Mainframe Outsourcing Health-Check

Outsourced mainframe customers often lack transparency into how well their outsourcer is managing the mainframe capacity and performance relative to what is optimal for the customer.

The customer seldom has the data or the skills to communicate clearly with the outsourcer on capacity and performance issues. The outsourcer may have limited motivation to help the customer optimize capacity. In many cases, the customer doesn’t even have the ability to validate whether the outsourcer is invoicing in a correct manner relative to the contract or in a fair manner relative to industry ‘best practice’.

Objective

Simple questions like ‘how is the basis for invoicing (e.g. MIPS) calculated?’ can lead to a 10% lower invoice.

During the Mainframe Outsourcing Health-Check, SMT Data receives capacity data (SMF) from the customer’s mainframe environment as well as input regarding the billing model agreed with the outsourcer.

Based on the information SMT Data receives, SMT Data creates a report with findings and recommendations to answer questions like:

• Does the capacity usage (e.g. MIPS) on the invoice match the measured usage as seen in the SMF Data?
• Has the outsourcer used the agreed methods for calculating the capacity that the customeris paying for?
• Are the agreed methods for invoicing capacity in line with industry ‘best practice’?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of other methods of determining capacity usage for the customer and the outsourcer?
• What are the major contributors in technical and business terms to the capacity usage?
• Where is there optimization potential and what specific actions can the customer or outsourcer take to achieve savings for the customer?
• Are there performance issues such as poor response time, and what options are there for addressing these?
• What are the ongoing reporting requirements to ensure a transparency between the outsourcer and the customer?

What we will deliver

During the Mainframe Outsourcing Health-Check, SMT Data analyses the performance and capacity data using the ITBI™ solution in order to answer the questions outlined above under ‘objectives’.

• SMT Data reviews initial conclusions with the customer and, ideally, also with the outsourcer to ensure that the conclusions are based on a correct and complete understanding of the
  technical data and the agreements between the Customer and Outsourcer.
• SMT Data provides a final report addressing the topics outlined under ‘objectives’ above and a roadmap for further actions.
• The customer, and potentially also the outsourcer, are given access to the ITBI reporting environ meant to get hands-on experience with the solution based on their own data.

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