"...describes in practical terms one of the most important functions of an IT infrastructure: that of deploying a well-designed development system into a well-running production system." --Kenneth Moskowitz, CIO, Thomson Financial "The Production Acceptance assessment worksheets are extremely valuable in evaluating the quality of an IT infrastructure..." --Brian Shield, EVP, CIO, The Weather Channel "The Ten Commandments for establishing an ideal IT environment. Should be followed religiously." -- Joe Feiu, VP, NeoDimensions "...presents the critical technical aspects of world-class infrastructure in a very business-like manner." -- Mark Egan, CIO, Symantec Corporation "Hundreds of books describe how to design and develop world-class applications, but few ever describe how to successfully deploy these systems. Until now." -- Rachel Pong, COO, Exonomy Limited, A subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank "...clearly addresses how to effectively deploy and support world-class applications." --Bill Parker, CIO, Agway The best enterprise IT organizations have discovered the secret to high-performance infrastructure management: build a true Production Services function and realistic Production Acceptance processes. By doing so, they've achieved outstanding reliability, availability, and serviceability... transforming themselves from overpriced support centers into world-class service providers. IT Production Services shows you how to do it, too. Drawing on data compiled from 200+ enterprise IT assessments, it's your start-to-finish guide for effective IT infrastructure management in business-critical environments. Presents "Ten Commandments" for designing cost-effective, efficient IT organizations Covers all three key ingredients: people, processes, and technology Shows why transitioning systems straight from development to operations is a recipe for failure Includes case studies from the authors’ experience consulting with Fortune 500 and Global 2000 companies Answers today's most frequently asked questions about managing IT infrastructure Shows how to infuse accountability throughout your IT organization Endorsed by CIOs and senior executives at Symantec, Thomson Financial, The Weather Channel, Agway, and many other leading firms Whether you're a CxO, IT director, manager, or architect, IT Production Services will help you optimize your IT organization -- hands-on. 

Table of Contents:
Foreword Preface Acknowledgements. 1. Background.     Introduction.     Summary. 2. Ten Commandments for Building the Ideal IT Environment.     Introduction.     Top IT Issues and Challenges.     The Ten Commandments.     Summary. 3. IT Assessments, Planning, and Development.     Introduction.     The Need for Assessments and Planning and Development Workshops.     Struggling With The Issues.     Selling the CIO.     The Key to Successfully Building the Ideal IT Organization.     Not Another Assessment.     Summary of the Assessment Process.     IT   Planning and Development Workshop.     The Issues.     Summary. 4. Production Services (PS).     Introduction.     Roles and Responsibilities.     Problems Prevented by a PS Organization.     Summary. 5. The Production Acceptance Process.     Introduction.     Definition of Production Acceptance.     The Benefits of a Production Acceptance Process.     Implementing a Production Acceptance Process.     Full Deployment of a New Application.     Distinguishing New Applications from New Versions of Existing Applications.     Distinguishing Production Acceptance from Change Management.     Assessing an Infrastructure’s Production Acceptance Process.     Measuring and Streamlining the Production Acceptance Process.     Summary. 6. Case Studies.      Introduction.     The Seven Companies Selected.     Types of Attributes.     Company A.     Company B.     Company C.     Company D.     Company E.     Company F.     Company G.     Summary. 7. Most Frequently Asked Questions.     Introduction.     Summary. A: Production Services Job Descriptions.     Production Services Management Position.     Production Services Staff Position. B: Issues from Workshop. C: Description of Issues from Workshop.     Data from IT Planning and Development Workshop. Index.