Getting on top of documenting all of your infrastructure and mapping out dependencies is a daunting task, from where to start, to, how to maintain the processes across all areas.
Well, there are some amazing Application Dependency Mapping Tools (or ADM) that are designed to map the relationships between applications, the applications you use to carry out business processes and the underlying infrastructure they depend on.
These tools can produce a variety of useful information – from Visio diagrams to visually display all communications between infrastructure elements (like servers and storage), to identification of performance bottlenecks – the best among them can even fix problems before they’re identified by the users.
The great thing about ADM – whether it’s performed by a business analyst in collaboration with business and technical stakeholders, or via a specialised tool, is that it has a number of uses.
Some of which are:
Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity Planning (BCP)
Understanding how underlying infrastructure is connected to line-of-business applications and other critical systems like email is critical in determining what is within the scope of DR and BCP.
Problem Management
Some of the best ADM tools will not only map out dependencies but also provide dashboards and alerts indicating when an infrastructure event (like servers running at 100% CPU usage) might be affecting the performance of end-user applications. Rather than a technician manually trawling through every component of an application to eventually find the problem, they can have the answer right there in front of them, and allow them to take corrective action quickly.
Change Management
 ADM helps make it clear when a change to one system might have a flow-on effect to other business applications or processes and thus allow the Change Advisory Board (CAB) to schedule the change for a time to minimise the impact it has on the business.
Understanding how your IT infrastructure supports and assists your business is key to ensuring that your applications work how you need them to, when you need them to, but if you, like many businesses don’t have the time or resources to do this, get in touch today!
If you’re looking for consultancy services to help design your own IT business processes, contact Starboard IT to find out what we can do for you.
