Looking to deliver a self-service File Service?
Adopting a service-delivery model changes the relationship between IT and the wider organization when it comes to data management. As provider, IT is made responsible for the maintenance and continuous improvement of the service itself. Responsibility for appropriate use of that service is placed firmly in the hands of the individual business units which use it.
The ability for service users to undestand and manage the way they use the file service is a key consideration. Business units, Data Stewards and individual users should have access to the information and tools necessary to ensure appropriate use of the file service, without IT intervention.
Northern’s Solution
Northern offers a range of capabilities that enable organizations to deliver file storage as a service, including integration with ITSM solutions, billing for service use, allocation and self-service data management.
Focusing on self-service data management, Northern’s Distributed Data Management solution area enables individual users or groups to be provided with access to information about how they, their team or their organizational unit are using the file service. These analyses, from summary to file-level, allow for efficient fulfillment of data management responsibilities.
Benefits
Enabling business users to actively manage their use of the file service re-enforces the responsibility they have for ensuring efficient and compliant use of that service. It also places this very important task into the hands of those who are best placed to peform it.
| Providing self-service data management capabilities, within the context of a service-oriented IT infrastructure, increases user willingness to pro-actively manage the data footprint – controlling data growth, improving data value realization and mitigating risk. |
| Providing self-service access to IT resources reinforces the shift to a service delivery model – driving successful achievement of a complex change management process. |
| Project teams, departments and organizational units that are subscribed to (and possibly paying for) different service levels for file storage will require the ability to administer their use of these services. Enabling them to do so without direct support from IT both improves user experience and reduces IT operational costs. |
