Introduction "Do more with less" is the mantra of today's enterprise. There is no question that enterprise IT departments and external service providers alike are under tremendous pressure to deliver anytime/anywhere web-enabled services that meet or exceed stringent service level agreements.
Through a combination of industry-defined best practices, methodologies, specifications and services, the SunTone[sm] Initiative enables organizations to cut the cost and timeframes for deploying high-quality web-enabled services. The SunTone Initiative also helps enterprises identify high-quality service offerings from external Service Providers (SPs) and deploy them with confidence.
Launched in May 1999, the SunTone Initiative has expanded far beyond its roots as a certification and branding program for (SP) services to audit and certify web-delivered software applications and now, enterprise datacenters that have been built to the exacting standards of the program.
The SunTone Initiative supports all aspects of multisourcing - the practice of hosting and managing a range of web-enabled services through a combination of in-house IT & external resources. Customers can take advantage of benefits of the SunTone Initiative whether they intend to build world-class services in-house, or to purchase high-quality SunTone Certified offerings from industry-leading service providers and software vendors.
Quality of Service
What is Quality of Service (QoS)? Quality of Service is a measurement of how well a service or solution complies with Service-Level Agreements (SLAs). These metrics can include, but are not limited to:
Availability
Reliability
Scalability
Up-Time Percentages
Support
Response Times
Security
Disaster Recovery Processes
And more...
SunTone Benefits The SunTone Initiative helps enterprises manage web-enabled IT services efficiently and cost-effectively, leading to increased Quality of Service (QoS). Specifically, the process of certifying services under the SunTone Initiative helps companies to:
Meet Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and metrics with LOBs, with higher quality of service delivery
Manage flexible, high-quality IT services in complex environments and competitive markets
Build and maintain IT staffing competencies with rising business service needs
Better utilize existing IT resources through the adoption of streamlined processes
Adopt the sourcing strategy that make most economic, technical and business sense with full confidence in the capabilities of third-party service providers or internal IT departments to deliver high-quality services consistently.
The SunTone Initiative At-A-Glance Certification under the SunTone Initiative is granted to businesses that have demonstrated best practices in the areas of infrastructure, operations, hardware, software, storage, security and overall service delivery.
The process has three main steps:
SunTone Specifications The SunTone Service Delivery Specification is a Guidebook to managing web-enabled services to the highest Quality of Service levels. The Specifications provide guidelines and contains a checklist to allow enterprises to assess their current operations against the Specification's industry-best practices and methodologies.
In the first phase, companies download and utilize the information contained in the SunTone Specifications and Self-Assessment documents. Both Sun and third parties offer assessment services to assist in this process. To begin the certification process and/or to gain access to the Specifications, please read the steps below.
SunTone Enablers SunTone Enablers are offerings and tools aimed at helping customers meet the SunTone standards for higher quality network service delivery. Sun Services for the SunTone Initiative provide expert consulting, flexible learning solutions, and mission-critical support focused on helping customers and partners meet the SunTone requirements for network service delivery.
Assessment services help customers assess the readiness of infrastructure, security, systems/configurations and staff to achieve the SunTone standards of quality.
Remediation services help customers address specific issues or gaps identified in the assessment phase.
SunTone-compliant Sun Reference Architectures allow customers to leverage integrated, tested, tuned, and documented architectural implementations. These Reference Architectures assist customers design for quality in their own specific network services environments.
SunTone Audit & Certification The SunTone certification audit performed by Sun or third parties validates the implementation and gives the company an industry-recognized 'seal of approval' for their web-based services. Sun and third parties are available to provide professional services and certification assistance during this stage.
Process of SunTone Certification Access to the SunTone specification is available to all SunTone members. If you are already a Member, and have executed the Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA), you may simply
To apply for membership:
Complete an online enrollment form. Once membership is accepted, you will be given access to the SunTone Member Portal.
Login to the SunTone Member Portal
Approve and return the online CDA
Download the SunTone specifications.
At any given time, you may use the Member Portal to check on the status of your certification.
Also contained on the portal are detailed instructions to guide you through the process, self-assessment documents and contact information for certification assistance.
Upon reviewing the SunTone specification, many companies will wish to pursue certification and earn the SunTone Certified seal of approval. The process for SunTone certification begins with a documented self-assessment of internal operations, followed by an audit. This self-assessment can take a couple of weeks to two months or longer, depending on the complexity of the service. (Note: SunTone certification is subject to an audit fee covering administrative and travel expenses.)
Multisourcing More than ever, global Fortune 500 companies are delivering business services over the web in a "multisourced" environment - a strategic combination of in-house and outsourced IT services. SunTone helps customers achieve their objectives to deliver reliable, secure web-enabled services, whether they are looking to utilize SunTone certified offerings from key SP and ISV partners, or to apply the SunTone best practices to in-house IT environments.
SunTone serves as the backbone for a solid multisourcing strategy that will help enterprise customers increase IT efficiency and re-focus IT efforts towards their core competencies.
