Bringing data center 
management and technology 
into the 21st century 
Jonathan Koomey, Ph.D. 
Research Fellow, Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and 
Finance, Stanford University 
http://www.koomey.com 
Presented at DCD Converged 
London, UK 
November 19, 2014 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
1
Can you answer these key 
management questions? 
• How many servers do you have? 
• How many of the servers are comatose? 
• What is the average utilization for those that 
aren’t comatose? 
• Do you track costs and benefits from data 
center operations each year? 
– Total? 
– At the business unit level? 
– At the project level? 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
2
Most companies can’t! 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
3
What do executives need to 
know about information 
technology (IT)? 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
4
Modern businesses can’t succeed 
without IT 
5 
Brynjolfsson, Erik, and Andrew McAffee. 2014. The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and 
Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. [http:// 
amzn.to/1gYHEGk] 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014
However… 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
6
IT is almost invariably 
fragmented and divorced from 
business performance 
Only management can fix that 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
7
Almost all enterprise data centers 
are paragons of inefficiency, but 
management doesn’t know it, so 
they don’t fix it. 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
8
Inefficient IT increases costs, 
decreases revenues, AND 
reduces the rate of innovation 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
9
What can management do? 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
10
I. Tie IT performance to business 
performance 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
11
How? 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
12
Metrics! 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
13
Creating the right metrics is not 
as easy as it sounds 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
14
How far are you from this? 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
15 
Profits 
Computation 
= (Revenues - Costs)/Computations
Complexities 
• Some parts of IT are really cost centers, but 
some generate revenues 
• Hard work needed to build up to revenues 
and costs/computation 
– Activity based costing (Romonet) 
– Detailed cost and inventory modeling (Apptio) 
– Server based inventory and operations (DCIM) 
• Computations 
– first order estimate = utilization * GHz * secs/year 
(good enough to start) 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
16
Metrics drive organizational change 
• Focus on the whole system 
– reducing total costs per computation 
– increasing total value from computation 
• “Show back” the consequences of choices 
to every employee, then “charge back” if 
needed 
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for 
management include both costs AND 
benefits 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
17
You need a model of costs and 
revenues that tracks all 
components in the data center 
over time! 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
18
II. One boss, one team, one 
budget! 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
19
III. Use IT to transform IT 
• Standardized IT deployments 
• Move from “sit down restaurant” to “buffet 
style” IT 
• Move many users to internal or external cloud 
• Software should matter more, hardware less 
• Measure, experiment, learn, and replicate 
• Use computer modeling to anticipate effects 
on cooling/power of Δs in existing facilities 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
20
Conclusions 
• What management can do 
– I. Drive institutional change using metrics that 
tie IT performance to business performance 
– II. One boss, one team, one budget 
– III. Use IT to transform IT 
• Summary: Make IT serve the business! 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
21
IT should NOT be treated as a cost 
center, it should be a cost reducing 
profit center that also improves 
corporate and customer 
environmental performance 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
22
For more details on the ongoing (Nov 10 to 
Dec 12, 2014) online class titled Data Center 
Essentials for Executives, see 
http://goo.gl/K4kJG2 
Also see my 2014 article titled Bringing 
Enterprise Computing into the 21st Century: A 
Management and Sustainability Challenge 
http://goo.gl/WYFBjb 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
23
Watch Dean Nelson (eBay) talk 
about how companies can turn IT 
into a profit center (35 mins): 
https://www.youtube.com/watch? 
v=h6NJpHgReE8&feature=youtu.be 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
24
A case study of a company that has been successful at tying 
its IT performance to business performance 
Schuetz, Nicole, Anna Kovaleva, and Jonathan Koomey. 2013. 
eBay: A Case Study of Organizational Change Underlying 
Technical Infrastructure Optimization. Stanford, CA: Steyer-Taylor 
Center for Energy Policy and Finance, Stanford University. 
September 26. [http://www.mediafire.com/view/8ema554a2ho9ifj/ 
Stanford_eBay_Case_Study-_FINAL-130926.pdf] 
Copyright 
Jonathan 
G. 
