As the use of cloud proliferates, even as the data center remains an essential part of the IT estate, CIOs and IT management teams are faced with the challenge of identifying and managing an ever-increasing amount of resource inventory. Having full and complete visibility is essential. The task ranges from identifying old servers that no one seems to know about to gaining control over cloud services that were purchased by line-of-business teams without IT’s involvement.
Put simply, if IT can’t see a device or a cloud service, it has a hard time managing and protecting it. Even a simple task such as searching for vulnerabilities or managing patching is impossible if there are ghost services or devices in place. This makes it essential for IT teams to start a visibility project that will provide the critical information about what assets exist, what their state is, and who uses and owns them. One organization that did this found more than 20 cloud services that IT hadn’t been aware of—including four still in use that were “owned” by ex-employees. The potential for surprises is nearly certain, and terrifying.
For many organizations, the barriers to implementing a visibility project come in various forms:
Given such roadblocks, many organizations are working with partners that have expertise in completing projects designed to provide IT management with complete or near-complete visibility of every asset in the IT estate. Leveraging a managed service provider to get the visibility solution in place and then turning it over to IT for operation is a common strategy.
The most compelling partner advantage comes from the urgency to solve the problem of untracked or unknown assets. It’s all about speed to completion. With a dedicated team of experts that is solely focused on completing the visibility effort, completion comes much faster. This enables IT management to secure, control, and optimize all the assets, not just a select few. The security issue is of particular importance since unmanaged systems are usually less secure.
Beyond speed, working with a partner that has proven processes and known best practices for visibility solutions results in a better outcome. Important nuances are learned only with experience, and a partner that has that knowledge is very valuable. Maverick Technology Partners can help your organization design, implement, and complete this type of project, providing your IT team with the visibility necessary for modern operations.
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