Availability management

Payments to HMRC fail on tax deadline

HMRC's banking service, operated by Citibank, appeared to buckle under the weight of £1m-a-minute tax payments on the self-assessment deadline today. The problem was not with the "faster payment" system, the electronic network established in 2008 to allow rapid payment between banks - but with Citibank's own systems.

Information systems managers have maketo sure systems are available when required and that the capacity - processing, storage etc. anticipates both current and future needs. How is this done? It requires both the management of availability and capacity. We may require 100% availability, but is that possible? What is the cost of maximising availability and how can we match availability to the business needs and the investment available. What went wrong with Citibank could be corrected if availability and capacity management process were addressed.

Question: Using Citibank or another case study, identify the consequences of inadequate availability and capacity management. Define availability management. Overview a process for designing availability. Discuss how the business and IT interface in determining the correct level of availability. Identify and illustrate the role of suppliers in maintaining the availability of systems. Illustrate with a case study.