The document discusses the complexity of operating internet of things (IOT) and smart cities, and describes an integrated operations center (IOC) architecture that was developed to manage IOT devices across a township. Key aspects of the IOC include an integrated service desk to handle customer requests, a solutions specialist and maintenance team to provide remote technical support, and a command center to coordinate incidents. The solution developed a profitable multi-vendor support service through a shared support model leveraging global technical teams. Project management ensured timely delivery through defined milestones and a program management office approach.

1. Operating IOT and Smart cities - a real world use case
IOT changes the game: The internet of things changes the prevailing model where humans
interact with machines via a web browser. As devices start peering with devices, and processes
get interconnected, devices can interoperate both locally and globally. Decisions are made as
per predetermined rules, and responses to stimulus occur locally. The changes that have
created the Internet of Things aren’t changes to the internet, but rather changes to the things
connected to the internet—the devices and gateways on the edge of the network that are now
able to request a service or start an action without human intervention.
Today the momentous development in Social Media, Mobility, Analytics and Cloud has created
the perfect storm. These are further snowballing thanks to –lower manufacturing cost of Smart
devices, availability of High Bandwidth connectivity via 4G mobile networks, Proliferation of
Flexible cloud computing models, emergence of Application Aware Software Defined Network
architectures and Government policies and incentives to promote investment in these area
Complexity of IOT –Platform view: This proliferation of interconnected multi-vendor devices
creates enormous management complexity. The devices must communicate and coordinate
seamlessly, and exchange data collected via disparate protocols, creating a need for
Protocol/API integration layer that scales across thousands of devices. Next, the ability to
Onboard (Provision) thousands of these edge devices almost instantaneously and
automatically. When was the last time anyone called the technician? With everyone on-board
and transacting using mobile wallets, and sharing all manner of personal information, secure
multi-tenancy is a table stake. The Cloud Services Platform plays a critical role in
Orchestrating these complex tasks.
Complexity of IOT –Infrastructure view: Under the hood a secure, scalable and flexible
infrastructure provides the foundation to run complex applications. Inside the data center, an
intelligent stack of server, storage, load balancers, security firewalls, virtual machines
collaborate securely with intelligent gateways and wireless LANs to provide secure peering and
aggregation of IOT devices. Today these devices have intelligence that dynamically alters the
profile of the infrastructure stack to match the application running on top. Quite like the edge
devices, these devices need to be provisioned with minimal human intervention, and periodic
OS and firmware updates need to be pushed. When things break down, or performance of the
application degrades, the problem could be on any device or a combination of devices that are
not configured properly or have inter working issues
Context for Smart city/ IOT use case: A 1500 acre township developer decided to deploy IOT
in every home, and building common area to automate lighting and cooling, to secure homes
through IOT based surveillance, and to run tutoring and concierge services using high
definition video conference. The developer needed a city operations center to run the township.
A service delivery platform (SDP) was deployed to provide monitoring dashboard and controls,
and an application layer to mediate between edge devices. An Integrated Operation center (IOC)
was created to provide IT Services to manage these IOT devices sourced from multiple vendors,
an application platform, and IT infrastructure for an entire city block, providing a consistent
customer experience.
Managing Complexity- IOT Managed Services: So what are these challenges? these include
technical issue management and resolution, troubleshooting, tracking, managing

