Successful server consolidation: it is all in the preparation

Successful server consolidation: it's all in the preparation

Return on investment

Another critical factor in justifying the expense of a server consolidation is the return on

investment (ROI). While the cost of the server consolidation initiative will be relatively

easy to figure out, calculating the true return on investment can be tricky because so

many different aspects of the IT environment are impacted. ROI should be measured

using many diffferent calculation factors, such as TCO reduction, manpower costs, server

costs, cost avoidance. ROI can be defined as the ratio of the cost of implementing a

project, product, or service and the savings as a result of completing the activity in terms

of either internal savings, external revenue, or a combination of the two.

Economics versus

technology

While every company wants to save money in terms of IT overhead, IT departments must

use proven technology to maintain the environment. Even more important is the

challenge of managing a growing infrastructure without increasing costs. The Microsoft

Windows 2000 operating system provides a technology that is widely accepted and

reliable. The benefits of scalability and the opportunity to allocate server resources help

IT departments increase service levels and availability. This technology also allows for

improved utilization of available compute resources while driving costs down.

The technology that is available to IT departments today makes it possible to reduce the

complexity of the infrastructure, while not compromising service levels and availability.

Using the available information technology and consolidating an IT environment allows IT

professionals to drive quantifiable business results and greatly improve the business

economics of maintaining a productive IT environment.

In today’s constrained economic environment, many IT departments are faced with

financial concerns being the primary factor driving the consideration of a server

consolidation initiative. Many IT departments do not have the funding to support server

growth. In order to justify server consolidation to the CFO level and above, solid

economic numbers are needed. ROI, payback, and IRR (Internal Rate of Return) numbers

can be provided and detailed by a services engagement with a third party company,

usually the same company that conducts the analysis of your current IT environment.

HP Services can help build an economic justification for implementing server

consolidation initiatives using tools that detail the important financial information needed

for CFO approval.

Learn more about ProLiant IT consolidation at

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/servers/consolidation/index.html

To contact HP Services for an engagement to help build economic justification for server

consolidation, call 1-800-282-6672.