While today’s businesses rely on information technology working transparently, they must still pay attention to how it is working in their environment to stay one step ahead of obsolescence and ineffectiveness. That means both business people and internal IT must know how to evaluate and optimize their existing environment for effective present and future business outcomes that drive the bottom line.For further Assistance please visit IT Services in Houston.
We all know that small to large business technology environments must evolve to meet changing business needs. The challenge is that the evolution happens faster for small and mid-market businesses in growth mode. Since the technology environment is only as valuable as its reliability, efficiency, and adaptability, assessing that value starts with gaining true insights into:
- The level of compatibility between IT systems and core business goals
- Process pain points
- Business growth projections/plans
To ensure your IT systems are supporting top business performance across the board, you must evaluate the following environment components:
- Networking
- Servers
- Applications & Application portfolio assessment
- Operating Systems
- Client Devices
The goal is to gain a granular view of all aspects of IT infrastructure and the ways it integrates with business functions, culture, and long-term growth strategies. By conducting a highly effective infrastructure assessment, businesses can look at the IT environment through the lens of the present and future needs. This makes it easier to determine the best way to optimize it for improved business operations and the bottom line.For more details please visit IT Services in Houston
Servers and Network Hardware
Servers are the backbone of any organization, but it’s easy for business and IT to have a siloed impression of what’s needed from them. Growth beyond a three-person workforce requires one or more servers to fulfill different business operational needs such as:
- Applications
- Web
These are just three of the common server types in a business network where each fulfills different functions and has different framework-specific requirements. But in the evaluation process they all require gaining answers to the following:
- Are the compute, processing and storage right for the current and near future needs?
- Are physical on-site environment needs being met such as cooling, adequate space, etc.?
- What is the age and efficiency of the server based on current server options and business needs?
- Should the server be in the office or in the cloud (virtual)?
Network routers, switches, and firewalls working with servers to fulfill business networking needs must also be evaluated based on current and future needs. This helps determine if there are better options that provide more scalability, flexibility, resilience and security for a business.
Physical space, IT support, server uses, regulatory compliance (HIPAA and others), and more can all be part of determining whether servers should be on site, in the cloud, or a combination (Hybrid). Businesses must continually evaluate the current and future use and age of the server to determine when changes are needed. Constant operational monitoring can show signs of problems in terms of slow processing or overheating that can lead to slow business functionality.please visit IT Services in Houston
Applications and Client Devices
Applications drive business operations, so their variable scope (costs, users, licensing), security, and management (updates, patching) make them a constant evaluation target for optimization. Determining when or if to move from on-premise applications to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model requires IT and business personnel to clearly understand need, functionality, expected usage patterns, and cost factors.
Desktops have much the same challenges as the applications that run on them as the costs only begin with the purchase and continue through setup, management, updating, repairs and retirement. According to the Spiceworks 2020 state of IT Report, businesses spend the largest percentage of their IT budgets on desktops and laptops (17 percent for each). Moving to desktops, applications, and servers hosted in the cloud via cloud services support can optimize efficiency while lowering Capex and total cost of ownership (TCO).
How Opex, Capex, and TCO Fit Into IT Optimization
Evaluating and optimizing a business’ IT environment can’t happen without factoring in the hardware and software system’s cost to the business. Every aspect of a business’ IT environment whether on site or in the cloud will have one or more of the following expense types attached:
- Capital Expenses (Capex) requiring a significant outlay of cash for purchase upfront
- Operational Expenses (Opex) requiring either small or significant monthly costs for use
Many technology investments are a combination of Capex and Opex since they require ongoing management and maintenance. We refer to this total cost of using and maintaining an IT investment over time as TCO. Businesses and IT management must consider these factors to effectively evaluate and optimize an IT environment.
IT spending is a balancing act between hardware, software and services, so evaluating all these aspects within your current environment will help determine how best to optimize them in the most cost-effective way. The goal is to lower TCO, Capex and Opex while raising business operational efficiency, scalability, security and resiliency.
Optimizing your IT environment is about ensuring optimum connectivity, security and transparent operational efficiency while effectively managing data, systems, services and maintenance. When your business does this effectively, it’s position for operational efficiency, cost-effective growth, stronger customer relationships, and a healthier bottom line.please visit IT Services in Houston