June 30, 2016: With less and less discretionary spend, CTOs are expected to account for every last cent of their budget. And yet the demand for new capacity can quickly outstrip the IT department’s ability to properly manage existing assets effectively.
Left unchecked, the race to add capacity can lead to wasted investment as CTOs invest in new hardware without maximizing their existing assets. Although “essential”, every new unit exponentially increases operating costs – from the purchase price, to the associated support and maintenance contract, even down to the cost of additional power and cooling per unit.
Racing to keep up with demand could actually be reducing available budget to the point that other projects with the potential to drive your business forward are delayed, or shelved altogether. The need to balance budget against service user demands is crucial at a time when data, and the ability to access it quickly, is a proven competitive advantage.
Knowing (and using) what you already have
Asset management is a vital discipline in helping to decide whether existing infrastructure can be used to fulfil user demands. Do you have redundant arrays that could be redeployed to help meet a specific need? Chances are that you don’t, but there are other more granular considerations to be made before buying new hardware.
Many storage arrays are not fully populated for instance, creating potential for an upgrade of capacity for the cost of some inexpensive disks. A proper asset management regime will let you know which of your arrays could be upgraded in this way, and avoid purchase of unnecessary additional equipment.
The same is true of your post warranty hardware too. EoSL storage can be quickly redeployed for non-mission critical applications – but only if you properly understand what you have, and what its capabilities are. Maximizing existing systems, and reusing older arrays to support operations will help you avoid unnecessary spend, freeing up cash for investment in other projects that will drive your business forward.
Here at CDS we routinely audit customer assets, helping them to properly understand what they have, and what the potential applications are for each. And as a vendor agnostic supplier of support and maintenance for pre- and post-warranty hardware, we can help your business redeploy and run all of your assets effectively.
An investment in asset management services from CDS is a significant step towards better managing your systems and protecting your budget.
For more help and advice, please get in touch.
– See more at: http://www.cds.net/news/2016/06/data-center-challenges-asset-management/#sthash.vgE55cEW.dpuf