|
Member Access |
| » |
|
| » |
|
| » |
|
| » |
|
| » |
|
| » |
|
| » |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
 GENERAL
CERTIFICATION
SERVICE PROVIDER SERVICES
ENTERPRISE CUSTOMER SERVICES
SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS
SUN SERVICES FOR SUNTONE
GENERAL
What is the SunTone Initiative?
SunTone is a Sun-led industry initiative aimed at (1) improving the quality of network-based services, and (2) making it easier for customers to evaluate product offerings. The SunTone Initiative offers Specifications, Quality Enablers (Sun Services, Reference Architectures & Certified Software Applications), and a Certification/Audit process designed to assist customers in the architecture, deployment and management of high-quality network IT Services.
Return to top
What does the initiative certify?
Certification applies only to specific services and solutions, not to companies. The SunTone Initiative offers two main types of certifications:
- SunTone Certified Data Center Services -- emphasizes quality of service and best practices for enterprise customers and service providers (SPs). This certification is appropriate for customers wishing to certify their own internal network-based services, or for SPs providing facilities and/or infrastructure for delivery of service provider services (including network services, ISP services, or application services) to multiple business customers, consumers or other service providers.
- SunTone Certified Application Software Packages -- identifies quality applications designed to function reliably and predictably in network-based application hosting environments. This certification is appropriate for software and application developers and application service creators providing applications for network delivery in an application-hosting model.
Return to top
Who is eligible to participate?
All enterprise customers, service providers and software developers are potentially eligible for membership within the SunTone Initiative, and all SunTone Members are eligible to apply for certification of their solutions.
Return to top
What does a company do to get a solution SunTone Certified?
Interested companies should complete an for membership within the SunTone Initiative. Once a company has become a SunTone Member, it gains access to the specifications and self-assessment documents and certification assistance necessary to complete certification. For all certifications, the process for achieving SunTone certification consists of a self-assessment against SunTone specifications and guidelines, followed by an on-site audit or application testing process performed by Sun or an independent third party.
Return to top
What are the benefits of certification?
Certification offers numerous benefits, depending on the type of certification.
- For enterprises that have certified their internal operations, the benefits can include reduced costs, lowered Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), better utilization of existing IT resources and better compliance with internal SLAs. The process of certification validates the hard work the company has put into planning, architecting and implementing their service(s) and gives the company an industry-recognized "seal of approval".
- For service providers and software vendors, the benefits include all of the above, plus the ability to use the industry-recognized SunTone Certified logo to help increase customer confidence in products and services.
Return to top
What does "Quality of Service" (QoS) mean?
Quality of Service is a measurement of how well a service or solution complies with internal or external Service-Level Agreements (SLAs). These metrics include, but are not limited to, Availability, Reliability, Scalability, Security, Up-Time Percentages, Serviceability, Response Times, Storage, and Disaster Recovery.
Return to top
How do the SunTone specifications help enable QoS?
The SunTone Initiative helps customers meet their service-delivery requirements/SLAs by providing a set of specifications against which customers can validate their network-enabled services, ensuring they have the necessary:
- Service delivery architecture, to reduce equipment and software failure, and
- Policies, procedures and operational practices, to reduce human error.
Return to top
What is "multisourcing"?
Sun defines multisourcing as the hosting and management of a range of enterprise network-enabled services (e.g. security management, storage management, disaster recovery) through a combination of in-house IT & external resources.
Return to top
How do I obtain the SunTone specifications?
The SunTone specifications are available to SunTone members that have executed the Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA). Both the CDA and the specifications are downloadable by SunTone members within the SunTone member portal. Designated contacts within SunTone member companies have SunTone accounts which they may use to access the SunTone member portal. (See also "How do I obtain a SunTone account to access the SunTone member portal?")
Return to top
How many SunTone members are there?
As of June 2003, over 1900 companies have joined the SunTone Initiative.
Return to top
How many solutions are SunTone Certified?
As of June 2003, over 350 service provider and software application solutions were SunTone Certified.
Return to top
Is SunTone a U.S.-only initiative or is it worldwide?
The SunTone Initiative is worldwide and expanding rapidly. As of September 2002, there were over 100 non-U.S. SunTone Certified solutions.
Return to top
What is the SunTone member area?
The member area of the SunTone website is accessible to all SunTone members, and is designed to help contacts within SunTone member companies manage and obtain information regarding solutions for which they are pursuing or have already obtained SunTone certification.
Return to top
How do I obtain a SunTone account to access the SunTone member portal?
If your company is a SunTone member, you may obtain a SunTone account to access the member portal on behalf of your company. Please contact the SunTone Administrator for assistance. If your company is still in the process of becoming a SunTone member, you may receive a SunTone account once membership has been granted.
If you have any questions regarding the status of your company's membership, please contact the SunTone Administrator.
