Organizing IT Operations by geography

IT Operations can be physically distributed and in some cases each location needs to be organized according to its own particular context.

This structure is typically used in the following circumstances:

• Data Centres are geographically distributed
• Different regions or countries have different technologies or provide a different set of services
• There are different business models or organizational structures in the different regions, i.e. the business is decentralized by geography and each Business Unit is fairly autonomous
• Different legislation applies to different countries or regions (e.g. safety regulations)
• Different standards apply to different countries or regions
• Cultural or language differences exist between staff managing IT.

An example of this type of structure is given in Figure 6.9. Note that in this example each geographical department is structured internally using Technical Specialization. This could be different in each region. For example one region may be structured in this way, while another region uses a process- or activity-based structure.

Figure 6.9 IT Operations organized according to geography

Figure 6.9 also illustrates that one location could perform centralized operations for all regions if they are similar enough. In this example, the American Server Operations Department manages all server operations in all locations, Brussels manages all database operations and Singapore manages all storage operations.

The advantages of this type of organizational structure include the following.

• Organization structure can be customized to meet local conditions
• IT Operations can be customized to meet differing levels of IT service from region to region.

The disadvantages of this type of organizational structure include the following.

• Reporting lines and authority structures can be confusing. For example, does Network Operations report into the local Data Centre Manager or to a centralized Network Operations Manager?
• Operational standards are difficult to impose, resulting in inconsistent and duplicated activities and tools, resulting in reduced economies of scale, which in turn increases the overall cost of operations.
• Duplication of roles, activities, tools and facilities across multiple locations could be very costly.
• Shared services, such as e-mail, are more difficult to deliver as each regional organization operates differently.
• Communication with customers and inside IT will be more difficult as they are not co-located and it may be difficult for staff in one location to understand the priorities of customers or staff in another location.

Date: 2014-12-29; view: 1123