Knowledge Area Team:
management@quest-consultants.com
Best
Practices
The Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) was developed
out of the well-known British IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL)
specifications. Both MOF and ITIL provide a complete set of best practices
and standards for IT service management, as gathered over a period of many
years from a large pool of public and private organisations worldwide.
Quest Consultants has years of experience in implementing these best
practices, across a wide range of industries.
The MOF
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The MOF presents a paradigm for IT operations management, divided
into FOUR main phases of operation: Changing,
Operating, Supporting, and Optimising. |
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Changing
The MOF Changing Quadrant encompasses all the processes involved with
managing changes to an existing infrastructure. The goal here is to
streamline processes, and reduce the cost and impact to the organisation of
implementing new systems. The main Service Management Functions (SMFs)
within this Quadrant include:
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Change Management
(tracking changes) |
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Configuration Management
(IT asset management) |
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Release Management
(deploying into production) |
Automated deployment techniques, scripting, and
software products like Microsoft Systems Management Server
(SMS), Application Center and Content Management Server are some of
the solutions that can be used within these Functions.
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Operating
The MOF Operating Quadrant addresses the ongoing
monitoring, maintenance and support of production IT systems. The main SMFs
within this Quadrant include:
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Directory Services Administration
(AD management) |
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Job
Scheduling (batch procedure management) |
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Network Administration
(managing network services) |
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Security Administration
(security best practices) |
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Service Monitoring and Control (exception monitoring) |
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Storage Management
(disaster recovery) |
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System Administration
(overall systems
support) |
Many Microsoft products and utilities are used to
support work in this Quadrant, including Microsoft Operations Manager
and SMS, native Windows and AD management utilities, security
auditing tools, and server consoles such as Exchange System Manager and SQL
Enterprise Manager.
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Supporting
The MOF Supporting Quadrant
addresses the end-user support function, including
helpdesk ticketing and problem resolution. This Quadrant attempts to
address both the “fire-fighting” of sudden failures, as well as proactively
identify potential issues. The main SMFs within this Quadrant include:
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Incident Management
(issue detection
and resolution) |
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Problem Management
(identification of root causes) |
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Service Desk (front-end helpdesk function) |
Similar to the Operating Quadrant, many Microsoft
products and utilities are used to support work in this Quadrant. In
addition, many companies choose to implement a third party helpdesk
solution, for problem tracking and knowledgebase compilation.
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Optimising
The MOF Optimizing Quadrant addresses the goal of
identifying potential enhancements to the IT environment. Recommendations
from this Quadrant are then fed back into the Changing Quadrant, for
eventual implementation. This Quadrant’s eventual goal is the close
alignment of IT services with business critical operations.
The main SMFs within this Quadrant include:
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Availability Management
(high-availability solutions) |
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Capacity Management
(network/storage optimisation) |
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Financial Management
(budgeting) |
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Infrastructure Engineering
(IT standards and policies) |
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IT
Service Continuity Management (COOP plans) |
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Security Management
(corporate security policy) |
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Service Level Management
(SLAs) |
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Workforce Management
(recruiting &
training IT staff) |
There are many third-party packages that are designed
to address many of these individual functional areas, including disaster
recovery software, financial management and business intelligence suites,
corporate governance toolsets, etc.
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