Return to top
CERTIFICATION
What are the criteria for certification?
There are two different SunTone specifications, one for enterprise customers and service providers, and one for software developers. Each specification has its own requirements covering areas such as infrastructure, operational practices, hardware, software, and overall service delivery practices. Certifications of Enterprise customer solutions and service provider solutions must be renewed annually, and must conform to the standards of the current specification level.
Return to top
What is the certification process? Is it the same for all certifications?
For all certification types, the process for achieving SunTone Certification consists of becoming a SunTone member, completing a self-assessment against SunTone specifications, submitting SunTone legal agreements, and then completing an on-site audit or application testing process. Each SunTone specification has its own requirements covering areas such as infrastructure, operational practices, hardware, software, and overall service delivery practices.
Return to top
How long does it take to get certified?
The length of the certification process varies depending upon the type and complexity of the service being certified. In all cases, the enterprise customer or service provider must first join the SunTone Initiative, submit required legal agreements, and then review and download the specifications and guidelines.
Some typical examples would be:
- The customer or SP has an existing service and wants to validate it. Once the customer has completed and returned the self-assessment forms, the audit and certification process take approximately three weeks to complete.
- The customer or SP has recognized gaps in its service-delivery architecture and/or its policies & operational procedures. The customer would engage Sun's Professional Services to do a gap analysis and then work with them to create a remedial plan. After the recommended changes have been completed, the audit and certification process takes approximately three weeks to complete.
- The customer or SP wishes to build a new service to the SunTone Initiative Specification standards. The time required in this case varies significantly. Historically, the process has taken SPs and customers between six and twelve weeks to complete, plus the normal three-week audit and certification period.
Return to top
Who defines the requirements for certification?
The SunTone Architecture Council, a group comprised of Sun and select industry colleagues, define both the specifications and the requirements for certification on an on-going basis, to ensure that best practices are represented.
Return to top
Does certification come with any guarantees?
No. The certification process only verifies that services and solutions conform to the best practices and methodologies outlined in the SunTone specifications.
Return to top
|
SERVICE PROVIDER SERVICES
Do SunTone services need to run on Sun equipment?
Certification requires that the core-service components run on Sun/Solaris systems. For more information, please see the SunTone Service Delivery Specifications.
Return to top
What are the general requirements for service certification?
Some of the key requirements for certification are as follows:
- Operations--SunTone Certified services specify operational strategies and practices that promote quality service delivery.
- Technical Competencies--SunTone Certified services are backed by experienced personnel who have demonstrated technical competency in specific areas that are essential to the delivery of highly reliable and available services.
- Service Policies--SunTone Certified services are backed by customer service agreements that provide for means to measure service quality and consequences for failing to meet customer expectations.
- Availability and Reliability--SunTone Certified services specify continuous service components for which any interruption is unacceptable, and resilient service components for which availability and reliability are predictable.
- Security--SunTone Certified services address security through access control mechanisms (e.g., certificates), network design, and firewalls to carefully control traffic across multiple subnetworks and protect customer privacy. Key components of SunTone Certified services must run in the Solaris operating environment, promoting robustness, reliability, and high availability.
- N-tier Architecture--SunTone Certified services specify functional decomposition by service, task layer, and special function to enhance reliability, availability, security, and scalability.
- Scalability--SunTone Certified services support vertical database scaling.
Return to top
Is there a particular service architecture service providers must use?
Not exactly, but there are characteristics common to all SunTone Certified services. Please refer to the SunTone Service Delivery Specifications for more information.
Return to top
Which service providers have had services SunTone Certified?
Please utilize the site's Find a Certified Offering feature for more information on which service providers have had their solutions certified.
Return to top
What are the benefits to a service provider for having a service SunTone Certified?
SunTone service certification:
- Recognizes service provider investments in operations and infrastructure by providing a seal of approval for quality Internet services.
- Simplifies selection of the best of breed among SP offerings.
- Using the SunTone Certified seal as a guide, customers can easily identify SPs who have met stringent industry best practices and who deliver high standards for service availability, scalability, reliability and security;
- Enhances customer confidence in the outsourced services model;
- Builds credibility through best practices, resulting in superior service delivery;
- Helps streamline operations and may lead to a reduction in the xSP's TCO;
- Involves participation in SunTone-based marketing efforts, utilizing the marketing templates, tools and logos available within the SunTone member portal; and
- Elicits invitations to participate in visible Sun functions, including training, trade shows, and customer events.
Return to top
ENTERPRISE CUSTOMER SERVICES
What are the general requirements for enterprise customer certification?
Some of the key requirements for certification are as follows:
- Operations--SunTone Certified services specify operational strategies and practices that promote quality service delivery.
- Technical Competencies--SunTone Certified services are backed by experienced personnel who have demonstrated technical competency in specific areas that are essential to the delivery of highly reliable and available services.
