Metron provides a range of service based offerings through the medium of our own expert consultants and in conjunction with approved service partners and associated independent consultants. Services are tailored to meet clients' needs with a variety of fixed and variable fee rate packages. Our consultants are called upon by manufacturers and users alike to trouble-shoot critical performance problems or to provide regular Performance Management and Capacity Planning reporting. We are happy to build a custom support package to suit individual client's requirements on a case-by-case basis.
Our consultancy options include Call-off, Strategic Projects, Tactical Projects, Implementation, Support PACS, ITIL® Business and ITIL® Audit Service.
Consultancy studies can be undertaken on a call-off basis for so many days work or on a project basis with a more formally agreed deliverable. Much of our consultancy support is on a call-off basis, with assignments typically of a week or two. For larger clients, more significant studies are undertaken, with appropriate project management structures to establish agreed objectives, deliverables and costs. These projects tend to be defined either as Strategic or Tactical.
Strategic projects such as implementing Capacity Management using codes of good practice like ITIL® are also undertaken by our consultants. For the local Capacity Management team to be successful, it must form an integral part of the overall business process. The team will require regular inputs from a number of other functional areas. It will need to service urgent management requests for information relating to the ability of the current and planned infrastructure to accommodate new workloads. our consultants will work with the local team manager to define and agree a business process model for the Capacity Management team.
Tactical projects such as auditing hardware purchasing or upgrade plans are regularly undertaken. Tactical Projects involve enhancing selected Capacity Management functions and activities. We can also conduct application trials to verify performance predictions for new applications and the impact on existing systems prior to implementation.
Most implementations are based on users attending training courses and also some degree of on-site installation and implementation support, based either on a call-off project or one of the Support PACS. Throughout the course of any project, our consultants will work closely with the client's own staff to maximize the transference of skills and techniques. In conjunction with formal training, this will enable the client to establish its own capability in this area. Regular project progress reviews will be held to review progress against plan and findings to date, and agree any changes to the forward plan, objectives, deliverables and timescales.
Metron also has a growing suite of “support PACS” (Performance Assurance Consultancy Services). These are predefined packages of consultancy with parameters for the deliverables and templates from previous studies in the same area. These range from “Healthcheck” to “Server Consolidation” and others as detailed below.
Capacity Management consists of Service, Business and Resource Level Management. If your Capacity Management process complies with ITIL® guidelines you can be assured that it is beyond reproach, cost-effective, reliable, accountable and transparent. To achieve service level objectives for the business, an integrated Capacity Management function operating across the three levels of business, service and resource is essential.
Whether or not your organization has a formal Capacity Management function defined, the activities specified within the ITIL® Capacity Management guidelines are being carried out either informally or formally. The aim of the audit is to identify what Capacity Management processes are implemented, how well they work and how closely they comply with ITIL® guidelines.
Metron's Athene Performance Management and Capacity Planning software will be used throughout any project. This will include data collection from target machines as well as the Windows-based performance analysis and analytical modeling modules. In any consultancy project, on whichever basis, there will always be a clear and documented definition of the objective, requirement, project plan and deliverables. Costs will be clearly and simply laid out, including standard quotation terms, e.g. term of validity, prices excluding VAT and expenses, subject to contract. Anticipated timescales and consultancy effort will be clearly defined and incorporated in a project plan.
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