Chapter Summary

• Your deployment architecture is the manner in which the system is deployed for use by a customer. Common choices include

  - Customer site

  - Application service provider (ASP)

  - Managed services provider (MSP)

  - Variant of a service provider (xSP)

  - Web services

  Hybrid models, in which part of the system is deployed at a customer site and part at a service provider will become increasingly common.

• Customer influences that motivate the selection of a deployment architecture include

  - Control desired

  - Integration with other systems

  - Data security/privacy

  - The ability to handle peak loads

  - Initial and ongoing costs

  - Customer confidence in you

  - Skills and experience of the system's operational staff

• Corporate influences on the selection of a deployment architecture include

  - Desired and actual sales cycle

  - Infrastructure investment

  - Financial model, most notably cash flow

  - Desire to move quickly and efficiently in managing your customer base

  - Geographic distribution of your company relative to your customers

• The choice of a deployment architecture does not change the total of work associated with a successfully managed system. It may change the distribution of this work.

• Information appliances are a growing category for deployment architectures in a wide variety of environments. Open-source licensing models, which can lower total costs of ownership, are in part fueling this growth.