IT Life Cycle

IT Life Cycle is a linear progression through design, operations and removal of software assets. The understanding will provide options and criteria for better cyber security posture.

1. Architect

The following are components of the Architect stage:

• choosing your prefered vendors and the relevant technological standards
• creating technology road maps for the long-term and high-level system architectures
• involving the technical department in order to guarantee that currently accessible technologies are compatible with the architectural criteria
• maintaining engagement throughout the life cycle in order to keep track of key architectural changes that could have an effect on technology road plans

2. Design

During the Design stage, you will be:

• developing a functional system design based on the system architecture that has been described.
• specifying both the business needs and the technical specifications
• collaborating with different suppliers in order to obtain bids, assess proposals, and test technologies
• figuring out how to achieve the optimal balance between the project’s cost, schedule, and performance
• collaboration with the Security Department to determine the necessary security precautions
• carrying out a risk assessment on the newly implemented system or service
• defining what is meant by the term “detailed design.”

3. Deploy

During the stage known as “Deploy,” you will:

• converting the comprehensive design into a system that is able to function and installing the system into an information technology environment
• the practice of placing purchase orders in order to acquire products or services
• putting in place the necessary servers and software (if required)
• putting together the parts and setting up the services
• putting together documentation of the “as-built” state, along with operating procedures and manuals, in order to get ready for operational usage
• ensuring that the configurations of security meet the standards for security including cloud storage.

4. Operate

During this stage, you will be:

• putting processes through their paces and making certain that the system or service is functioning as intended
• meeting service-level agreements
• controlling and lowering the costs of operations throughout the course of time
• collecting a large number of indicators in order to document the expenses associated with the system or service.
• recognising chances for fine-tuning and simplifying over time.

5. Maintain

In the stage known as Maintain, you will be:

• ensuring that the system or service continues to function at the same level over an extended period of time
• enhancing an existing system or offer by means of making very insignificant modifications to it
• patching, deploying routine updates, upgrading vendor services, and refreshing hardware are all examples of maintenance tasks.

6. Support

During the Support stage, you will be:

• delivering so-called “warranty” service in order to fix problems discovered during the stand-up of the system or service
• ensuring the continued functionality of the system or service in question by resolving “issues” that have been explicitly reported by the operations department
• analysing difficulties, carrying out business analysis, and deciding which engineering and/or commercial alternatives are the most viable options
• delaying or embracing alternate courses of action given the priorities of the business.

7. Retire

During the stage known as “Retire,” the system or service is put out of service once its useful life has come to an end because it is no longer needed:

• replaced with a different set of capabilities
• no longer viable from a financial perspective to operate
• no longer secure enough to satisfy the requirements of the organisation.
• In addition to this, it entails engaging in formal consultation with any and all parties that may be affected by the decision to retire a system or service, as well as revising business records so that the system or service in question is no longer considered to be “on the books.”