Lately I am seeing a trend that transcends from systems engineers all the way up to CIOs that I can't seem to wrap my head around. Let's dive right in...

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ARE YOU GIVING YOUR BUSINESS
A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE?
TURBONOMIC MICRO-EBOOK

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joe holds a BS in Management Information Systems from the University of
Massachusetts Lowell where he developed a deep understanding of how to
translate business needs into technology-based solutions.
He was named Turbonomic’s Sales Engineering Rookie of the Year upon
completion of his first full year in the role, and now serves as a Manager of
Sales Engineering. Joe is a frequent contributor to the Turbonomic
virtualization blog and when he’s not brushing up on the latest and greatest
technology industry trends, you can find him spending his free time on both
the research and application of sports nutrition and strength training..
Joe Burke
Manager of Sales Engineering

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BACKGROUND
Lately I am seeing a trend that transcends from systems
engineers all the way up to CIOs that I can’t seem to wrap
my head around. If I am working together with a potential
Turbonomic candidate we will typically discuss things like
how and why something was architected a particular way or
maybe how they ensure they are getting the most out of the
infrastructure resources they have already invested in.

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Is spending time putting out fires efficient?
I talk with a lot of different individuals who work in IT in some
way shape or form on a regular basis. Somewhere during
these sessions the conversation almost always comes back to
performance, and this is where I get somewhat lost. Usually I
will ask something like “how do you guys typically identify
performance issues in environment today?” The answers that I
get range from “usually when an end user calls us” or “only
when my phone rings” and sometimes responses like “our goal
is to keep lights on, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”

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On the surface these seem like completely logical answers right? If you work with data center
technologies, your goal is to maintain uptime, ensure that customers and end users can
access applications required to perform their day to day jobs. But is this type of logic actually
aiding your organization in a sufficient manner? Are you actually allowing your organization to
recognize the benefits of a skilled information technology team and providing them with a true
competitive advantage, or are you simply keeping the lights on?

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How do you support the business?
Think about it for a minute. What types of applications does
your organization leverage? How do these applications support
the business? How do YOU support these applications? It can
be a scary thought for some if you actually take a step back
and think about it.
The fact that Google apparently uses cheap homegrown servers with a KVM hypervisor on top gives
them a competitive advantage. The fact that trading firms have identified that a 1 millisecond
difference in latency can result in upwards of $100 million per year is giving them a competitive
advantage. The fact that the Indianapolis Colts reported deflated footballs to the NFL in an attempt to
suspend Tom Brady from play was an attempt (see failed one) at a competitive advantage. The point
is, uptime isn’t good enough anymore. Slow is the new down, and the quicker we start adopting that
mindset, the more of an asset we become to the business..

7. turbonomic.com
A Simple Example
A colleague of mine used to use this simple example whenever
he was working with a potential client and as elementary as it
seems, it makes a lot of sense when you think of delivering a
competitive advantage. Have you ever moved a virtual
machine to fix a problem? Have you ever moved a virtual
machine to prevent a problem?
That simple statement summarizes how IT operations teams think about managing environments
today. We monitor things in the environment, wait for something negative to occur, and then take
action as quickly as possible. If we want to assist the business in gaining a competitive advantage,
then the software we invest in needs to be a competitive advantage itself. We need to adopt the logic
of a software that is going to aggressively put our infrastructure in the best position possible at all
times versus continuing down the antiquated path of “why would I do anything at all when nothing
seems to be a problem right now?”

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How Will You Transform Your Business?: Read Now
Blog – Is Your IT Department a Bottleneck or a Business Enabler: Read Now
Whitepaper –The Desired State: Read Now
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