A complete documentation of the company infrastructure offers new digitization and automation opportunities.
Being tasked with documenting your company’s Enterprise technology infrastructure is probably not your idea of a good time. s. It’s a huge undertaking to accurately record the IT infrastructure and keep this database up to date. Some of the most common excuses to avoid such a project includes everything from lack of time, lack of need, to lack of budget. But the truth is, a complete overview of the existing IT offers tremendous benefits that far outweigh any of the perceived negatives. Think about what you can do with detailed knowledge about all the computers, servers, cables, switches and sockets, installed software, and all their configurations and dependencies. Acquiring this complete and correct information is easily attainable with today’s modern tools, interfaces and intelligent planning and process integration.
Tools exist that cleanly capture the entire enterprise technology – including all dependencies – with little effort and connect and synchronize it with important data sources via appropriate interfaces. With this information you are empowered to:
• know where free space is in your data center cabinets
• quickly identify which servers are out of maintenance and who is responsible for them
• plan a modernization of your infrastructure, hand over this plan to the internal/external service providers and monitor the implementation
• visualize all end-to-end connections of individual components
• support budget planning with accurate estimates for the replacement of specific devices
• pinpoint the location of lines and active network components on a map to troubleshoot a fault and provide the technician with the right components
Professional IT documentation simplifies infrastructure modernization, eliminates duplicate purchases, reduces downtime, supports administration and purchasing in making better and faster decisions, and creates the conditions for automation. It also increases transparency about the hardware and software used in the company, which simplifies license and lifecycle management.
The availability of professional documentation tools means members of the IT department no longer need to dread this very important task.
The right system for complete IT documentation
Professional IT documentation software minimizes the effort beginning with the initial data capture. It automatically scans of the network infrastructure (including application discovery), and imports data from databases and Excel lists for subsequent manual post-processing. Passive technology such as cables and outlets must and should also be manually reconciled. In addition, the documentation solution should fit optimally into the existing IT landscape and be able to network via interfaces with your ERP software, an IT portfolio management system, LDAP directories and client management systems. With all these elements in place, your data will be up-to-date for analysis and decision making.
Fast ROI with the FNT Command Platform
For more detailed information about IT documentation, read our whitepaper IT Documentation 2021 – State-of-the-Art Strategies for more Efficient IT Infrastructure Management. It covers such areas as:
• why fully comprehensive IT documentation recoups investment costs in a short time
• other advantages an end-to-end view of the infrastructure delivers
• the recommended approach to introducing a new IT documentation solution
• what to look for when selecting a new right solution
• how FNT can assist you in this endeavor
→ Download whitepaper here
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