Managing the infrastructure of the digital economy

New Economy business models are dependent on 24 by 7 application availability and this is driving new technology management objectives, services and products. It is estimated that the number of US businesses on line will grow to 4.3 million by 2002 and Internet commerce is anticipated to hit $120 billion in 2000. Internet enabled businesses and the growth in e-business applications is driving an increase in the complexity of Internet sites and e-business strategies. Businesses small and large need quality, reliable and highly available operations. They need state-of-the-art technology, networks and servers. They need to maintain currency with technology changes and they need a means to scale as the requirements of their business evolve. Businesses must seek collaborative arrangements in order to increase performance, improve reliability, support continuous operations and reduce operating costs.

Problem Recognition

Management of the technology infrastructure seems obvious, yet so many organizations still do not have an effective implementation of systems management tools or the processes necessary to make them function effectively. The need for 24 by 7 support of e-commerce environments also seems evident, but even the high fliers seem to have missed on their first attempts. The frustration of poor performance and unavailable services directly translate into lost business opportunity and impacts to the bottom line.