The life cycle of the Brite Global IT projects has been put in place using frameworks developed by Microsoft, which provide guidance and implementation packages for the effective employment of our technologies across the entire gamut of the IT life cycle..

This guidance is clustered into two frameworks—Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) and Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF). MSF addresses the first set of activities (analyzing the need and creating a high-value solution); MSF and MOF coordinate processes and activities to deploy the solution in the second set; and MOF addresses the final set of activities until the solution is retired. MOF also incorporates and extends a wealth of guidance that is already available through other existing (and developing) IT standards organizations.

In contrast, the operations team is permanent and is responsible for the solution’s daily operations and management. MOF is designed to guide the operations teams. It provides technical guidance that enables organizations to achieve mission-critical system reliability, availability, supportability, and manageability of IT solutions built with Microsoft products and technologies. MOF’s guidance addresses the people, process, technology, and management issues pertaining to operating complex, distributed, heterogeneous IT environments.

The two frameworks are complementary, minimizing the time to value—that is, the time between recognition of the need and delivery of the service. Consistency of terminology and concepts between the two frameworks also supports the delivery of a high-quality service.

The two frameworks are also well integrated. For example, the deployment of an IT solution requires knowledge of the solution’s requirements and user controls as well as the system requirements to operate it. MSF and MOF both include guidance for team roles and processes that ensure a successful deployment into the production environment. Throughout development, MSF and MOF emphasize the institution of processes to ensure that the solution (or any change to the IT environment) is built for operability and supportability and that it meets release requirements.