cloud sharing services
Service Catalog Work FlowsOnce all the levels of detail have been finalized for a cloud service catalog, the
details of how the catalog will be utilized by end users can be outlined by providing
sample work flows (effectively sequences of operational steps). The purpose of
work flows is to provide insight and guidance regarding the self-service portal
functionality, which can then pass on the provisioning/monitoring/management
information to an orchestration layer below the service catalog to interact
accordingly with the underlying infrastructure. Figure 7 illustrates one such
example: a user can select a compute profile, select a service tiering
(gold/silver/bronze and so on), define what level of monitoring is applied to the
service instance, and commit activation of the service instance across the multiple
pieces of equipment required to deliver this service.
Designing the Solution: The Case for Professional Services
Defining and designing the right service catalog for your cloud computing solution is
a demanding task. It requires detailed service catalog design experience and deep
understanding of cloud computing models as well as detailed knowledge of how the
service definitions interact with data center equipment, the external (cloud)
environment, and the underlying infrastructure. It also requires experience
integrating IT systems and cloud management and – a significant project in its own
right – a structured approach to program management.
Cisco Services has significant expertise and experience in each of these areas,
backed up by multiple years of helping customers transform their data centers. Cisco
Services offers a range of Cloud Enablement Services, from strategy to planning and
design to implementation. Application migration is an integral component in each of
these services, and detailed application methodologies have already been
developed by the cloud computing experts in Cisco Services. Cisco Services,
therefore, is ideally placed to help you design and develop a state-of-the-art
application migration approach for your cloud computing deployment.
Summary
A cloud service catalog is a critical component of a cloud architecture since it
provides an abstraction for the underlying infrastructure. It enables other IT and
business services, which in turn create the value propositions for the investment in
cloud architectures.
A well-defined service catalog methodology and framework, therefore, are
paramount before an investment in cloud architectures is made. Engaging Cisco
Services to help you with this design exercise will provide you with additional
expertise to accelerate your cloud services adoption
