DHC 2008: Pre-Conference Themes and Variations, Server Virtualization

At the DHC2008 Pre-Conference, Austin Park, CTO, PDS, discussed the key concerns associated with server virtualization. Key points of the discussion were as follows:

To understand ROI you need to baseline before you make changes
Proper deployment planning and setting expectations are critical to a high quality business case. Failure to do so will doom both the current project as well as future projects.

The quicker the transition to server virtualization, the greater the savings associated with the effort. Support of the infrastructure and employee costs associated with running dual systems during this transition can b very expensive.

Philip Loftus, CIO at Aurora Health Care suggested that when you go to server virtualization an organization will need a new level of expertise to support the effort. Before organizations move forward they need to identify the skills required as well as the source of experts with those skills.

Reed Eichner, CIO at HIMSS, commented that convincing the senior management team of the benefits of virtualization takes some effort. Savings that lead to significant ROI includes: 1) Decreased electrical costs (e.g., spinning disks, cooling), 2) Decreased costs associated with floor space, and 3) Decreased personnel costs.