By Rod Kay
In these tough economic times, justifying a new equipment purchase is harder than ever. One key element beyond needing the basic functionality of the device is investigating its impact on operational costs.
Data has consistently shown that opex constitutes 70% to 80% of IT’s overall costs, so buying equipment that can save IT time is critical. For example, being able to tie username to a traffic flow, with application information, can dramatically lower IT’s troubleshooting time. In addition, having this kind of user and application control built into the network infrastructure means IT can avoid the capex associated with buying overlay products and the opex needed to run all those disparate systems.
To get a feel for the value a given product can provide, IT buyers should explore the manufacturer’s vision for how business demands are changing and how the network must evolve to meet those changing requirements. Does the vendor’s vision for the business issues align with the challenges your organization is having? Does the current product meet your requirements today but also have a path for evolving with your business? Is there programmability and flexibility built into the system to enable the vendor to deliver on its vision over the long term?
In network switching, just getting a better switch will never be the right justification. Needing Power over Ethernet, for example, to drive a voice over IP or wireless LAN deployment is one common driver. But once you've decided you need a new switch, then you need to ensure you're getting the best value for dollar - today and in the future.
As IT Director John White of Technicolor explains, getting a programmable device that keeps up with business needs were top reasons he chose ConSentry to secure his network - you can hear his perspective in this two-minute Technicolor Case Study on YouTube.
The operational impact is key. Small and medium-size companies don’t have the luxury of extra staff, so they need devices that are simple to deploy and run and, more importantly, make key ongoing IT tasks easier.
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