenter TNG project, Horn says. Constant reassurance from management that no jobs would be eliminated helped get over the resistance. At Kind en Gezin, however, Verhelst says the installation of the Platinum Technology ESM system has improved job satisfaction and staff retention in the IS department.

Another warning: IS managers who install ESM to provide them with more information about their IT system may get more than they bargained for. "The amount of data that comes pouring out is overwhelming," says Blish of USWeb. The ESM system itself may need adjusting to bring
the data flow down to a manageable level and plans should be made in advance about what to do with the new wealth of information.

Debate continues about the best technology approach to systems management. But the pressure on every IS organization to control its costs, boost system availability and improve the level of service to its users is increasing. As ESM technology matures, says Giga Information Group's Dryden, it will become a viable option for more IS executives. "If you just go in with your eyes wide open and backing from the business side and top management, the paybacks can be significant," he says.

Framework