How We Do It

At Mainland we pride ourselves on following a disciplined approach for all of our solutions. 

We use a pragmatic methodology to frame all of our services. Our engagements may span multiple phases or be limited to a single phase; however, all engagements can typically be framed within one of the following phases.

Assess

The initial Assess phase involves discovering and documenting relevant information that will be used to architect and design the appropriate solution. Assessments are conducted using Mainland-established best practices around data gathering, including the use of vendor tools, client provided information, interviews with IT staff and on-site investigation of infrastructure.

An Assessment by itself results in a set list of deliverables based on a given scope, usually including:

1. Current state technical findings, – including a diagram of the current environment, business and IT requirements (e.g., SLAs, recovery time objectives, etc.)
2. Current state issues – outlining known business or technical challenges
3. Future state requirements – list of anticipated changes or needs (based on business and IT plans)
4. High-level recommendations to address future state and current issues

Architect

Usually coupled with an Assessment, the Architect phase can be completed by an individual practice, but more often requires expert involvement from each practice to produce the following deliverables:

1. Future state technical diagram and details of recommended architecture
2. Depending on the engagement, multiple architecture options may be presented with pros and cons of each discussed

For example, the architect phase would determine whether clustering or replication would be a viable solution for high availability in this particular engagement.

Design

Detailed design of hardware, related infrastructure software, processes or other relevant components are brought together in this phase. In the Assess or Architect phase, some or all of these may be determined, but now the detail is added to ensure that an implementation specialist would be able to carry out the proposed solution or components in a supported manner.

Continuing on with our example, if replication was selected, a specific product(s) and configuration would be documented in this phase. Additional details would include RAID groups, LUN layouts, retention policies, etc.

Implement

The Implement phase involves installation and configuration of software, hardware or processes according to specifics developed in the Design phase. Deliverables of the Implement phase represent a functional and documented solution that is consistent with the design.

Manage

The Manage phase deals with the ongoing day-to-day operational support of a particular business function, business process or set of technology infrastructure. Management can take place on site or remotely, depending on a number of factors, including size and scope, and customer preference. Mainland also offers transition services to assist clients with migrating back to a stable operations environment after the implementation of new technology.

Deliverables of the Manage phase include:

1. Ongoing day to day support
2. Operational documentation
3. Service Delivery Manager
4. Regular status meetings
5. Quarterly review meetings to provide recommendations for optimization