The managed infrastructure

What is managed infrastructure?

The concept of 'managed infrastructure' is a crucial concept in USM, but it is an internal control instrument of the service provider. The managed infrastructure includes all components of the infrastructure of which the service provider wants to be in control, to be able to guarantee the delivery of agreed services. This includes both the facilities made available to customers, and the provider’s internal resources that are required for the delivery of these facilities.

Scope: MIC and MIR

All managed infrastructure components (MICs) are registered in the managed infrastructure register (MIR). Note: In the IT domain, the MIR is often called CMDB (configuration management database) or CMS (configuration management system).

The choice for the scope of the managed infrastructure translates directly into the administration of that infrastructure as MICs in the MIR: only MICs or their managed attributes are registered. Modifying an attribute of a MIC that is not in the MIR, therefore, requires a service request and not a request for change: after all, nothing is changed in the managed infrastructure.

The split between change and operate

The split between change and operate is determined by the scope of the managed infrastructure.

• A customer request that includes the modification of a component of the managed infrastructure will always need to run through change. A customer request that doesn't include a modification of managed infrastructure may trigger operate directly.
• The recovery from an incident that includes the modification of a component of the managed infrastructure will also need to run through change. If it doesn't require such a modification, it can directly trigger operate.
• The same applies to an improvement measure that comes from improve: if this measure can be deployed within the existing service agreement, it either runs through change or it directly triggers operate, depending on whether it requires a modification of managed infrastructure.

The content of the MIR

In USM, the managed infrastructure includes components from all resource types, both the facilities made available to the customer and the service provider's internal resources:

• Services - The supported facilities made available to the customer.
• People - The teams and employees of the service provider, both internal and external, including the profiles (jobs, functions) of employees, and derivatives like a job matrix.
• Process - The three types of routines (process, procedure, and work instruction), workflows, and all relevant derivatives like RACI schemes.
• Technology - The means used by the service provider to deliver the facilities, including tools, instruments, and documents, but also including the services of suppliers that are used by the service provider. Documents may include requirements documentation, architecture models, functional specifications, technology specifications, service agreements, service catalogs, schemes, templates, forms, manuals, or any other documented resource that must be controlled to be able to guarantee the agreed services.