Data Center Consolidation: Avoiding Surprises and Returning Business Value
We see many organizations, papers, vendors, etc. discussing data center consolidation. Wonderful projections and claims are being provided by vendors. But many Data Center Consolidation decisions are not being made on solid, objective cost analysis. Studies show that about 21% use consultants, and about 17% use ROI calculators from vendors. Hopefully these analyses provide accurate costs and savings.
But there is another way…
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Repeatable, credible & risk oriented
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Documented analysis using sound estimation process
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Application of SEER-IT for cost, schedule, risk analysis
Galorath’s approach is to first model the as-is approach in a fully justified approach, then to estimate the to-be approach. Full risk analysis is performed as well, ensuring you understand the range of probabilities.
If you are interested in a viable estimate including cost, headcount, schedule, and risk of data center consolidation, contact Galorath. Everything from software assets to hardware assets, facility assets, and real estate assets are analyzed. People, power and other analyses are included. Additionally, the cost of shutting down the legacy must be included in a complete analysis. These could be substantial.
The following example shows nearly $100 million in savings over 7 years at a cost of $33 million.
To discuss this analysis or to get started on data center consolidation analysis, contact Galorath, worldwide.
Thank you for reading “Dan on Estimating”, if you would like more information about Galorath’s estimation models, please visit our contact page or call us at +1 310 414-3222.
Don’t Choose Software as a Service Just to Save Money, Says Gartner
According to Robert DeSisto of Gartner, SaaS is a ” software service-delivery model… Something is shared on the back end, and that, hopefully, gets you economies of scale… if you’re “getting into this game solely to save money, you have come to the wrong place.”
Basic SaaS advantages:
- Many Enterprise Applications available
- Ability to quickly scale to thousands of users
- Gaining technical value without capital outlay
- Incremental releases deliver functionality immediately for users without internal development
- More rapid response to enhancement requests & defect repairs
However this all doesn’t necessarily yield bottom-line cost savings.
This is not saying anything bad about SaaS, just that homework needs to be done and goals and constraints need to be evaluated.
In our own environment, we have just determined we are better off hosting our own telephone system than using a SaaS solution. In this case, costs don’t scale well when deploying in an organization with more than a handful of phones.
On the other hand, we are currently considering SaaS for our email for several reasons. Since the world is now flat, our staff is scattered rather than consolidated as it once was. For those outside our El Segundo office, VPN and email from our servers is a nuisance. And the browser mail experience leaves a lot to be desired. Things would only get easier for them. For personnel within the El Segundo headquarters, mail would be slower versus our internal network. But would anyone really notice? Our IT support would become easier and the long hours of daily backup would be significantly reduced. And finally, we once had a major power outage in El Segundo. The backup generators could not sustain power for the days it took t0 repair. Outsourced mail would hopefully have more backup and would not suffer a sustained power outage.
For example, Galorath analysis showed salesforce.com’s development environment could save significant costs. But the majority of the cost saving was due to the rapid application development, not just the lack of need for in house infrastructure and IT support.
Thank you for reading “Dan on Estimating”, if you would like more information about Galorath’s estimation models, please visit our contact page or call us at +1 310 414-3222.
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Parametric Model Use
Be Proactive: Identify cost targets, Find ways of meeting conflicting goals, Acquire / Build and know your models
Begin With the End In Mind: Understand what the key cost and requirements issues are as well as the estimate goals
Put First Things First: Planning training, planning, substantiation
Think Win/ Win: Negotiate so costing/pricing/performance yield fair return Fixed price low bid may be a Lose/Lose Optimize alternatives for Cost Vs. Requirements & Performance
Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood Don’t just throw model inputs at stakeholders; understand the problem
Synergize: Combine knowledge/Resources with COTS Models; Use integrated product team approach to provide cost model inputs and feedback
Sharpen the Saw: Spend some resources to improve processes & tools
Thank you for reading “Dan on Estimating”, if you would like more information about Galorath’s estimation models, please visit our contact page or call us at +1 310 414-3222.
Estimating Best Practices
The following are the bullet points from Dan’s paper on estimating best practices. Using these best practices can increase project success dramatically.
- Decide Why You Want An Estimate
- Map Estimation Goals To Estimate Process Maturity & Develop Plan To Achieve The Maturity
- Have A Documented, Repeatable Estimation Process
- Evaluate Total Ownership Cost; Not Just Development
- Estimate A Range And Pick A Point For The Plan
- Re-estimate The Program When It Changes
- Avoid Death Marches: Programs With Unachievable Schedules Are Likely To Fail And Drain Morale
Thank you for reading “Dan on Estimating”, if you would like more information about Galorath’s estimation models, please visit our contact page or call us at +1 310 414-3222.
Project Prediction Infographic
