The restaurant analogy

We've covered how all aspects of data center management have changed. These fundamental changes also change your IT business.

You are now a service provider. While your engineering or technical knowledge is still important, your customer measures you on your business service level. There is a subtle difference between what they care about and what they measure you on.

Sunny Dua and I use the restaurant analogy when explaining the need for a formal Service Level Agreement (SLA). The analogy has resonated well with many customers. Humans can always relate to food!

Essentially, a restaurant has two areas, often with a clear demarcation:

• The dining area
• The kitchen

Think of your IaaS business like a restaurant business. It has a dining area, where your customers live, and a kitchen, where you prepare the food. Guess which one is more important?

You're right. The dining area.

If everything runs smoothly in the dining area, customers are being served on time and with...