Chronicles of a Wandering Mind

Interesting links for March 21st through March 24th:

• Unified Computing System: Plays Well With Others – we have a document—a 50 page instruction manual—on how to use the API. It covers how to authenticate against to the API, how to search for certain types of objects in the schema to get the server objects or the network objects and how to filter them—say only servers that have an associated service profile. We also have a bunch of XML examples in that document that were written by one of the technical marketing engineers. The other thing we talk to people about is that our GUI uses our own XML API and it’s a JAVA based GUI—it runs in a JVM—there is a logfile that contains all the XML that goes back and forth between the GUI and the heart of UCSM, the DME—the brain that sits inside the UCS fabric interconnect. That’s a great way to learn how to use the API—you can do things in the GUI then go back and look in the logfile to see what the XML commands are and which objects are being modified. It’s a good way to learn about the schema in an applied sense.
• The 4 Steps of BSM Success – How to Succeed at BSM

  There are four fundamental components of successful BSM initiatives:

  1.

  Defining services
  2.

  Assessing the business value of those services
  3.

  Measuring service quality and performance
  4.

  Selecting and justifying services or service improvement programs

• BSM Defined: What It Is and Should Never Be – BSM is the term used to describe the strategic direction required for ITSM to be successful. BSM, simply stated, aims to manage IT investments in ways that matter most to the success of the enterprise and its marketplace. BSM also means making decisions in IT based on what is best for the enterprise. It spans all technologies and all organizational boundaries. BSM, focusing on process integration and automation, leads ITSM and design. The primary emphasis of the IT organization is on addressing service issues faced by the business. The value of IT investments at this point becomes clear to the marketplace and is seen by the enterprise as competitive advantage.