Engagement Options

Infrastructure and Operations Assessment & Optimization

In this period of economic uncertainty, Burton Group has seen a number of client IT organizations faced with a desire to consolidate or rationalize IT applications and infrastructure. Burton Group’s research indicates that by reducing the number of applications and operating environments, and by leveraging the scale of the consolidated environment, organizations can realize substantial cost savings. However, an operating environment’s level of consolidation is highly dependant upon the application service levels, technical architecture of the infrastructure components being consolidated, and finally the operational risks and limitations that may force a less than optimal consolidation based on available capacity.

Burton Group’s IT Infrastructure and Operations Assessment and Optimization approach starts with an assessment of the financial feasibility of consolidating infrastructure based on a balance between workload consolidation and the technical, operational, and business risks that may drive the level of consolidation that can realistically be achieved within an environment.

This approach ensures that no show stopping surprises (e.g., related to technical architecture, operational capability, or business requirements) emerge during detailed planning that nullify the entire consolidation business case and expected financial benefits. Once the ideal consolidation scenario has been identified, Burton Group works with the client to build a detailed consolidation plan based on mitigating all identified technical, operational, and business-process risks

The outcome of this engagement provides you with answers to the following key questions:

• What technical architecture and IT operational-driven risks and issues are associated with the consolidation?
• What IT processes are impacted by the consolidation and what changes will be required?
• What is the impact upon business-resumption planning?
• What is the ideal scenario for consolidation based on a balance between workload consolidation and capacity optimization, also taking into account business requirements, technical architecture limitations, and operational impact?
• What are the cost savings from implementing this consolidated/rationalized infrastructure and operations environment?
• What are the one-time costs?
• What time is needed to complete the project?
• What net savings can be expected over time?
• What are the other benefits of consolidation/rationalization?
• What is the schedule?

Approach

We accomplish this assessment by electronically surveying up to 15 key stakeholders drawn from cross-functional groups including IT, Security, Architecture, Networking, Customer Services, and other Line of Business executives concerned with IT infrastructure and operations. We also review your organization’s relevant infrastructure and operations design and architecture documents in order to get a quick yet thorough understanding of your infrastructure and operations strategy.

Specific topics that we investigate include:

• Data Center
• Disaster Recovery Plan
• Server and Storage Infrastructure
• Virtualization
• Operational processes

After receiving the completed surveys and reviewing your documentation, Burton Group consultants will review the survey responses with your team and correlate this information with your documented infrastructure and operations strategy. Following the on-site meeting, Burton Group will provide you with a written assessment, which will include a series of tactical and strategic recommendations focused on the specific topics above. As would be expected, Burton Group’s recommendations are based on industry best practices, technological capabilities, your organization's unique requirements, and other specific findings of the assessment.

Duration

The duration of the engagement is typically between 6-12 weeks.

To start this engagement, please contact Homan Farahmand at 905.952.0966.