Introduction

The concept of modularity created revolutions in many industries (e.g., manufacturing) and firmly established itself in IT. While almost every aspect of IT (e.g., hardware, software) has taken advantage of this powerful concept, IT operations remain monolithic and rarely offered in modules.

This research is a forward-looking analysis of the implication of the modularity concept for IT operations and a presentation of an innovative model of IT operations management based on the modular approach.

Scope

• Analysis of modularity as a value driver in IT infrastructure
• Definition of modularity in IT operation
• Conceptual representation of modularity in IT operations through “Fluid IT Architecture” and the likely roadmap of Fluid IT adoption in the industry

Fluid IT concept attribution

The concepts represented by "Fluid IT" originated with Dell Inc. and were developed with the assistance of Everest Group.

Contents

This report consists of three sections. The first section defines the concept of modularity and discussed evolution of this important driver of value in IT infrastructure. The second section analyzes catalysts of adoption of modularity in the IT infrastructure and reviews early attempts to implement this powerful concept in the service delivery. The third section defines key principles of Fluid IT Architecture, discussed benefits of this approach and provides case studies of Fluid IT implementation in the infrastructure outsourcing (IO) offerings. Each section provides the reader with information in easy-to-apply, bite-size pieces. For example, the Concept of Modularity in IT section discusses:

• How modularity in IT has become an important value driver in hardware, software and most recently in service delivery.
• Looks at continuous innovation and technical advancements in IT software and hardware and how IT operations visibly fell behind, leading to every US$1 spent on hardware requiring up to US$2 in IT operations.
• Presents infrastructure managed services (IMS) and remote infrastructure management outsourcing (RIMO) as the first implementations of modularity in IT operations and discusses fundamental limitations of each of these models.