2. configurations, changes, software upgrades, knowledge management, hardware procurement /
replacement, and reporting. Processes and procedures were developed to solve these problems.
A key feature of this IOC architecture was that, in addition to providing on-site resources to
manage IT operations and a help desk, a significant chunk of proactive and reactive support
was provide remotely through a global shared services model that leveraged expertise without
locational constraints, and access to entire network and application stack remotely.
What was Built- the IOC architecture:
The Integrated Service desk (ISD): is the entry point for all customer service calls. It presents
an integrated service view for facilities and IT service requests coming from residents such as
“video surveillance is down” or “send me a plumber”. The ISD team uses the management
portal and trouble ticketing system provided in the service delivery platform (SDP) to log and
manage service requests and escalations. Integrated into this service desk is also Level 1
reactive IT support; this team leverages the same management portal to manage IT incidents.
They observe the incidents tickets proactively to provide knowledgeable response to service
requests. The team is dedicated to the local facility, and their skill set is broad but not deep.
Solutions specialists &maintenance team: This is a core technical level solution support
team that provides Fulfillment (provisioning devices & managing change) and Assurance (end
to end reactive and proactive technical support) for the entire solution. Through well managed
processes, leveraging skilled resources available 24X7 (across global delivery centers) and
tooling (on the service delivery platform) this activity is performed remotely with the support of
a handful of on-site technical resources to provide hands and feet local support.
Their responsibilities include:
 Intermediate incident and problem management
 Troubleshooting & Parts replacement using Remote Technical Support
 Proactively manage solutions leveraging monitoring tools embedded in the SDP
 Recover and replace faulty devices by peering with onsite field support
 provision new services or make changes to existing services
 Maintain a known error database to continually improve service response
Day 2 Operations
for IT & network
Infrastructure
services
Technology to enable
Domain services -LAN,
WAN, Data centers &
all applications
Day 2 Operations
for S+CC Domain
Services
Facility Management,
Physical Safety &
Security management,
Video Concierge
Integrated Service desks to provide all
Customer interface
Call center and Technical service desk

3. Command center: The IOC command center was designed to analyze incidents and perform
cross-domain correlation, improving P1 incident response and resource coordination,
reporting, managing critical escalations between service desk, on-site resources, remote TAC
and development teams. They handle all special requests and provide the “One Stop Shop” for
critical problems until resolution. With the availability of superior analytics capability, machine
learning and automation, flat management style, the IOC Command center in hind-sight seems
a redundant appendage.
The solution support model? how was it developed into a profitable service: How did we
assemble and sustainably build a group of support specialists with knowledge and expertise to
support 5-10-20 solutions involving data center components, unified communication
architectures, video surveillance equipment, HD video conference, and building HVAC and
lighting controls? How did we bring multiple experts under one roof, and pay for their expertise
while ensuring profitable service delivery? How to work with multiple vendors and their support
and development organizations? How to anticipate interoperability and configuration issues
that contribute more than 70% of incidents? How to give customers the confidence of single
window support, and price them attractively?
Solution Support is an innovative service built on a remote, shared support model developed in
response to the above challenges. A team of experienced engineers were trained on multi-
vendor technologies that constitute various solutions. This global, virtual team was housed
inside existing global technical delivery centers, leveraging and contributing to existing pools of
TAC expertise. Global processes were developed and linked through information exchanges (e-
ticketing) interconnecting vendor TACs to manage support cases. Our proactive response and
accountability for supporting our solutions was welcomed by the customer(s) who paid
premium support price. These premium multi-vendor support services were offered as sku’d
offers- easier to sell and reorder. The shared support model built service profitability. Proactive
and timely resolution meant lower demands on backbone TAC. Multi-vendor support expertise
was built over time, and several TAC engineers got new career paths, improving overall
employee engagement.
How was this SOW based offer priced: These solution sku’d support services were combined
with existing support contracts, and dedicated on-site resources through a be-spoke statement
of work driven (SOW) offer. Having the expertise to defend and support the entire solution
meant we could offer SLAs. In response to customer’s demand, we prepared a blended delivery
team comprising customer’s on-site support engineers o worked in concert with the remote
solution support team. Through remote operations, we were able to retain critical solution IP –
ensuring longer term service renewals; a Build operate and transfer (BOT) plan ensured
gradual transition to customer led on-site support.
How was the service built: An internal service development process was leveraged to review
and validate offer design and development. Clear milestones ensured timely delivery against
pre-defined goals

4. How was the project managed, including presales and deal support: The project was
defined and managed using a PMO approach. The PMO was tasked with assessment of IOC
architecture, schedule, budget and risks. The PMO drove the development and assessment of
the statement of work (SOW), definition of measurement systems and operate SLAs, and a
cross organization deployment plan.
An IOC Managed Services business development team dovetailed into front-line sales to
capture customer support requirements, and provide customer education and deal support. On
the backend it peered with the professional services sales, solution and service delivery
platform (SDP) development teams, Technical services product development team and solution
TAC delivery teams, ensuring we built an inventory of re-usable service assets.