- Service Policies--SunTone Certified services are backed by customer service agreements that provide for means to measure service quality and consequences for failing to meet customer expectations.
- Availability and Reliability--SunTone Certified services specify continuous service components for which any interruption is unacceptable, and resilient service components for which availability and reliability are predictable.
- Security--SunTone Certified services address security through access control mechanisms (e.g., certificates), network design, and firewalls to carefully control traffic across multiple subnetworks and protect customer privacy. Key components of SunTone Certified services must run in the Solaris operating environment, promoting robustness, reliability, and high availability.
- N-tier Architecture--SunTone Certified services specify functional decomposition by service, task layer, and special function to enhance reliability, availability, security, and scalability.
- Scalability--SunTone Certified services support vertical database scaling.
Return to top
What are the benefits to an enterprise customer for going through certification?
The SunTone Initiative helps enterprises achieve higher quality service-delivery by applying best practices and processes to architect, deploy and manage network-enabled IT services efficiently and cost-effectively.
SunTone certification:
- Recognizes investments in operations and infrastructure by providing an industry-recognized "seal of approval" for quality network-delivered services.
- May result in lowered TCO, reduced costs, streamlined processes, better utilization of existing IT resources, and better compliance with internal SLAs.
Return to top
How is SunTone helping enterprises achieve higher quality service levels?
By applying the best practices and processes outlined in the SunTone Service-Delivery Specifications, customers are better able to deliver and manage network-enabled IT services efficiently and cost-effectively.
Specifically, SunTone helps customers to:
- Meet service level agreements and metrics with LOBs, with higher quality-of-service delivery
- Manage flexible, high quality IT services in complex environments and competitive markets
- Build and certify internal IT services to meet or exceed the service delivery standards demanded of service providers
- Build and maintain IT staffing competencies to meet rising business service needs
Return to top
SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS
What are the general requirements for application certification?
SunTone application certification is based on evaluation of an application's architecture, in terms of its availability, scalability, performance, security and adaptability characteristics, as found in a network-delivered environment:
- Architecture Disclosure -- A clear, high level description of the product's architecture must be supplied.
- Platform and Software Applications -- The product's primary server components must be supported on a Sun/Solaris server.
- Service and Support Policy -- The developer must demonstrate commitment to support and service processes to ensure the ASP can meet service level agreements.
- Adaptability to ASP Deployment -- The product must be at least partially functional through a remote interface such as a browser, and accessible through a firewall.
- User Authentication and Security -- Privacy and integrity of user data and confidential internal data must be protected.
- Performance, Scalability, Capacity -- A workable definition of entry level, mid-range, and top-end configurations must be provided.
- Availability -- The availability level the product is targeted to achieve in an ASP environment must be defined.
- Customer Environment -- Reference customers must be provided, including at least one using the product in an ASP environment.
Return to top
How does the application certification relate to the service certification?
SunTone certification for applications identifies quality applications that are designed to run effectively on a SunTone Certified service platform.
Return to top
Must a SunTone Certified application run on Solaris?
Yes.
Return to top
Which software developers have had applications SunTone Certified?
Please utilize the site's Find a Certified Offering feature for more information on which Application Providers have had their solutions certified.
Return to top
What are the benefits to a software developer for having an application SunTone Certified?
SunTone application certification:
- Recognizes ISV investments in reliability, scalability, and quality at the application layer by providing a "seal of approval" for quality Internet services;
- Simplifies selection of the best of breed among application offerings;
- Using the SunTone Certified seal as a guide, customers can easily identify application providers who have met stringent industry best practices and who deliver high standards for application availability, scalability, reliability and security;
- Builds credibility through best practices, resulting in superior service delivery;
- Involves participation in SunTone-based marketing efforts, utilizing the marketing templates, tools and logos available within the SunTone member portal; and
- Elicits invitations to participate in visible Sun functions, including training, trade shows, and customer events.
Return to top
SUN SERVICES FOR SUNTONE
What categories of services does Sun offer for SunTone?
Sun offers the following service categories for SunTone:
- Certification Assistance Services: Assist SunTone members in the completion of the necessary self-assessment submittal forms prior to the audit and certification.
- Workshop Services: Identify the issues and requirements necessary to achieve quality service-delivery levels based on the SunTone member's current IT Strategy.
- Assessment Services: Perform gap analysis and remedial planning. A range of assessment services (example: end-to-end or security-specific) are available. Many SunTone members leverage the Sun Ready[tm] Availability Assessment, as it ties closely to the service-delivery areas applicable to SunTone.
- Remediation Services: Corrects service-delivery and management issues identified in customers' existing IT environments.
For a complete listing of Sun Services for SunTone, please see the Sun Services for SunTone site.
Return to top
| | | |
