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Summary

A Step-by-Step
Guide to Defining
Your Cloud
Services Catalog
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 4
Defining the Services Catalog
Chapter 2 9
Building a Services Catalog
Chapter 3
Choosing the Right Solution for Your Business 14
Chapter 4
Declaring Success 16
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Enterprises looking to build cloud services service access for applications and end
catalogs soon learn that the path to users. The listed services typically include
success is complex. It’s complex both application functionality or data for use
because of the diversity of available services, either by end users or in applications. As
as well as how enterprises interact with a result, enterprises are able to reuse these
those services. Yet, the good news is that cloud services across applications, and
the technology you deploy in support of they may exist on any number of platforms
this initiative will strip complexity from the including private and public clouds

development process. The catalog itself
shields users and administrators from Think of a services catalog as akin to iTunesTM,
dealing with the underlying management or other online music and video stores,
– including automation – of cloud services. rather than as a typical catalog. Just as we
download the music we need, on-demand,
Cloud services catalogs are a centralized service catalogs allow you to discover and
resource to both discover and leverage access cloud services, such as storage,
private or public cloud services. An outgrowth compute, and business services, which
of service registries and repositories from can be self- or auto-provisioned. Just like
the days of SOA (Service-Oriented iTunes tracks your music downloads, cloud
Architecture), this new and improved services catalogs track your service usage

technology provides a single gateway for Perhaps even applying rules to your use of
Introduction 1
services, such as who or what can leverage amount of understanding as to the
services, and for what purpose. approach, as well as knowledge of the
available technology

Enterprises that lack cloud services catalogs
are missing out on the advantages of In this eBook, we’ll remove the mystery out
centralized control, centralized discovery, of how to define a cloud services catalog,
and centralized access; and these services providing you with a step-by-step guide
become distributed and unmanageable to build the catalog itself. This effort often
pretty quickly. Not surprisingly, effective marks a departure for IT, and typically there
governance becomes the single most are no existing models to follow. However,
important reason that cloud service catalogs we’ll move you through the processes to
exist for enterprises. understand the existing service assets, and
leverage best-of-breed operations and
Beyond service catalogs, enterprises that automation technology. Finally, we’ll show
also leverage best-of-breed automation and you how all of this information ties together
operations tools to insure success after initial into a larger plan to leverage cloud
implementation of service catalogs are far computing; a plan that will provide more
more likely to meet their cloud business efficiencies and agility

objectives. However, this takes a certain
Introduction 2
Cloud services catalogs provide a single
point of discovery and access for IT, applications,
line-of-business users, and partners

Public Cloud Private Cloud Public Cloud Private Cloud
Cloud Services Catalog
Corporate IT Line-of-Business Partners
Introduction 3
Chapter 1
Defining the
Cloud Services
Catalog: Challenges
and Opportunities
The use of cloud services provides enterprises In essence, you are talking to the
with key advantages such as these: applications through the services interface

The location where the instance actually
First, enterprises have the ability to runs is transparent to you

leverage services from anywhere, as
required by the architecture in support Finally, there’s the ability to mix and
of the business. For example, there’s match services for use within composite
the ability to leverage a credit check applications or processes. This approach
service hosted on a cloud-based platform, underscores the agility of cloud computing
from any systems within the architecture, architecture. Not only can you create
on-premise or cloud-based. An application application processes quickly to solve
at the services level may be location business problems, but you can also
and platform independent except when recreate them as needed, and thus provide
data security, SLA’s or other requirements the core value of agility. The use of cloud
legislate where the service is hosted. computing provides even more value since
we do this using more cost-effective
Second, there’s the ability to leverage computing platforms, public or private

virtualization, or address core applications
as logical instances that may run on any The cloud services catalog is the key to
number of physical servers, providing automated provisioning and deployment
better resource utilization and scalability. because it provides a single point of
Chapter 1 5
reference for the cloud services. The provides IT with the maximum flexibility
services catalog defines, in detail, all to obtain resources from either private
services—public and private—available or public clouds

