Finding ways to substantially cut costs and complexity in an active, vibrant Data Centre is not easy. CIO’s have spent years trimming here and there and, to many, further demand from the business to reduce CAPEX/OPEX can seem like asking the impossible.
Nonetheless, significant additional reductions and effeciencies can be made possible where companies take a broader look at the way IT serves the business in a broad context. Key to this approach is the bringing together of “IT” and “Business” people in a combined effort to rationalise applications, processes, core infrastructure and operations. I have recently facilitated “IT/Business Alignment” workshops, forced both sides of the house to work together productively and have been amazed as to the opportunities that drop out of this exercise. Well managed and facilitated workshops are a great way from stakeholders to express ideas, test theory and find “1+1=3″ type opportunities.
The days of the IT organisation behaving as “custodian of technology” need to be brought to a close and the CIO needs to be positioned and fully recognised as a business partner by their peers in the organization.
Darren
