The concept of modularity created revolutions in many industries (e.g., manufacturing) and firmly established itself in IT. While almost every aspect of IT (e.g., hardware, software) has taken advantage of this powerful concept, IT operations remain monolithic and rarely offered in modules.
This research is a forward-looking analysis of the implication of the modularity concept for IT operations and a presentation of an innovative model of IT operations management based on the modular approach.
The concepts represented by "Fluid IT" originated with Dell Inc. and were developed with the assistance of Everest Group.
This report consists of three sections. The first section defines the concept of modularity and discussed evolution of this important driver of value in IT infrastructure. The second section analyzes catalysts of adoption of modularity in the IT infrastructure and reviews early attempts to implement this powerful concept in the service delivery. The third section defines key principles of Fluid IT Architecture, discussed benefits of this approach and provides case studies of Fluid IT implementation in the infrastructure outsourcing (IO) offerings. Each section provides the reader with information in easy-to-apply, bite-size pieces. For example, the Concept of Modularity in IT section discusses: