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Best Practices to Save Money in IT

Wasant UdomthreesapMetro Systems Corporation Public Company Limitedwasanudo@metrosystems.co.th

Key Issues

• What specific internal policies and procedures can

be can be changed to reduce IT costs?

• What actions can be taken in the area of resource

acquisition to reduce costs?

2

Use the 25 common IT cost containment

techniques framework to identify opportunities

18. Refresh/ Upgrade Delay

22. Telephone Bill Audit

10. Automated Software

Distribution

14. Open-Source Software

Manage Demand

Shift to Variable Cost

Link costs to demand

2. IT PMO

4. Contingent Workers

5. Software as a Service

6. Capacity-on-Demand

3. IT Governance

Improve IS Business

Practices

20. Print Fleet Rationalization

19. Asset/License Management

Change IS Operating

Model

15. Data Center Consolidation/

Automation

16. Standard Operating

Environment17. Teleworking

21. Telephone Expense

Management

25. Apps Dev Process

Improvement

24. IT Operations Process

Improvement

23. Contract Renegotiation

Reduce Resource

CostsReduce

Technology

Cost

11. Server/Storage Virtualization

12. Voice/Data Network

Reengineering

13. Voice over Internet Protocol

Reduce Labor Cost

7. Staff Reconfiguration

8. Selective Outsourcing

9. Offshore Outsourcing

Change Operating

Practices

IT c

ost co

nta

inm

ent

1. Chargeback

Exploit Self-Service Opportunities

Self-service platforms offer opportunities to

significantly reduce costs and improve service!

Password Resets ($5.50 vs. $0.45)

IVR Help Desk Diagnostic

IT Supplies Provisioning/Electronic Catalog Ordering

3

Eliminate Release-on-Demand Practices

• Release-on-demand is the practice of continuously

modifying software to meet customer requests for

“nice-to-have” enhancements. Move toward major

scheduled releases for software enhancements.

• Expect:

- 30% - 50% reduction in labor associated with applications

maintenance.

- Improved break/fix ratios for applications

- Better code quality and more effective testing

Revisit Disaster Recovery Plans

• Establish inter-agency backup sites

• Review and reprioritize application requirements

• Review support site tools, keep only essential items

• Review Telco requirements, consider cost effective

alternatives

4

Reduce

HD Calls

Standardize

SLAs

TCO

Reduced

23%

Standardized Desktop Configurations

Consolidate

Servers

Reduce

Hardware

Maintenance

Reduce

Software LicenseImprove

Purchasing

Leverage

IT Standardization: The Ongoing Benefits

Key Issues

• What specific internal policies and procedures can

be can be changed to reduce IT costs?

• What actions can be taken in the area of resource

acquisition to reduce costs?

5

Consider “Maintenance” Alternatives

•Consider dropping maintenance after initial equipment

warranty period expires, use replace rather that repair mode

in out years

• Explore reduced SLAs for non-critical equipment

• Explore opportunities to reduce software maintenance

costs, audit maintenance billing, and drop maintenance

where applicable or chose other maintenance levels

Implement Demand Management

• Reduce Storage Requirements

- Cull out old and duplicate data files

- Implement and enforce tiered storage architecture

- Consider Storage on Demand arrangements for cyclical storage

requirements

- For many organizations storage is growing at 65% CAGR- Compound

Annual Growth Rate

• Reduce Print Costs and Demand

- Charge for all print services (this can significantly reduce demand)

- Eliminate most personal printers (huge potential savings)

- Ensure all supplies are centrally purchased

- Make sure color printers are not used for non-color jobs

6

Standardized Desktop Configuration

• Hardware

• Master Image/ SysPrep

• Group Policy/ GPMC

• WSUS

Hardware

• Single Model is best

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Master Image/ SysPrep

• Rollout Desktop with master image

• RIS, OS Deployment (SCCM)

• Running SysPrep

Group Policy/ GPMC

• Remove unnecessary right from desktops for

domain user

• Use Group Policy to lockdown desktop

- Security lockdown

- Software Installation

- Software Restriction

- Folder Redirection

• Use GPMC managing Group Policy centrally

8

WSUS

Reduce Storage Requirement

• Access-Based Enumeration Tools

• Disk Quota

• File Screening

• File Archiving

• Distributed File System

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Access-Based Enumeration Tools

Disk Quota

Quota features File Server Resource

ManagerNTFS disk quotas

Quota tracking By folder or by volume Per user on a volume

Disk usage calculation Actual disk space Logical file size

Notification mechanisms

E-mail, custom reports,

command execution, event

logs

Event logs only

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Quota

File Screening

11

File Archiving

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_file_archivers

Distributed File System

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Reduce Print Costs and Demand

• Charge for all print services (this can significantly reduce demand)

- Print Quota Management Software (may be freeware)

• Eliminate most personal printers (huge potential savings)

- Company Policy

- Use Centralized Print Management

• Ensure all supplies are centrally purchased

- Company Policy

• Make sure color printers are not used for non-color jobs

• Company Policy

• Print Management (Permission)

• Print Pooling

Recommendations

• If you’re serious about IT cost savings, then have a

plan

• Don’t look for a single panacea for cost savings

opportunities

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Thank you.