Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
of midrange systems on a cycle between 3 and 4 years. Server-class
hardware typically enjoys higher tolerances and can be managed on
a 5-year cycle, which corresponds to common manufacturing strate-
gies such as the evolution of new blade chassis formats. A steady cycle
replacement strategy provides the optimal balance between network
agility and a predictable budget, while providing minimized com-
plexity and regular replacement of all systems.
User acceptance is typically better under steady cycle replacement
than under other strategies because there are no privileged users who
always get the best, newest equipment. Users know when their next
cycle will occur and that everyone with the same need will receive the
same equipment, allowing computing equipment to be considered
more as office equipment like the telephone than as a personally pos-
sessed item of greater or lesser quality and capability. This solution
minimizes disruption due to replacement, as all equipment is main-
tained within its expected lifespan and replacement occurs only once
per cycle for each device. The steady cycle strategy provides many
benefits and is typically the best total-cost-of-ownership option.
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Ad hoc
—Immature enterprise environments may employ ad-hoc
purchasing to add, replace, and update systems in small numbers
or individually based on equipment failure, emergent need, or other
strategic determination. This is particularly common in research
environments where individual researchers may enjoy independent
funding or in enterprises where end-of-fiscal-year demands encour-
age “splurge” spending in a use-it-or-lose-it manner. This is perhaps
the worst enterprise-level strategy because complexity is maximized
without alignment with purchasing strategies. The result is an
unplanned collection of variant technologies that can change at any
time and in any way—in short, a real mess.
•
Personal
—Enterprises without coordinated purchase of systems,
software, and hardware may employ instead technologies selected at
individual whim or purchased as personal solutions. This is an enter-
prise type found in small office/home office (SOHO) environments
with equipment-reimbursement stipends or within organizations
constructed as community-shared resources. In higher-education
environments, this type of enterprise may emerge spontaneously
from collections of student personal equipment, with authentication
and resource sharing added later. Personal-technology solutions do
