Lower cost, disaster recovery top server optimization drivers -- ADTmag

Lower cost, disaster recovery top server optimization drivers

By Leigh Alexander
June 14, 2006

Reducing costs and improving business continuity and disaster recovery are the top drivers for server optimization, according to a recent CDW poll. Server optimization was defined as consolidation and virtualization to maximize utilization rates, reduce power consumption and space, and improve app performance and uptime. CDW credits newer technologies like blade and dual-core servers with the increasing prevalence of such projects.

As businesses face increased pressure to deliver a growing number of services at the same or lower costs, server optimization can help manage the data center more efficiently. Sixty-six percent of 420 IT managers surveyed said that cost reduction was the key driver, while 56 percent cited improved business continuity and disaster recovery.

Other highlights of the survey: 26 percent of respondents cited virtualization technologies as their primary choice for planned and current optimization, followed by blade servers (22 percent) and dual-core servers (21 percent). Thirty-one percent of respondents ranked server sprawl as the top IT optimization driver, and 53 percent of respondents rated the initial investment as the primary obstacle to an optimization project, while 90 percent rated overall cost savings as an important benefit.

"Server optimization lowers operational expenses because of reduced service needs, lower cooling costs per server, and less demand per server for power, rack space, switching and floor space," says Firooz Ghanbarzadeh, senior segment manager, solutions, CDW. "Optimization also reduces the time needed by IT professionals to maintain and manage servers."