Delivering Integration Platform as Private cloud - Part 2
As discussed in Part 1 the key motivations behind delivering Integration Platform as a private cloud are
- Minimize environment management overhead
- Uniform configuration accross environments
- Basic integration platform QoS is delivered to all business initiative including capacity management
- Automated deployment of services with minimal intervention by Integration team
- Optimum utilization of hardware infrastructure
- Apportion Integration Platform cost based on
- Integration solution complexity
- Solution type
- Volumetric
- Application to be integrated
- Usage of Integration Platform
Considering Integration platform forms the enterprise backbone, the motivation presented above becomes the key input for architecting & engineering Integration Platform for deriving better ROI using a private cloud based hosting model
Today enterprises are far from achieving this, due to the basic fact that stringent governance around managing Integration platform is missing
- Integration Platform Architecture & patterns remains on paper and the realization link to the integration platform is missing - Project team are reinventing solution design for implementing similar patterns
- Runtime component standardization is missing - No common implementation of Technical services like error handling, logging, auditing exists and every project builds it from scratch
- No comprehensive capacity model in place, Capacity analysis is done with project view and not enterprise platform view - As a result coexistence of integration solution components delivered by different program is seen as a performance degradation or stability risk
- Comprehensive automation is missing - Environment & solution component provisioning is time consuming and human error prone (requiring regression testing to ensure environment build)
- 360 degree governance for Integration Platform missing - Today governance focus is not extended to the management of Integration platform (read runtime behavior). Typically exception raised by project team or support team on the core integration platform is not seen as an opportunity to improve Integration Platform run time behavior
However in most of the cases some amount of standardization exists but an overarching view is missing. However a detailed analysis showed following levers could provide the basic framework to approach this
- Architecture standardization - Establish a platform architecture to address enterprise needs without being constrained by product, followed by detailing of various implementation pattern with adequate detailing
- Component Consolidation - Based on the architecture ensure consolidation of technology to present an uniform view of the Integration Platform
- Maximize re-use - Ensure platform design ensures re-use at every level design, development and runtime, to maximize benefit
- Platform capability improvement - Focus on continuously adopt implementation best practices as platform capability to improve overall platform maturity
- Improve Infrastructure fungibility - Look at opportunity to utilize the hardware infrastructure optimally through virtualization and partitioning
- Improving Automation and imbibe Self Service philosophy for Integration Platform - Bring in automation to remove human error to the fullest extent, this forms the basic building block for self servicing Integration platform
- Formalize SLA/OLA management - Identify measures for SLA & OLA and identify sources for measurement to bring right amount of intelligence to manage adherence
However it is important to sequence your approach in the right manner to ensure maximum benefit and the diagram below provides a view of the approach I am recommending to our clients for establishing Integration Platform as Private cloud
