Buying for the Enterprise

Equipping

your organization to meet the requirements of today’s IT needs is a daunting

task. The biggest issue you will come across is planning for and standardizing

this infrastructure. If you do your homework well and plan before you actually

start buying or implementing, you will be astounded at the benefits that accrue.

Also, setting down some policies for standardization can make a remarkable

difference. Sounds theoretical?? Well, yes it does, and sure, it is slightly

rigid…but when you are planning for a large enterprise, it is well worth the

effort.

Now before I actually get down to specifics on how this is is done, I would

like to put a fix on what is considered an ‘enterprise’. I’m not really

sure if there is a definition of this anywhere but in most dictionaries, a

"business firm" is considered to be an enterprise. In common practice,

an organization with more than 100 employees, multiple locations, spanning not

just a single country but across multiple nations and in different time-zones is

considered to be an enterprise.

Though a lot of the issues in this write-up will be aimed at larger

organizations, it should not be construed that smaller ones are being ignored.

To a great extent, these same issues will affect any organization’s IT

infrastructure.

The basic requirements of enterprise computing include at least the following

components: desktop computers for normal office automation, design, development

and research; notebooks for the mobile and sales staffers; servers for file and

print services; messaging, accounting and other business process applications;

and finally, a strong network and communications backbone.

A very basic premise that I would like to state here is that one size does

not fit all. Each organization will necessarily have to do a ‘needs assessment’

for itself…but of course, knowing what others are doing helps.

Having said that, let’s take up a simple example of how planned acquisition

of equipment should be done. Let’s consider two approaches. The first is the

price-driven method. Here, the organization sets a price, and at any given point

of time for that price it can acquire an entry-level desktop, maybe not

cutting-edge but definitely a current model. This PC stays with the organization

for three years, after which it is phased out. Pricing is at Rs 40,000-45,000.

Another approach used by an organization with over 1,100 PCs–the company

put all its users into four different categories and depending on work profile,

four different categories of PCs to be purchased were defined. A



category ‘A’ PC was a leading-edge workstation with all the frills while
category ‘D’ will have an entry-level desktop.

Purchasing PCs is probably one the easier tasks; the real issues start when

you look at servers. Low-end servers have the same lifespan as desktops, around

three years, but mid-range servers need to be with you for at least five years,

while the higher end would have to last a minimum of ten years to justify the

investment.

Software, which until now was never given serious thought, actually costs way

beyond hardware and is the basic brain behind all the required equipment.

Planning for software acquisition requires a look at the entire range of

applications and services that would be used, starting from the desktop OS, the

office suite and going up the rung to databases, payroll, accounting and ERP

software.

Standardization here makes a large difference. If you decide to use a certain

desktop OS, let’s say Microsoft Windows, extending the standards would include

version control. If it is going to be Windows ’98, it would be Windows ’98

across the board with deviations only for very good reasons.

I have seen organizations that take this so far as to make all desktops

identical. There are several advantages to this approach, the primary being

support. Having identical systems makes it easy to replace and replicate when

things go wrong, reducing downtime and allowing high productivity. Combined with

sensible usage policies, one can ensure that all data is centrally stored and

that desktops act as access points, allowing the use of any PC anywhere in the

organization…a tremendous advantage.

Stringing all of this together is your network. A very critical component of

enterprise computing since it is the first step towards sharing the organization’s

IT resources. Networks these days need to cater to high bandwidth usage based on

the rich content available. Capacities need to be planned way beyond current

expectations, when networks grow, they grow logarithmically, not in little steps

but literally in leaps.

The single-largest application on the network today is messaging–a common

messaging platform is essential. Insist on the same platform: if you decide to

go in for Lotus Notes, then have that throughout, if you prefer Micro- soft

Exchange, then all branches should use that.

The factors to consider are quality, service and price. In fact, while

buying, one of the things to do is negotiate a good deal, even with larger

vendors. Don’t let those top brands faze you. I know of instances where top

vendors have brought out down prices below those in the grey market just because

of volumes. Size does matter, after all!

Given that large sums of money are invested in building IT infrastructure, it

should be protected. From the users’ point of view, it clearly defines what

they can and can’t do with the organization’s equipment, and this makes it

useful to both parties. An example would be whether to allow MP3s to be played

or allow an Internet chat tool, like ICQ or AOL’s instant messenger, to be

used. These can compromise security.

As far as security is concerned, not enough can be said about its

criticality. An organization can lose its competitive edge if information falls

into wrong hands. Unfortunately, even after having seen the disastrous results

of security breaches, neither the management nor IT departments take this

seriously enough. The only way security works is if it fully backed from the

top, the upper management has to take this up and let the effects percolate in

the form of a rock-solid policy. Security is not a solution; it’s a way of

life.

Kishore Bhargava is a technology

consultant with Linkaxis Technologies

He was project consultant for the cover story