Service Management Assessment for the Cloud

Change Management

• What information is required for changes to virtual machines and how is this recorded?
• What constitutes a virtual infrastructure change, and what categories of changes are there (for example, VM virtual hardware memory)?
• Are processes documented?
• Are different procedures followed for the assessment and approval of normal or complex changes as opposed to simple changes?

Configuration Management

• What are the purpose, scope, and objectives of configuration management the cloud?
• What are the SLAs for the machines in cloud?
• Are permissions used to limit changes in the cloud?
• How are cloud based machines tracked in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB)?
• How are patch levels tracked in the cloud?

Incident Management

• How are cloud based incidents handled?
• How are cloud related issues captured in a knowledge base?
• How are cloud components monitored?

Problem Management

• Are there separate procedures to isolate problems related to the cloud?
• How does the way that cloud related problems are addressed compare to other platforms?
• How are known errors logged?

Release Management

• Are standard build blueprints used?
• Are releases tested prior to implementation?
• Is a back-out plan developed for each release?
• Are the master copies of all software in use within standard builds stored in a single repository (Definitive Software Library)?

Service Desk

• What tools are used to record cloud related issues and how are they classified?
• How are escalations of cloud related issues escalated?

Reference

http://download3.vmware.com/elq/pdf/wp_roadmaptovirtualinfrastructure.pdf

http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/services/consserv-esp-roadmap-workshop-sb-en.pdf