4.1 Stage 1 – Standardize
Stage 1 often coincides with a more mature server virtualization environment, and the focus is on creating a working vCloud solution with an on-demand service catalog that is directly accessible by end-users. The service catalog provides rapid deployment services for non-business-critical, development, and test environments as well as for externally sourced applications. Implementing the service catalog promotes cloud acceptance by business users as well as outlines a long-term vCloud implementation strategy with planning for operational and organizational change. The following capabilities are important for this stage:
Financial Model and Measurement – Awareness and understanding of the costs of assets and underlying infrastructure capacity.
People and Organization – Specialized but shared roles for managing virtualized environments.
No explicit virtualization Center of Excellence established.
NoteSee “Organizing for vCloud Operations” in Operating a VMware vCloud for information about the Center of Excellence.
Process and Control.
IT processes are adapted for virtualization but are largely manual, with specific, customized inter-process integration.
Focus on limited, continuous improvement.
Tools and Technology.
On-line, self-service capability for development and test provisioning.
On-line, self-service capability for Software as a Service (SaaS)-based applications.
Operational tools defined for virtualization environments.
Some business workloads run in a virtualized environment, whether internal or provided by third parties.