Steps for Successful Data Center Consolidation

Steps for Successful Data Center Consolidation

Data Center consolidation is also referred as IT consolidation is a strategy to reduce the number of servers used either

by repurposing server by carrying out Virtualization or by removing legacy servers. Some of the most popular consolidation technologies used in today’s data centers are storage Virtualization; cloud computing, server Virtualization and

replacing mainframes with smaller blade servers. Data center consolidation is a common for organizations that plan to reduce the overall size of their facility to reduce overall IT footprint and operating cost.

Challenges:

Is your data center is suffering from a high level of power consumption, server sprawl and redundant licenses or if you are facing any of the following challenges?

• High capital costs
• Higher operating costs
• Long response time to service request                                                 
  
• Increased downtime
• Decreased reliability

Then it’s time to consolidate your datacenter. Solution:

Consolidation of data centers or servers may be one of the solutions to reduce operating cost and capital funds while improving service. Following are the outcomes of successful consolidation of data centers.

• Reduce operating and hardware cost by 50%
• Creates provision for new servers which are 70% faster than older ones
• Reduce energy consumption and reduces energy bill up-to 80%
• Reliable during disaster recovery
• Less downtime

Following are few simple and best steps to perform data center consolidation: Building a suitable Data Center Consolidation Strategy

Data center consolidation team should concentrate on delivering true value to the business which aims to reduce overall operational cost and increases efficiency of the facility. Planning consolidation strategy with the application front of mind operational cost can be reduced significantly.

Build a business case for Consolidation:

While choosing a business case have a brief idea about the category in which your data center operates and plan accordingly. Carefully examine the staff levels and mark them in their levels, this saves your staffing expenses. Also have a brief idea about projected growth and candidates for consolidation.

Understand what you have:

Knowing the software and hardware configurations helps in creating better understanding between management and vendors.

Plan Return on Investment Getting step 1 wrong will directly affect the company’s capital income and its performance in the market. Compressive strategies will clearly define success of the company and also helps in

achieving a good return on investments. Timescales and expectations should be set at the very beginning of the planning phase. Identify Best Candidates for Consolidation:

When you have a clear idea about what you have in your data center, then you can identify best elements to consolidate and yield better result. So it’s better to select best consolidation candidates who can perform the task efficiently.

Implementing the Strategy After the successful planning of the consolidation strategy it”s time to implement. Consolidation team should ensure applications are delivered exactly as intended at the expected time irrespective of the challenges faced such as network failures, traffic congestions and security threats. Evaluate Whether Consolidation is Moving in Right Direction

After you have performed consolidation make sure it’s moving in the right direction as planned and analyze the delay and reason for delay.

Have a regular maintenance check after successfully completing the consolidation strategy.

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