Abstract

As businesses move away from the rigid boundaries of monolithic IT to a distributed landscape of multi-cloud and multi-vendor strategies, IT practitioners are realizing how ill prepared they are in defining and implementing a fool-proof IT4IT strategy. While enterprises have embraced the extension of ITIL processes and harmonization of ITSM interfaces across heterogeneous environments in a hybrid cloud strategy, end-to-end automation of on-premise operational systems remains a major gap. To address the challenges of agile, DevOps and hybrid cloud IT, what is needed now is an evolution of IT4IT from the value stream based functional blueprint to a template of business focused, automation-driven collaboration with multiple providers and partners. This means technology vendors that relied on proprietary technologies with a closed eco-system of operational automation must recalibrate their data model, API specification and interfacing capabilities to match the topography of new IT.

The paper introduces the concept of intent-based tooling in the ITOM domain to address the challenges around a dynamic, heterogeneous IT and those around ‘requirements to fulfil’ and ‘detect to correct’ value streams of IT4IT.

The role of intent-based tooling in hybrid cloud environments

The basis of intent-based tooling lies in moving the management of IT systems and development practices from the semantics of complex code patterns and configuration settings to business aligned workflows. It pushes the envelope of abstraction across the four value streams depicted in Figure 1 and lends itself to each of the IT disciplines ranging from software development framework down to infrastructure lifecycle activities. In an intent-based model, understanding the user defined intent is as critical as ensuring security. In essence, some of the key challenges that this model tries to address include: scale, assurance, cloud and security (see Figure 2).

How intent-based tooling revolutionizes IT operations management (ITOM)

A new approach to IT operations management must first acknowledge the presence of variety of workload management solutions. Secondly, these workload management solutions undergo lifecycle actions that need to be aligned with organization’s security and software currency policies. Lastly, these agents must ensure predictable behavior as the workload makes fluid placement across multi-cloud and hosting points. Aggregating these requirements across the myriad technologies and versions, and building a unified control plane is a massive challenge in hybrid environments.
 

The paradigm of intent-based tooling involves the abstraction of infra management and tying it to business focused outcomes. Machine Learning is an integral part of intent-based tooling as they question the relevance of per-configured intent in light of evolving system behavior, enabling users to revisit and recalibrate the intent. In essence, existing ITOM will need to evolve to a new abstraction that enables the following:

• Single, platform-neutral framework for tool policies, including security 
• Single ITOM management solution that replaces today’s fragmented solution spanning configuration management, orchestration, monitoring, scripting, and manual processes for agent management
• Automation of agent deployment, upgrades and remediation at scale across environments, drastically reducing time for defining server tool policies and enhancing focus on design 
• Ensure cloud agnostic abstraction - reducing organizational friction by seamlessly transforming tools into services

Enabling Intent-based tooling through compliance automation

Wipro has developed a flagship open innovation-based solution for ITOM that can bring unprecedented simplicity to the domain (see Figure 3). The solution is built on the concept of simplifying workload management across physical, virtual or cloud environments, and at the same time, ensuring that resources are running securely, performing optimally, and operating in compliance with corporate and regulatory policies.
 

In our POC assessments, the solution has delivered all aspects of intent-based tooling for the basic building block of Infrastructure, i.e. server workloads.

1. Managing scale – Currently, there is lack of a centralized console that provides a unified view of agents on a single server and how the lifecycle actions of the agents are orchestrated. The solution packages server agents into a management module to provide a central tooling that provisions and govern end-to-end management of server agents at web scale. Its master node is capable of managing 10,000 nodes without any increase in management roles.
2. Managing user experience – The solution’s built-in automation features allow for the definition of templates to deploy agents as per the needs of business units, location or target-hosting platforms. It can also run and execute custom scripts for triggering specific actions during bootstrapping or according to defined event thresholds. Fully interoperable with existing automation tools, it integrates with Chef, Puppet, Ansible and Cloud native automation technologies, while its rich CIO dashboards, security insight and workload health reports deliver relevant information to targeted groups.
3. Managing cloud – The solution works seamlessly across on-premise, public and private cloud environments. Its primary objective is to ensure consistency and predictability in management - regardless of the hosting platform. It achieves this by packaging different server agents into a consistent format that abstracts the intricacies of managing the agents from different technology teams into a single packaging management team.
4. Managing Security – As one of the core tenets of intent-based tooling, security is infused into the unique open-innovation based solution. :

a. Desired state management – It manages a version repository of deployed agents blueprint. In case of new agent version mishap or inconsistencies, the solution can revert to previous agent version blueprint with just a few clicks. 

b. Role based access management (RBAC) – With a built-in RBAC module, it helps IT organization segregate their super users from readers and contributors, with specific actions allowed as per their access level. This brings down the attack surface area drastically.

c. Patching management – It offers a single tool to patch both Windows and Linux servers with dependency mapping, cross subscription patching and compliance reporting.

Wipro’s open innovation-based solution for ITOM: Use cases

The use cases and areas where the solution can bring disruptive transformation abound.

1. ITOM management – The core premise of keeping a centralized console for all agents lifecycle is a powerful proposition and a primary use case.
2. Cloud migration – An important requisite of cloud migration is re-configuration of server agents on the target environment, without breaking operational controls. The solution integrates with Azure Site Recovery (ASR) and other leading migration tools to introduce new Azure management services or port existing enterprise server management tools into Azure with full control.
3. Patch Management – Another interesting case that we are currently prototyping in one of the environment using a patch module of the solution as a full-fledged product in its own right.

Conclusion

Infusing intent offers massive potential for simplifying ITOM complexity and enhancing the security posture of an enterprise. Wipro’s open innovation-based ITOM solution conforms to the fundamental principles of intent-based tooling by approaching its target base at web-scale, acknowledging cloud abstraction as the new normal, and embracing policy-based automation. It also secures ring fencing of the server management domain. In our opinion, this is the paradigm of new ITOM that operates at a hitherto unseen level of abstraction.

Vinay Ramananda is heading the Cloud & Infrastructure (CIS) practice in Continental Europe. Vinay is also a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff (DMTS) a recognition for technologists in Wipro contributing towards research, IP development & thought leadership in the market.

Currently Based out of Paris and Coming from a Computer Engineering background, He has successfully served multiple roles and undertaken many assignments in his 15 years career in the IT industry including at Wipro.

He today leads a team of highly trained Architects deployed across various countries in continental Europe who engage in designing large Cloud transformation and ITO deals. Of particular interest to him is the optimal use of Digital Native organization design, Cloud architectures and designs, Cloud Interoperability and infrastructure systems critical to business success and is adept at developing technology strategies and driving innovation in this area.

As a Distinguished member of Technical staff (DMTS), his research area includes cloud interoperability, AI based operations and composable infrastructure

Siddharth Singh

Solution Architect and Technology Evangelist

With over 8 years of industry experience, Sid plays the role of Solution Architect and Technology evangelist for IaaS Cloud services division of CIS. He works closely with client and technology partners on Cloud consulting projects and leading automation initiatives. Sid has keen interest in the area of transforming traditional way of delivering managed services and strongly believes that Intent based paradigm will deliver long term benefits to clients and service providers alike.