IT Technology: Ten Steps to Saving Dollars on Infrastructure and Operations

As companies continue to feel the need to ensure that their IT operations are functioning at full capacity and maximum efficiency, Gartner’s Jay Pultz, vice president and distinguished analyst, has written a timely report that identifies ten areas of IT operations that when tuned properly can maximize operational savings.  The report suggests that by focusing on these areas that organizations could reduce Infrastructure and Operations (I&O) expenses by 10 percent over the course of a year and by 25 percent over three years.

Pultz commented that “I&O represents approximately 60 percent of total IT spending worldwide, so with IT budgets remaining tight, it’s no wonder that I&O cost-cutting pressure continues to be intense.  When it comes to I&O cost reduction, there is no ‘magic bullet,’ but best results can be achieved by implementing as fully as possible the 10 key cost reductions we have identified.”

1. Defer non-critical projects. Projects which target the ultimate lowering of I&O costs or which reduce the risk of a major outage or performance deterioration should be favored.  Other projects should be questioned and potentially deferred.
2. Focus on the Network. Often networking costs account for the largest proportion of I&O costs.  Focus on how costs in that area can be reduced.
3. Consolidate operations. Consolidate distributed computing facilities under the roof of a single (or fewer) data center(s).
4. Reduce Power and Cooling.  Consider how the data center can become more efficient in power and cooling utilization.
5. Virtualize I&O.  Adopt server utilization where possible.  This will result in the use of fewer servers and savings in space and power and cooling costs.
6. Curb Storage Growth.  Consider the use of tools like storage virtualization, automated tiering and storage resource management (SRM).
7. Reduce IT Support Costs. Automate the response to common IT requests and minimized the escalation of IT requests across tiered support groups.
8. Streamline IT Operations. Consider implementation of a framework like ITIL, IT Infrastructure Library, to improve service management and quality and also to help in reducing operating expenses.
9. Improve Asset Lifecycle Management. IT Asset Management (ITAM) can help to more efficiently manage license and service contracts.
10. Optimize Multisourcing. Define the elements of sourcing that are strategic to the company, identify which components of an IT strategy can be outsourced, and set up clear boundaries for the responsibilities and duties to be performed by specific vendors.