The current client services provided by my company include provision of IT network security and data centre service client hosting. The current network security outsourced services include provision of firewalls and desktop antivirus licenses. The organization also hosts clients in its data centre facility including financial institutions, government agencies and other private business enterprises that requires high information security guarantee. The $25 million cyber security provider is currently employing 20 people and occupying a single floor of a building.
However, the company Chief Executive Officer (CEO) expects it to grow its human resources three times in the next 18 months. Besides the growth in the number of employees, the company is also expected to have grown its technological infrastructure to occupy two more floors within the same period. Four of the current 20 employees form the Information Technology (IT) department, which the CIO is the member. The IT team comprise of a CIO, a physical Network Engineer, an electrical engineer and a system security administrator.
The network engineer is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring gig physical network security and integrity of the organization while the security administrator deals with the administration of the logical firewall and antivirus licensing. The electrical engineer ensures the daily technical operation of the data centre including environmental control and ensuring electrical power availability for the mission critical infrastructure. The company collects variable and attribute data. Attribute data related to the effectiveness of each of its outsourced service including software and hardware.
Variable data relates to the comparison teen the performances of different technologies within the service suite to establish the best for client needs. An example of the latter case is the comparison of the effectiveness of different antivirus or physical network and data centre infrastructures from different vendors. An information system is a suite of software and hardware designed to support the daily operation of an organization (Pawl, 1981). Currently the organization has employed an integrated information system involving office automation, management information, expert and transactional processing systems.
In general, an integrated information system is a suite of IT software and hardware that has management information generation and transaction processing capabilities (Hogan’s, 2001 Such a system also provides decision support to the organization. Office automation, also called office information system integral suite of software, hardware and network to facilitate communication flow in an organization (Hogan’s, 2001). Office automation enhances performance efficiency to meet the clients’ needs within the agreed service level agreements. Office automation also enhances online communication between the company ND its clients.
Transactional processing system captures data and event logs and processes them into intelligent information from the daily operation of the organization. Transactional information system helps the company to monitor the environmental controls of the data centre and client on-site technological systems (Hogan’s, 2001). Management information system is a suite of applications that enhance accurate generation of information in a timely manner to be used as decision making basis in resolving problems, incidents and tracking performance (Hogan’s, 2001 )s.
Management information yester enhances the effectiveness and efficiency of the company in proving client services within the agreed service level agreements. The organization has robust operational systems and active databases that ensure constant update of the end user services such as updating of the antivirus and firewalls to ensure high information security and integrity. Active databases are used for security and event monitoring, statistical collection and alerting through database triggers. These databases are essential for monitoring the performance of various application servers and enterprise systems within the data centre.
The company also has a cloud database that ensures remote access of the hybrid-hosted solutions by clients through open Apish and web browsers. The services that are accessed through cloud database are downloads of firewall and antivirus updates. Other databases employed in the organization are data warehouses for centralized data storage for future references. Currently the organization has employed an integral suite of HP, MOM, Net APS and Systems in this data centre. The most elaborate are the IBM P series storage and processing systems.
The integration of various infrastructure systems from different vendors ensures business continuity in the event of failure of one. The organization has also employed Cisco network equipment including switches and routers. The company has partnered with MacAfee in the provision of firewall security. MacAfee is also the official partner of the organization in the provision of mallard protection MacAfee was preferred over other vendors because of its total network protection feature and flexibility to combine its different appliances into an integrated solution suite (Scarceness & Hoffman, 2009).
MacAfee offers various levels of network security depending on the client’s need. Project Inception Plan Introduction This document will be concerned mainly with the overview of the project plan. The project of expanding the current information technology systems and implement necessary infrastructure development and software system expansion and integration to cater for the expected future growth of the business is very challenging and requires proper planning. Project Plan Inception is the first phase of the project with an aim of putting all the required plans in order.
This plan shows how the project tasks will flow from the start to the end. It is a phase that stakeholders are identified and commitment to the project in terms of sponsorship is also some of the tasks that done by project team. It is also worth pointing out that any misunderstanding in the project deliverable products should be sorted out during this phase. Purpose This plan details the tasks that will be carried out during the first phase of expansion of the current information technology systems and implement necessary infrastructure development and software system that will be able to cater for the ever increasing business needs.
This plan assumes that the project am has been constructed and the stakeholders have also agreed to the design of the project. Scope This project plan applies for the project on increasing the IT capacity to handle more tasks. It is the plan that will be used by the project team when they will be coming up with higher level plans of the project. References 1. Project Vision and mission 2. Planning meeting and resolutions by sponsors and top project managers There are no many documents that this plan will reference because it is the initial phase of the project.
The vision or objectives of the project that were established y the stakeholders will be referenced. There are some concerns and desires raised during several meetings by the stakeholders in the initial stages that will be referenced. Plan The Inception plan will further develop the product requirements and establish the overall development plan for the project. The major tasks and subtasks will be developed. There will be five tasks and several subtasks that will be detailed in this plan.
