Definition of "Proof Of Concept", better known by its acronym "POC
The selection process of a software editor is a key step in the choice of an IT tool implementation. Between the initial need, the presentations of ready-to-use tools, the demonstrations and the production launch, the "Proof Of Concept" is a necessary step for the comparison and the choice of the tool that best meets the requirements and that best fits into the IS.
A POC should be used as a step in the implementation project. It allows the evaluation committee to focus on the real understanding of the capabilities of the tool and the vendor. In the procurement cycle, the POC stage allows the company to focus on key issues, create the conditions for better adoption by the user community, initiate change, implement best practices and lay the foundation for a successful deployment.
The course of a POC
It all starts with the framing of the POC.
This step allows us to define the scope of the POC in order to test the solution in the best conditions. The evaluation committee will be able to identify the key and/or critical issues for the choice of the solution. COSERVIT will propose scenarios adapted to the final context. Once the framing is done, the POC will allow ServiceNav to position itself in front of all the situations set and mandatory for the validation.
As a rule, ServiceNav POCs are deployed on a reduced perimeter of the IS in production. As ServiceNav is an agentless monitoring solution, it listens and reads APIs and hardware and software feedback. It does not impact normal operations and therefore allows for the analysis of real data in order to be able to position itself in the face of production operating situations.
The Kick-Off
After this framing, the POC follows a process Project and therefore starts with a kick-off.
The role of the kick-off is to identify the consultant in charge of the POC, and to get to know/adjust the schedule proposed by the latter. For the consultant, it is an opportunity to present the technical requirements (dimensioning of the VMs, prerequisite on equipment to be supervised, ...) and to present its planning, according to the technical and organizational constraints.
The Deployment
Following the kickoff and the provision of the VM(s) by the customer, the ServiceNav Box is installed. Its role will be to collect data on the supervised equipment and services.
At the end of this installation, a census of the park to be supervised (defined during the scoping) is carried out by the customer project manager and the consultant.
The consultant introduces here good practices, which will be profitable in the long run:
- Maintain supervisory accounts at the highest possible level
- Standardize naming
- Define labels on equipment if relevant
- Put only what is necessary into supervision
At this stage, the supervision tool is populated, it becomes possible to refine the controls (thresholds, arguments) and to define notification policies.
The challenge here is to reduce "noise" and false positives:
- Notify only major alerts, and to appropriate contacts
- Define appropriate thresholds
Once this work is done, it is necessary to analyse the user services, the weather and the reporting needs (reports and dashboards).
The aim here is to identify groups of equipment and services, in order to create user services, which will allow high-level supervision, which can be shared with end users via the service weather.
Once this architecture is in place, the supervision is operational. It remains to identify with the operational users and managers the reporting needs, and the monitoring mode (TV screen, PC, PDF reports, e-mail) in order to define the appropriate dashboards and reports.
Validation of the POC
Once the POC is implemented, all the situations defined during the scoping will have been tested. Their results will guide the validation or rejection of the solution
How long do I have to reserve?
The ServiceNav product is optimized and our consultants are trained to ensure that the deployment of your monitoring is as efficient and fast as possible, while remaining high quality. It takes only a few days to put a fleet under supervision and to create the first dashboards and user services, once the prerequisites are met.
Once the solution is deployed, it is also easy to make it live, thanks to the numerous mass processing functionalities, the model-based approach (services and equipment), and an efficient and reactive support platform.
In the context of a POC, the time required to make our Service Nav tool available is generally of a month.
