1. Info-Tech Research Group1 1 Info-Tech Research Group, Inc. Is a global leader in providing IT research and advice. Info-Tech’s products and services combine actionable insight and relevant advice with ready-to-use tools and templates that cover the full spectrum of IT concerns. © 1997-2015 Info-Tech Research Group Inc. V4 Outsource Network Management Outsource network management for optimal availability, reliability, and performance, but keep a firm hand on governance to maintain accountability and control. Info-Tech's products and services combine actionable insight and relevant advice with ready-to-use tools and templates that cover the full spectrum of IT concerns.© 1997 - 2014 Info-Tech Research Group

2. Info-Tech Research Group2 2 This Research is Designed For:This Research Will Help You: This Research Will Assist:This Research Will Help You: This Research Is Designed For:This Research Will Help You: This Research Will Also Assist:This Research Will Help Them: Outsourcing has significant benefits but it is never “fire and forget”; outsource what makes sense and manage the service CIOs and Infrastructure Managers who are considering outsourcing network management. CIOs and Infrastructure Managers who are seeking to improve their network management capabilities. Determine if your company is at an optimal point to begin outsourcing network management services. Select a vendor(s). Build a roadmap that guides your action plan for outsourcing of services. CFOs who would like to understand the risks and financial impact of outsourcing network management. Vendor Managers of organizations that have decided to outsource network management. Understand the costs and benefits of outsourcing network management. Assess the business case for outsourcing network management. Develop the necessary tools and skills in order to build and manage successful relationships with vendors.

3. Info-Tech Research Group3 3 Resolution Situation ! Complication ? Info-Tech Insight Executive Summary With the rise of virtualized, globalized “as a service” computing, networks are an evermore critical utility, requiring rock solid availability, reliability, scalability, and performance. Significant cost saving potential is also leading organizations to outsource components of their network management services. Outsourcing is a multi-faceted process with an inherent level of associated risk. Without careful planning and due diligence regarding what to outsource, which vendor to use, and how to govern the outsourcing relationship, your organization will not succeed. Perform an in-depth business analysis and assessment of your current state. Determine your company’s level of readiness to outsource and the core areas in need of outsourcing. Perform due diligence when selecting a vendor and ensure that its basic SLAs meet your requirements. Develop a transition strategy that takes people, processes, and technologies into account. Establish a strong governance structure that reinforces accountability within your organization. Develop vendor management capabilities and a collaborative partnership with your vendor. Continuously monitor and manage your vendor. 1.Performing due diligence in deciding what to outsource, and which vendor to engage with, leads to higher success rates. 2.Outsourcing cannot be performed with a “set and forget” mentality. Active management of your vendor is crucial to its success. 3.Failure is inevitable. Rather than point blame, collaborate with your vendor to continuously improve and prevent the situation from occurring again.

4. Info-Tech Research Group4 4 Best-Practice Toolkit 1. Assess the current state and target state of your organization’s network management 2. Decide whether to outsource network management 3. Develop the business case and structure the project 4. Develop and issue an RFP 5. Evaluate RFP responses 6. Select a vendor and review your contract 7. Develop a transition strategy 8. Build a roadmap 9. Develop a collaborative partnership with your vendor 10. Work towards continuous improvement Guided Implementations Scoping call Assess the current state Make the case to outsource Scoping call Review your business case Review your RFP Scoping call Review your vendor shortlist Finalize the contract Scoping call Discuss changes to your people, processes, and technology Finalize your action plan Scoping call Discuss implementation challenges and metrics Evaluate project success for continuous improvement Onsite Workshop Module 1: Make the case Module 2: Develop the business case and RFP Module 3: Develop a vendor selection methodology Module 4: Develop a transition plan Module 5: Develop a process to continuously improve Phase 1 Results: Go/no go decision to outsource Phase 2 Results: Business case RFP Phase 3 Results: Selected vendor Phase 4 Results: Outsourcing roadmap Phase 5 Results: Project success metrics Make the case Outsource Network Management – Project Overview Develop the business case and RFP Select a vendor Develop a transition plan Implement and measure success

