Optimization is a structured, systematic process of assessing infrastructure maturity across IT capabilities, then prioritizing projects to progress towards a Dynamic state. The process begins with a starting point, “where your IT infrastructure and platform is today,” and ends with a destination, “where you want it to be.” Optimization focuses on aligning the utilization of an organization’s IT people, process, and technology to advance the business towards its desired destination. As a result, IT becomes a more strategic partner to the business.

During the past six years, Microsoft has developed and refined the IO models that outline a progression through four stages of optimizing an organization’s IT infrastructure.

Microsoft has segmented IO into two key models: Business Productivity Infrastructure (BPIO) and Core Infrastructure (Core IO).* These integrated models illustrate the strategic value and business benefits of moving from a “basic” stage of optimization, where the infrastructure and platform is generally considered a “cost center,” toward a “dynamic” infrastructure, where the business value of the infrastructure is clearly understood and utilized.
Within each of the IO models, there are key capabilities and workloads that enable IT organizations to map business drivers and priorities to technology solutions that are integrated across platform capabilities.

By focusing on the business drivers through optimization, IT organizations can bridge the gap between business and IT.
Based on the IO model and enterprise customer engagements over the last six years, Microsoft has developed proven process that enables an IT organization to develop an actionable roadmap that prioritizes and drives implementation of solutions that support the business drivers and strategies. There key six steps in the process. They range from information gathering, IT and business assessments and analysis, developing a roadmap, and architecting the solutions for delivery.

1. Understand Business Drivers, Needs, and Challenges

The initial step to getting started is to understand where you are at. In terms of bridging the gap, understanding the current business drivers and challenges will improve the quality of the remaining steps and probability of overall succe

2. Define the Desired Business Capabilities to Deliver

By focusing on the business capabilities that need to be delivered, IT is able to drive a roadmap and architecture toward a destination the business aspires to.

3. Assess Current Capabilities

Microsoft has worked with industry analysts like IDC and Gartner to fine tune compelling assessments that drill down on the current capabilities and the levels of maturity.

4. Perform a Gap Analysis of Current versus Desired Delivery

Because you know where you are at (Assess Current Capabilities) and where you want to go (Desired Business Capabilities), you now have a way of identifying the gaps and determining where emphasis needs to be focused in order to make it to your destination.

5. Roadmap the Short-term and Long-term Capabilities and Delivery

Developing a roadmap that provides explicit, actionable short-term and long-term solutions and projects allows the organization to not only convey the plan and get decision-makers on board, but also establishes the baseline for reporting progress.

6. Build the Architecture for Specific Solutions

The architecture for a solution is the overwhelming key to success in the enterprise optimization engagements that Microsoft has been involved in. When a solution is correctly architected based on the desired business drivers, capabilities, and IT infrastructure, the outcome is known—otherwise the solution is simply a variable with very little predictability.