Let’s Get Creative
In data centers and NOCs everywhere, the rallying cry of “Let’s get creative!” is commonly heard when the latest vital but under-funded project needs to find a way to get done. As with many of these necessary but open-ended tasks, the toughest hurdle isn’t getting the job done, it’s finding a way to allocate the necessary funds.
To provide some early propellant, here are five things I think every network manager should revisit with a new “creative” perspective when looking to uncover some untapped sources of budget dollars…
- Check status on product warranties and maintenance contracts: In particular, keeping Cisco equipment that no longer requires firmware updates on SMARTnet maintenance is a giant waste of budget dollars. NHR’s NetSure program offers 24×7 technical support and next-day hardware replacement at more than 50 percent off OEM contracts.
- Do something with unneeded gear: Instead of letting decommissioned gear collect dust, trade it in to collect a maximum return. NHR, like most secondary market companies, has an asset recovery program that offers cash, credit or “trade up” exchanges for gear that could be useful right now.
- Fight refurb prejudice: Even if your network is state-of-the-art, does that mean all your network spares must be new-in-the-box? A great budget-saver is to keep refurbished spares on hand instead.
- Do not accept OEMs’ hastening upgrade cycles: OEMs have been known to boast that their equipment can last a decade or more. So why have their upgrade cycles been steadily accelerating to where it seems a new product debuts every 18 months? It’s possible to save valuable money by extending the life of existing network elements. This approach, coupled with an alternative maintenance program, sustains network uptime with noticeable budget relief.
- Join the “third party” party: Opting for components from a third-party is about choice and flexibility. More and more end-users have already realized substantial savings from utilizing generic products. Take memory, for example. OEMs and secondary market companies buy memory from many of the same sources, yet OEMs recommend their customers only buy memory that bears its name. But why pay up to 500 percent more for that private-label memory when you can save up to 90 percent on third-party memory?
These are just a few ways that network managers can get creative right now while achieving unprecedented returns on ever-shrinking IT budgets.
Tags: asset recovery, Budget Strategies, IT budget, maintenance, memory, NetSure, OEM, refurb, SMARTnet, third-party memory