5. Info-Tech Research Group5 5 Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5 PreparationWorkshop Day Working Session Workshop Preparation Compile all sets of current performance indicators for organization. Create comprehensive list of performance objectives for organization. Send workshop agenda to all workshop participants. Morning Itinerary Discuss your drivers to outsource network management. Map your network services and activities. Evaluate the criticality of each network service. Afternoon Itinerary Assess your current network management capabilities. Define your network management requirements. Conduct a gap analysis and select components to outsource. Morning Itinerary Assess your organization’s readiness to outsource. Decide whether to outsource now or postpone the project. Begin creating a business case. Afternoon Itinerary Structure the project and define project roles and responsibilities. Define project metrics. Develop a high-level project timeline. Complete the business case. Morning Itinerary Transfer your network management requirements to Info- Tech’s RFP template. Complete and review your RFP. Afternoon Itinerary Discuss the vendor market and develop a scoring methodology. Develop a timeline and next steps post- workshop. Wrap-up. Workshop Debrief Review each of the steps in the outsourcing process. Assess whether or not steps can be omitted/changed. Revise performance objectives. Next Steps Develop a set of metrics that can be used to monitor on-going project success. Create a schedule and role/responsibility matrix for future monitoring activities. Workshop Overview This workshop can be deployed as either a four or five day engagement depending on the level of preparation completed by the client prior to the facilitator arriving onsite. The light blue slides at the end of each section highlight the key activities and exercises that will be completed during the engagement with our analyst team. Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.Workshops@InfoTech.com

6. Info-Tech Research Group6 6 Phase 1: Make the case to outsource network management Develop the business case and RFP Select a vendor Phase 2: Phase 3: Make the case Phase 1: Develop an action plan Phase 4: Implement and measure success Phase 5:

7. Info-Tech Research Group7 7 Phase 1 Outline Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2- 3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships. Guided Implementation 1: Make the case to outsource network management Proposed Time to Completion: 3 weeks Step 1.1: Scope the projectStep 1.2: Assess the current stateStep 1.3: Make the case to outsource Start with an analyst kick off call: Discuss the current state of network management. Understand your drivers to outsource network management. Review findings with analyst: Assess and discuss the criticality of your network services across offices. Finalize phase deliverable: Discuss your current capabilities and the gap between current state and required state. Discuss your readiness to outsource. Then complete these activities… Evaluate the criticality of each network service. Then complete these activities… Evaluate your network management capabilities and requirements. Assess your current readiness to outsource. Decide whether to pursue outsourcing network management based on your capability gaps and readiness to outsource. Send Info-Tech your Network Management Evaluation Tool. With these tools & templates: Network Management Evaluation Tool With these tools & templates: Network Management Evaluation Tool Phase 1 Results & Insights: Comparison of current capabilities against network requirements. Understanding of the organization’s readiness to outsource. Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com

8. Info-Tech Research Group8 8 With the rise of virtualized, globalized “as a service” computing, networks are an evermore critical utility. Meet critical management requirements. Achieve higher network availability, reliability, scalability, and performance with outsourced network management Outsourcing network management allows you to quickly meet these growing network requirements by handing off services or activities to providers that specialize in the function and are better equipped in terms of resources and expertise. Successfully outsourced network management also carries the following benefits: Efficiency in allocating internal resources Outsourcing network management allows you to re-allocate your network team to more strategic roles that deliver more value to the organization. Reduced cost of ownership Cost savings can reach 20% of network management expenses. Since outsourcing providers are often more specialized in various aspects of network management, they are often able to perform activities more cost effectively. Improved ability to scale Outsourcing allows you to quickly scale up your network management capabilities. For example, it allows quick deployment of network monitoring across new offices. Reduced off-hours work Outsourcing providers can handle night-time alerts, which reduces the instances where your team needs to work during off-hours. We’ve seen the market growing fairly quickly. The network layer has become far more complex than it was four or five years ago because of all the change that’s happening in the layer, skills are getting harder to find, and the business sees the network as a utility now. The business sees very little value in having IT staff who are managing an underlying network, so they’re moving to managed services and outsourcing. - Dimension Data

