Here are the essential thoughts from a recent Infrastructure & Operations conference.
1. Set a 100 day plan to get through these tough times. Focus on staff and culture; align with new business imperatives and seek efficiency through consistency.
2. Turn the economic crisis threat into an opportunity. Push for smart, cost saving projects that didn’t get green-lit previously. Cull your software and hardware herd. If you can tie efforts to cost savings, you’ll encounter less resistance in decommissioning legacy systems.
3. ROIs need to be less than 12 months
4. Be green. Save money. Save the planet. For example default duplex printing saves paper and toner.
5. Properly executed governance and advocacy programs can bridge the gap between IT providers and IT consumers. These two initiatives can bring business alignment, a happier CEO and a less stressful IT culture.
6. Virtualization continues to be a smart initiative and we’re just scratching the surface. Push your VM:host ratio to 30:1 or higher.
7. Cloud computing a few years to go before its proven itself but it well may be the manifestation of previously hyped efforts including utility and grid computing. When one looks at the math, it’s hard to see the cloud as just a fad.