to business users or developers

This structure supports the notion of
The services catalog must be kept multi-cloud deployments that seem to
scrupulously up to date so that users be the current direction in the industry,
always have a clear picture of the and provides the ability to monitor the
available services and resources. What’s use and cost of the services, which
more, the services under management allows IT to better manage SLAs for
need to be related directly to the needs the entire enterprise

of the business

Services Catalogs and Cloud Operations
The services catalog of today differs Cloud operations refer to those operations
from services catalogs found in the that can proactively avoid performance
initial days of SOA (Service-Oriented issues and gain deep insights into the
Architecture) in that the underlying health, risk and efficiency of virtual and
technology details are usually not physical cloud infrastructure, as well as
provided to the users. The rationale operating systems and applications. This
is that keeping the implementation is done with infrastructure that can provide
details behind the catalog, as it were, performance data that’s abstracted to key
Chapter 1 6
metrics. Analysis of the key metrics allow Services Catalogs and Cloud Automation
those who monitor cloud services offered Creating a scalable, yet cost effective,
in the services catalog to proactively cloud management program requires
make changes in the operational profile a closely-knit mix of strategy, technology
to support the use of the services. and tactics. What’s the leading priority?
Automation. Enterprises should consider
Cloud operations also refers to the ability the use of key service governance and
to manage capacity and cost metering of cloud automation technology that can
cloud services, and thus track usage, true provide orchestration workflows to turn
costs, and the value of leveraging each groups of services into a business solution

service. Another key function is the ability Cloud automation also provides the ability
to logically group resources so they can to create policies and procedures to
be managed by services, or by groups of automate the access and use of services
services. Finally, cloud operations provide by both developers and end users, and
the ability to manage services through the thus make the use of the services catalog
use of policies, which can be set to limit more productive and accessible

or manage access to cloud services in the
catalog, or set alerts for administrators Cloud automation is all about defining
to be notified if services use goes out of mechanisms that automate the use of
pre-set limits. cloud services, including the ability to
Chapter 1 7
automatically correct issues with cloud cloud services in the catalog) are
services, such the operational health of provisioned and for what purpose. This
the service, including performance and can be extended to enforce policies and
working through changes within the procedures, which removes the end users
infrastructure. This can be accomplished or developers from the role of enforcer

using workflow triggers that allow Instead, automated tools manage the use
administrators to create alerts, and trigger of services and resources

automated procedures that are tied to
those alerts. Creating a Plan-of-Attack
Enterprise IT should create a well-defined
Cloud automation is tightly coupled and resourced plan to both implement the
with security as well, including automating services catalog, and to place automated
best practices, which keeps the service operational, governance, security, and
secure, while automated workflows and management facilities around the use of
procedures can implement compliance the services. This plan will provide the
requirements. Resource management jumping off point for the movement to
using provisioning capabilities also falls a services catalog, which will be defined
under the cloud automation umbrella, stepwise in the next section

controlling which resources (including
Chapter 1 8
Chapter 2
Building a
Services Catalog
9
We recommend that enterprises follow an eight-step process to build a services catalog

The steps include:
Step 1: Understand Existing Services Assets
Step 2: Understand Cloud Services Assets
Step 3: Identify Required Types of Automation
Step 4: Define Use of Automation
Step 5: Establish Operations Planning
Step 6: Identify Candidate Services
Step 7: Deploy Initial Services Catalog
Step 8: Test and Deploy
While many enterprises may opt to not result in a sub-optimal cloud services catalog

use these steps and instead iterate
through the definition and construction It’s also important to note is that this
of a services catalog, the best path is to process is lead by requirements, and
work through your understanding and thus those in IT building services catalogs
issues around cloud services in a stepwise need to collaborate with existing subject
manner. This will allow you to properly matter experts in the various departments

build the services catalog, and make sure For example, making sure to include
you do not miss major steps that could those who are doing billing in defining
Chapter 2 10

Think of a services catalog as akin to iTunesTM, or other online music and video stores, rather than as a typical catalog. Just as we download the music we need, on-demand, service catalogs allow you to discover and access cloud services, such as storage, compute, and business services, which can be self- or auto-provisioned. Just like