Koomey 
2014 
25

Bringing data center management and technology into the 21st Century

  • 1.
    Bringing data center management and technology into the 21st century Jonathan Koomey, Ph.D. Research Fellow, Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, Stanford University http://www.koomey.com Presented at DCD Converged London, UK November 19, 2014 Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 1
  • 2.
    Can you answerthese key management questions? • How many servers do you have? • How many of the servers are comatose? • What is the average utilization for those that aren’t comatose? • Do you track costs and benefits from data center operations each year? – Total? – At the business unit level? – At the project level? Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 2
  • 3.
    Most companies can’t! Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 3
  • 4.
    What do executivesneed to know about information technology (IT)? Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 4
  • 5.
    Modern businesses can’tsucceed without IT 5 Brynjolfsson, Erik, and Andrew McAffee. 2014. The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. [http:// amzn.to/1gYHEGk] Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014
  • 6.
  • 7.
    IT is almostinvariably fragmented and divorced from business performance Only management can fix that Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 7
  • 8.
    Almost all enterprisedata centers are paragons of inefficiency, but management doesn’t know it, so they don’t fix it. Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 8
  • 9.
    Inefficient IT increasescosts, decreases revenues, AND reduces the rate of innovation Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 9
  • 10.
    What can managementdo? Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 10
  • 11.
    I. Tie ITperformance to business performance Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 11
  • 12.
    How? Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 12
  • 13.
    Metrics! Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 13
  • 14.
    Creating the rightmetrics is not as easy as it sounds Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 14
  • 15.
    How far areyou from this? Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 15 Profits Computation = (Revenues - Costs)/Computations
  • 16.
    Complexities • Someparts of IT are really cost centers, but some generate revenues • Hard work needed to build up to revenues and costs/computation – Activity based costing (Romonet) – Detailed cost and inventory modeling (Apptio) – Server based inventory and operations (DCIM) • Computations – first order estimate = utilization * GHz * secs/year (good enough to start) Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 16
  • 17.
    Metrics drive organizationalchange • Focus on the whole system – reducing total costs per computation – increasing total value from computation • “Show back” the consequences of choices to every employee, then “charge back” if needed • Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for management include both costs AND benefits Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 17
  • 18.
    You need amodel of costs and revenues that tracks all components in the data center over time! Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 18
  • 19.
    II. One boss,one team, one budget! Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 19
  • 20.
    III. Use ITto transform IT • Standardized IT deployments • Move from “sit down restaurant” to “buffet style” IT • Move many users to internal or external cloud • Software should matter more, hardware less • Measure, experiment, learn, and replicate • Use computer modeling to anticipate effects on cooling/power of Δs in existing facilities Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 20
  • 21.
    Conclusions • Whatmanagement can do – I. Drive institutional change using metrics that tie IT performance to business performance – II. One boss, one team, one budget – III. Use IT to transform IT • Summary: Make IT serve the business! Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 21
  • 22.
    IT should NOTbe treated as a cost center, it should be a cost reducing profit center that also improves corporate and customer environmental performance Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 22
  • 23.
    For more detailson the ongoing (Nov 10 to Dec 12, 2014) online class titled Data Center Essentials for Executives, see http://goo.gl/K4kJG2 Also see my 2014 article titled Bringing Enterprise Computing into the 21st Century: A Management and Sustainability Challenge http://goo.gl/WYFBjb Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 23
  • 24.
    Watch Dean Nelson(eBay) talk about how companies can turn IT into a profit center (35 mins): https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=h6NJpHgReE8&feature=youtu.be Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 24
  • 25.
    A case studyof a company that has been successful at tying its IT performance to business performance Schuetz, Nicole, Anna Kovaleva, and Jonathan Koomey. 2013. eBay: A Case Study of Organizational Change Underlying Technical Infrastructure Optimization. Stanford, CA: Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, Stanford University. September 26. [http://www.mediafire.com/view/8ema554a2ho9ifj/ Stanford_eBay_Case_Study-_FINAL-130926.pdf] Copyright Jonathan G. Koomey 2014 25