subject: How To Effectively Redesign It Infrastructure To Improve Efficiency And Reduce Costs [print this page] Any organization without an efficient IT infrastructure is operating at a disadvantage. Data centers are the heart of modern business and clogged information arteries may give your company a heart attack from which it will never recover.
Why Do Companies Have Outdated IT Infrastructure?
In a perfect world, computer networks would always be using the latest hardware and software technologies to operate at maximum efficiency at any given moment. Data centers would be fully staffed around the clock and would provide 100% access even during a major natural disaster. An array of technologies from physical security to software safeguards would protect the data from loss or successfully restore it in its entirety after a disaster.
Real life IT infrastructures fall substantially short of these ideals. New technology is expensive and many organizations prefer to limp along under the older, less expensive systems all while hoping to upgrade under next year's budget. Oftentimes, however, that elusive "next year" never seems to come. Cultural attitudes inhibit growth as some executives can't understand why a slow network isn't as good as a fast one. Additionally, industries that don't revolve around information may underestimate how much an efficient network will enhance their productivity and, ultimately, their profitability.
Mergers And Acquisitions
Even companies that try to stay on the leading edge of information technology sometimes have to deal with outdated networks after a merger or buyout. When a corporation buys another company, it often finds the new acquisition is using older, less efficient technology. In fact, this might be precisely why the company was not competitive and was purchased at such a bargain price to start. The absorbed business may have found itself in a profit death spiral as sinking revenues prevented them from making necessary IT upgrades to improve future earnings.
Leaving the old IT infrastructure in place leaves the new company as the same unprofitable organization it was before. What's worse, this outdated network can put a strain on data centers in other parts of the business. As the new network is integrated into the old, data access and remote backups become slower. Any traffic system is only as fast as the slowest component and the new acquisition threatens the productivity of the entire organization.
Bringing Communications Up To Speed
Although the necessary upgrades may be expensive, an investment in an obsolete IT infrastructure will pay for itself in a short period of time. Implementing the latest network technologies improves communication among different parts of the company, speeds up productivity and improves data security. Data centers become more accessible at all hours and company systems remain available to users even during heavy network traffic times, natural disasters or national holidays. Networks are better managed. Operating systems and software tools are kept current with the latest performance and security patches, and those upgrades have little, if any, negative impact on company operations.
Fast data access isn't only about the computer network. One often-overlooked aspect of company communications is the efficiency of the call center. Nearly any organization has customer service or technical support personnel and a surprising number of those operations are still using 1980s phone technology. Upgrading with the latest VoIP connectivity and call center management software improves caller volume, shortens wait time and builds customer loyalty.
Centralized Data Management
It's astonishing how often companies with multiple locations have data centers that operate under vastly different technologies, software tools and IT protocols. To remain viable in an increasingly competitive market, it is essential that all parts of an organization operate as a whole. When each location is doing something different, the lack of unified data policies drags the company down.
Centralized IT infrastructure management means every site has access to the same tools and technologies. It simplifies data security and disaster recovery. Coordinating training and administration ensures everyone from IT managers to end users is following the same security and accessibility rules. Productivity is measured on the same scale regardless of location, and corporate metrics allow inefficiencies to be spotted and dealt with. Efficiency is maximized and that means expenses are minimized.
Successful organizations don't use piecemeal approaches to their IT infrastructure. When data centers are centrally managed using the latest technologies, the entire company runs more efficiently. It doesn't matter if the problems stem from uneven growth or new acquisitions, the sooner all components are updated, the sooner the organization can maximize productivity.
