Offshore infrastructure support - challenges and opportunities, presented at MIT School of Management, Pune.

1. Offshore IT infrastructure /
technical services
Challenges and opportunities
by
Uday Thatte

2. Tech Support as understood by
some smart and cool people

3. IT Infrastructure / Technical
Services Organization
Client organization
Business
Development
Application Support
I.T. Services
On-site FTEs On-site Contractors
Off-site ContractorsOff-site FTEs
Off-shore Contractors
Vendors
ProjectManagement
ResourceManagement
Off-shore FTE

4. Components of technical service
Technology Process
Culture
In theory

5. Technology
Servers
Operating systems
Databases
Storage
Network
Application servers
Web servers
Middleware
Security
…

6. Technology
…
Virtualization
Cloud Computing
Legacy
Data Warehousing
Business Intelligence

7. Process
Incident management
Change management
Job scheduling and Automation
Monitoring and alerting
Build and deployment
Release management
Configuration management
Project management
Situation management
…

8. Process
…
SLAs
Escalations
Response time & Resolution time
Conference calls, Bridge lines & War rooms
Production control
Tickets – Severities
Bypass & Recovery
Technical impact & business impact
RCA

9. Culture
Respect – for each & everyone
Integrity – say what you mean
Courage – to give the bad news
Enthusiasm – to make things right
Inspiration – think outside the box
Knowledge – new learning everyday
Communication – mean what you say
Vision – understand the big picture
Teamwork – we are all in it together
…

10. Components of technical service
Technology Process
Culture
In practice

11. Components of technical service
Technology
Process
Culture
Technical problems need technical solutions

12. Components of technical service
Technology
Process
Culture
Process gets paramount importance when
technology is falling short

13. Components of technical service
Technology Process
Culture
Culture has the power to make or break everything

14. The process of tech support
Technical side Human side Business side
What to check
when a system is
down
Should you inform
your boss at 2am
about a system
being down
What applications
are impacted
because of this
What are possible
causes of
performance
degradation
What to say and not
say on a conference
call
What could possibly
be the revenue loss
for the company
How to configure
the database for a
warehouse app v/s
a web app
When is it high time
you asked for help
What are the SLAs,
what is the history,
what are the
expectations..

15. The process of tech support
Technical side Human side Business side
What to check
when a system is
down
Should you inform
your boss at 2am
about a system
being down
What applications
are impacted
because of this
What are possible
causes of
performance
degradation
What to say and not
say on a conference
call
What could possibly
be the revenue loss
for the company
How to configure
the database for a
warehouse app v/s
a web app
When is it high time
you asked for help
What are the SLAs,
what is the history,
what are the
expectations..
Knowledge,
Inspiration
Courage, Integrity,
Teamwork, Respect
Knowledge, Vision,
Communication

16. Core values
Respect
– Treat others as you would like to be treated
– Talk TO people, not ABOUT them
– Foster a climate of dignity and respect for all
– Praise in public, correct in private
Integrity
– Make promises you can keep and then keep them
– Provide complete information, the whole truth
– Accept responsibility for mistakes and learn from them
– Do not accept lying, cheating or stealing as part of business

17. Integrity? What is that?

18. Core values
Courage
– Do what is RIGHT, not what is TRADITIONAL
– Set reasonable expectation and do not use 'Yes' as an easy way
out of an issue
– Speak up and voice your opinion when necessary
– Understand your Domain of Responsibility and do everything
necessary to be successful
Inspiration
– Inspire people around you by setting examples
– Go above and beyond customer expectations
– Convey confidence in your team's ability to succeed
– Be energetic and upbeat

19. Courage and inspiration all around

20. Core values
Knowledge
– Continuously upgrade your knowledge and the quality of
everything you do
– Do it right the first time, there are no second chances
– Build reputation for excellence through consistent performance
and communication
Communication
– Differentiate between facts and opinions
– Always provide a response
– Communicate concisely, yet completely
– Talk like a real person, not like a machine

21. Communication ‘skills’

22. Tips on self education
• Get core technical certifications
– Oracle, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft
– New versions, new products, new features
• Keep in touch with the alternate world
– Freeware, open source, cross-platform
• Get process certifications
– PMP, ITIL
• Get leadership and communication education
– Dale Carnegie

23. Tips for reputation
• Speak loud and clear on phone or conference call
• Respond to emails until the matter comes to a closure
• 10:00 != 10:05 and 10 minutes != 11 minutes
• Don’t waste time in apologizing – own up your mistake
and correct it
• Avoid the 3 C’s – Criticize, Complain and Condemn – in
public

24. Tips or success
• Understand your ‘domain of responsibility’ and
‘accountability’
• They may look stupid but they are not
• Strike a balance between finding the cause and
remedying the situation
• Get help before it’s too late
• Work like a commando – alone, alert, precise and with
quiet determination to finish a job well (without any
appreciation)

25. Questions
Comments

26. MIT, Pune