As a former CIO for the State of Colorado, I'm very interested and, indeed, overjoyed that Colorado, under Mike Locatis' leadership, is embarking on an IT Consolidation passed into law this summer. It's been a long time in coming and fits in with the efforts of other states that have also determined that IT Consolidation is a way to go for them. Most are excited about this while some, employees, vendors, and elected officials, have some concerns and are waiting to see the results. No doubt some approach the pending changes with concern while others welcome the promises of the new order of things.
The goals for IT Consolidation are driven by economics and the desire for efficiencies. However, one's perspective on efficiency depends on where that person sits. An employee that had the freedom to make decisions before may find that the new order restricts that decision making authority. A vendor that enjoyed sales to multiple agencies and a close relationship with those agencies may find it harder to compete when purchases are aggregated in the name of economy of scale. IT Consolidation can be different things to different people and groups.
So, to get the discussion going, here's the request I have from readers of this Blog: From where you sit, what is the impact, if any, on you and your organization as a result of the trend toward more IT Consolidations?
Please feel free to contribute by clicking on the "comment" link and watch for other comments. I'm looking forward to learning what you have to say.
Bob Feingold, Senior Fellow
Thoughts
Limiting to one vendor can be useful if that vendor can supply and support all needs. But only a few vendors can really support those needs.
What many fail to understand is that the upfront hardware costs are less than 20% of the TCO/ROI equation. Managing is where the real cost hit home. To support that long term cost better, the customer must look for a real partner and ask the question” Can your management tools empower IT to been seen as an asset and not a cost? Can you tools provide better automation, security and back it up with reporting that can be measured?
Virtualization, central data warehouse, and disaster recovery are the other key pieces to ensure that consolidation works in the data center. Another part of consolidation that can be supported and add additional benefits is to bring client resources into the data center and only offering thin clients to majority of the users and for those needing more power, Blade PC’s and Blade Workstation. Easier and more cost effective for the Help Desk to manage a client’s image on a server than on the desk and save on power needs.
Sending out a bid to retain the best price on server and storage hardware is the wrong strategy to begin a consolidation project. The vendor you are stuck with will determine the long term costs and why looking for a Partner with the right management tools works better.