9. Info-Tech Research Group9 9 Outsource network management operations to optimize your workforce, and improve quality of life and mean time to respond Monitoring and managing Cisco’s LANs and global WAN is highly resource intensive. “For example, in Asia Pacific, IT staff took turns being on call 24 hours a day for a full week, once every six to eight weeks. When it was their turn, staff members would be paged in the middle of the night to respond to events…which can occur more than 100 times nightly.” Nighttime pager duty diminished job satisfaction, productivity, and complicated event tracking. Situation Cisco IT outsourced network monitoring and management activities for the Cisco global LANs and WAN. Network monitoring and management is Cisco ROS’ core competency. Cisco first identified tasks to outsource based on the nature of the activities, criticality of the environment, and internal capabilities. Cisco phased the transition of network management to Cisco ROS. Solution More strategic use of IT resources: “Relieved of 24-hour pager duty, Cisco engineers have more time and energy to devote to strategic new applications.” Improved responsiveness: “People whose core competency is to respond to network problems tend to do a better, more consistent job…Global monitoring allows quicker identification of potential network problems than when regional Cisco IT organizations monitored their own portions of the network.” Improved productivity and quality of life for Cisco IT staff. Result Case Study: Cisco IT, Global Offices Cisco IT achieved improved productivity and quality of life for IT staff, and faster and more efficient identification of potential network problems, by outsourcing network monitoring and management activities. Source: Cisco Remote Operations Services Case Study: How Cisco IT Outsourced Network Management Operations

10. Info-Tech Research Group10Info-Tech Research Group10 Activity: Discuss your drivers to outsource network management Clarify why you are considering outsourcing network management. What are the drivers? What are you hoping to achieve? How do your drivers and goals impact the urgency of this project? Are there alternative options to achieve the same goals? Whiteboard Activity Participants IT Director/CIO Infrastructure Manager/VP Steps Divide the whiteboard into two columns: ◦ Drivers ◦ Goals Collectively brainstorm your drivers to outsource and goals you’d like to achieve. Discuss the above questions based on the drivers and goals. 1.1 When respondents were asked why they chose to outsource network management: 52% said access to skills not available in house. 50% said cost reduction. 44% said to manage variable staffing needs. 35% said to support or enable new business initiatives. 42% said to improve business or technology processes. *Network World, 2011, n=1176 Survey Results

11. Info-Tech Research Group11Info-Tech Research Group11 Activity: Map your network services and activities 1.2 Steps: Identify your network services and the activities associated with each service. Map these on a board to use for deciding which network components to outsource. Outsourcing doesn’t need to be an all or nothing deal – outsourcing just one service or activity is possible. Network management covers multiple services, including management of the wired and wireless network, remote access, communications, and WAN and internet. Info-Tech has divided network management activities into four major activities based on COBIT. To the right is an example of the activities and services involved in network management. This activity will set the scope of network management, before deciding which components to outsource and how.

12. Info-Tech Research Group12Info-Tech Research Group12 Info-Tech Research Group Helps IT Professionals To: Sign up for free trial membership to get practical solutions for your IT challenges www.infotech.com Quickly get up to speed with new technologies Make the right technology purchasing decisions – fast Deliver critical IT projects, on time and within budget Manage business expectations Justify IT spending and prove the value of IT Train IT staff and effectively manage an IT department “Info-Tech helps me to be proactive instead of reactive – a cardinal rule in a stable and leading edge IT environment. - ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co., LP Toll Free: 1-888-670-8889