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IT-as-a-Service

IT-as-a-Service (ITaaS) is an operational model whereby the Enterprise IT organization is run much like business, acting and operating just as an internal service provider. In this model, IT simplifies and encourages service consumption, provides improved financial transparency for IT services, and partners more closely with lines-of-business. This type of IT transformation is business-focused rather than cost focused, leading directly to improved levels of business agility. Typically, ITaaS is enabled by technology models such as infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), all models within [| Cloud Computing].

Business Agility is the End-Goal: With new ITaaS delivery/consumption models, highly standardized infrastructure, and automated operations in place, IT can focus on delivering innovations that drive business value and that enhance revenue. ITaaS demonstrably accelerates business agility, propelling the enterprise forward through: • Greatly reduced time to market for critical business services and initiatives • The consistent ability to anticipate and exploit market opportunities ahead of competition • Significant improvements in the customer experience

ITaaS is Core To Competitive IT: Lines-of-business have options for IT services because public clouds and service providers also offer attractive options. (known as [| “Shadow IT”] when used outside of IT governance) Corporate IT must learn to compete or “lose” the business. Thus, ITaaS and cloud infrastructure are tending to accelerate IT’s transition to an internal service provider model.

ITaaS isn’t about “more [| virtualization]” – Rather it is an operational and organizational shift to running IT like a business, optimizing IT production for business consumption. IT organizations of the past won’t look like IT organizations of the future. Instead ITaaS has new technology, consumption, operations models. These new models shifts IT’s relationship to the business and to its external service provider partners.

Core Characteristics of the Transformation to IT as a Service: • New technology models founded on the use of private, public, and hybrid clouds; employing controls, trust and compliance up and down the stack; introducing infrastructure standardization and automation wherever possible. • New consumption models leveraging Self-service catalogs offering both internal and external services; providing IT financial transparency for costs and pricing; offering [| consumerized IT] – such as [| Bring Your Own Device] (BYoD) – to meet the needs of users. All of which simplify and encourage consumption of services. • New operational models which imply a revised organization, with new business and technical skills and roles; creation of more horizontal, service-oriented processes; explicit IT alignment with lines-of-business.