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How to build automated public services on hybrid cloud
By Micro Focus
The cloud opens up massive opportunities for making governments more efficient. Software experts at Micro Focus delve deeper.
Building public services on a hybrid cloud platform is a bit like that. Some applications are in your own local infrastructure, while other systems are provided on the public cloud, making the process tedious and complicated.
Many governments work on hybrid IT environments. How can they manage this complex infrastructure? Micro Focus explains how to cut through the confusion and build better public services.
3 challenges for hybrid cloud
Many organisations hesitate to shift their entire systems onto a public cloud platform, and that’s perfectly okay. Perhaps they’re concerned about security, or want to move to the cloud in phases. Most split their data and systems across local infrastructure and the public cloud instead, resulting in a hybrid cloud.
There are three challenges when it comes to using a hybrid cloud approach. First, building new services can be complex, as there are many moving parts across different platform (on-premise and on public cloud).
Designing systems across multiple platforms is problematic because each cloud platform is built for individual components rather designing the overall multi-cloud architecture.
Second, organisations may not have very good visibility on what’s happening in the different cloud platforms. This makes visibility and cost optimisation much more difficult.
Lastly, it is important to have a consistent user experience. Users can go to the same portal to order a new laptop or a new application environment. This makes things much simpler and less confusing.
How to automate services
Software company Micro Focus offers a suite of tools to help organisations make the most of their hybrid cloud. Agencies can automate IT services to save time on repetitive tasks.
The Hybrid Cloud Management X offers a library of cloud content provisioning flows and service designs as well as a graphical tool to easily design and provision hybrid cloud environments. It will also allow organisations to gain visibility on the cost of their public cloud infrastructure and make recommendations on cost optimisation strategies across different cloud providers.
Hybrid Cloud Management X runs on the Service Management Automation X platform and uses the same Self-Service Portal as the Service Management. This means that it is possible to present a single portal to the users. This not only improves the user experience, but also allows for a better and more consistent process across the IT organisation.
Service Management and Automation
The Self-Service Portal is one of the key ways users can interact with the IT Department.
The Service Management Automation X tool uses machine learning to automatically classify and assign tasks to the relevant department within an organisation. This makes sure the job gets done fast.
Being able to use automation tools to fulfill requests or manage tickets not only ensures a faster turn around time, but will also drive consistency and predictability in the delivery of services.
Yes, for non-IT processes too
To make changes to existing or new processes and workflows, agencies don’t need to write any code to automate processes, so this tool can be extended to non-IT processes like HR and facilities management. This is particularly useful since it will bring the process logic closer to the owner of that process.
There are significant benefits from applying Service Management principles and Best Practices to other domains. There is already a robust set of best practices for handling IT issues: when a server is down, IT teams know exactly which departments should investigate, and how to fix the issue.
There’s no fixed procedure to follow when an employee didn’t receive their pay, however. Most HR and facilities management requests come through a phone call or an email, but they can benefit from a more structured process.
For example, if a chair is broken, or an employee has some questions about submitting the tax form, they can submit a request through the organisation’s self-service portal. The system will automatically notify the relevant teams to work on the issue, or even better, provide information to the user directly without any human involvement.
A neat overview
Micro Focus’s tools combine the management of cloud services hosted across private and public clouds. This includes both non-IT services like HR and facilities as well as traditional IT services. Citizens get one centralised self-service portal to request for government services, so they can get what they need quickly.
It can also give public officials deeper insights. It uses analytics to pull out patterns in incidents, requests, and other records. Officials can study these patterns to see if there are underlying issues that choke up any public service, and kickstart the process of resolving them.
With all the cloud providers out there, it can be tricky to find the best hybrid combination that fits an agency’s needs. The Hybrid Cloud Management X breaks down and compares the merits of each platform, so organisations can see what’s the best option and optimise spending. Shifting to cloud doesn’t have to be intimidating.
Building good public services can get a little foggy when an agency’s systems are spread across multiple platforms. With automation, analytics and machine learning, Micro Focus can help governments navigate their hybrid cloud more easily.
Find out more about your organisation’s Hybrid IT maturity here. For more information, connect with Micro Focus here.