With the abundant benefits of a converged infrastructure, why are so many CIOs still getting pushback on taking this important step in their IT strategy? Our research and experience shows that opposition to a converged strategy is more often political than technical.
Most organizations are divided into silos by specialty; for example, there might be a server group, a storage group, an applications group, and so on. Suggesting that these independent teams work together ignites a fear of impending irrelevancy, as teams think that they will be made redundant. The key to overcoming this fear is to show that converged infrastructure actually makes each group’s knowledge more critical to overall success.
Here are 3 specific steps to make converged infrastructure a reality in your organization:
1. Collaborate on a New Culture: A converged infrastructure reflects a shared-use model where resources are available on demand, a collaborative model very different from how most companies are structured today. The solution: Get server and storage staff collaborating with networking staff. Virtualization abstracts the physical hardware and software in separate layers, but the people who know how each layer interacts with the one above it are still an integral part of the equation. Therefore, all stakeholders should be working together to create the culture that will reflect the horizontal orientation of a converged infrastructure IT environment.
2. Get IT’s Buy-In: Typically, the decision to implement a converged infrastructure and advance toward cloud computing comes from the top down. The CEO wants the increased performance, the CFO wants the efficiencies of shared resources, and the CIO wants the kind of dynamic, self-regulating IT environment that will be required in the future. While the decision to commit to a converged infrastructure may come from the top, it needs the buy-in of the people who are going to implement and support it to succeed. In this step, CIOs need to include technologists in strategy meetings and really engage them in discussions about how to re-organize in a way that reflects the convergence of the underlying technologies. Most will appreciate being given the opportunity to drive change as opposed to being run over by it.
3. Build Relationships: As advanced as technology has become today, IT solutions are still run by people, and the success of IT depends on the success of the IT team. Fortunately, the activity of developing and carrying out a converged infrastructure strategy as a precursor to cloud computing can be an ideal exercise in building collaborative relationships among previously siloed teams. And it can create a new way for these talented IT professionals to work together to use technology to give the company a competitive edge.
Learn more: Six Tips for Creating a Converged Infrastructure