The major focus of AII is on the key operational systems. Nevertheless, the AII concept is realized exclusively by support systems.

Creating the prerequisites for AII

The general conditions below are presumed as prerequisites for infrastructure intelligence:

· There is an operative IT organization which implements systems according to regulated processes;

· ITIL  and CMMI fundamentals are known and have been implemented in part (Capability Level 2 according to CMMI Continuous Representation² and parts of the ITIL Core Service Management³ with the units Service Design, Service Transition, and Service Operation);

· A loose combination of operative support systems, e.g., a database for the storage of inventory data or performance histories, has been implemented and is in use;

· Key operational systems have been implemented and are maintained and optimized on the basis of a structured operational process in the organization;

· The continuous improvement of processes and systems has been acknowledged as a strategic goal and the relevant management buy-in exists. 

The use of the following methods for a strategic infrastructure and architecture management is also required for the implementation of the AII concept: architectures which describe the current, physical infrastructure and, if possible, show future configurations as well; topologies of the physical infrastructure, including location specifications; general models with information about processes and organizational structure of system users; a technological architecture with the representation of the hardware components and software blocks from the viewpoint of how the applications support the business units with information; rules and standards which cover the technological aspects for procurement, operation, and support of IT infrastructure (including sourcing, contracts, SLAs, availability and disaster regulations, and, above all, security guidelines for access and data utilization). 

AII concept allows appraisal of various scenarios

The application infrastructure intelligence concept simplifies the decision in favor of an investment or standardization because it offers the informative appraisal of various scenarios. The appraisal is generated by linking planning data and real-time data from various sources. In the final expansion stage, AII consists of two data processing systems which link real-time information with planning scenarios and configuration data via a synchronization. The underlying logical design up to the decision based on AII is shown in Figure 1. A technical overview of all of the involved information systems and the information flows is illustrated in Figure 4.