Infrastructure Assessment

Overview

Assessment/Review of current state of client’s business infrastructure. Discovery effort to document detailed components of a client’s IT infrast. Conduct analysis, ID risks + propose recomm. & poss solutions.

Why Does This Matter?

So we can properly gain understanding of environment prior to recommendation. Need to understand current state of IT infrastructure to guide BL solutions & provide clarity in efforts/cost. Allows effective & efficient IT support from BL. Understand Risks & position to be best partner moving forward. Provide priority to efforts & recommendations to pursue.

What Value Does This Add?

Business leaders get importance of tech to their business, not just the technology merits itself. Brings technical understanding to non-technical leaders (a translation). Allows BL to present real scenarios to show risk and importance of IT. Provide evidence to shortfalls and errors.

• Assessment includes more than just infrastructure. We can view business w/ software/DM eye
• Assessment document itself is a valuable business asset
• provides an inventory & checklist of needs/issues

Common Problems

• There is current unhappiness or misalignment with client’s current IT if this service is happening (reason we are here)
• Feeling underserved, tech no up to standard, uncertainty of tech moving forward w/ business goals
• Addresses the current misalignment
• Technical problems
• Technical risks (security)
• Service problems
• Issues w/ IT vendor service
• IT management problems
• No council, recommendations, planning, transparency (availability & understanding), efficiencies, end-user pitfalls
• Even if service doesn’t solve it - this service documents misalignments and problems
• Identify financial overcharging and/or issues
• Addressing - they don’t know what they don’t know

Why Is A Solution Needed?

Helps us align what Black Line can do for the client. Customized solution tailored to support business needs and goals not only for today but for tomorrow as well. Allows Black Line to asses our alignment with client of working relationship.

What To Expect

Business Leaders can expect

• Ask for detailed IT related administrative documentation. (vendors, warrenty, manufacture info, purchasing info, licensing, subscriptions, hardware/software)
• We ask for admin credentials to systems. Allows for TRUE state of technologies & programs & data and thorough review of everything.
• Senior engineer shows up on site. Physical & Remote technical review of hardware & software.
• Conducting of interviews of stakeholders.
• Put system collection tools in place to automate process

End Users can expect

• Stakeholder interviews

• In-person review of physical hardware (allow access & participate in assessment process)

  End-user

• Review of job process, technical issues & hold-ups day to day

How Does Black Line Do It Better?

• Our assessment customizes our efforts to fit the client’s needs
• We understand before we begin solving
• Mature - Gold standard - Best practices
• Better at communicating highly technical topics in layman’s terms
• Provide alignment & intention with our solutions to client’s specific needs
• NO GENERIC SOLUTION OFFERINGS
• Unique service model
• Have areas of expertise outside of Infrastructure (DM & Software)
• We are able to support all areas of their business
• Different vantage point than Infrastructure-only companies
• Competitive advantage