Calls For It Industry To Master Economic Downturn By Sharing Cost-Saving ‘Tweak-onomics’ With Cash-Strapped It Departments

Slough, 18 November 2008:  With businesses facing economic uncertainty and freezing or shrinking IT budgets becoming a reality for many, international IT solutions provider Logicalis today calls upon the IT industry to share its knowledge and expertise in order to provide much needed advice and tangible cost-saving actions to IT departments. 

‘Tweak-onomics’, the necessity of making micro-level IT changes to realise macro-level performance, infrastructure and behavioural efficiencies and improvements to benefit the organisation as a whole, proposes IT departments bridge the budget gaps with ingenuity and innovation drawn from the collective experiences of the IT industry.  To kick off the call-to-action, Logicalis has published a series of ‘tweaks’ that can be implemented and will result in immediate or near-term cost savings.

“The era of IT prosperity and technology aplenty is disappearing for many, and instead, the IT department is under increasing pressure to pool its resources and work harder than ever to keep the engine running, drawing on innovation to achieve business goals and maintain economic growth,”  says Logicalis’ director of solutions and marketing, Chris Gabriel.  “It’s time for the industry to come together to share ideas which will help organisations achieve a lean IT infrastructure that is fighting fit for the challenges ahead.”

In the good times major upgrades, new data centres, and technology refreshes were easy decisions, but now Logicalis believes IT departments should be considering adjustment strategies, whereby micro-tweaks reveal a macro-leap in operational performance, without eating into expenditure.

Gabriel explains, “Without the budgetary clout of previous years, utilising existing assets better, more effectively and efficiently, is the name of the game.  For example, implementing de-duplication technology can immediately reduce your back-up and archive requirements by up to 80%.  Similarly, auditing your existing software licenses can realise initial savings of 30%, and provide an up-to-date evaluation of your future needs and compliance measures.

“Logicalis is now working with customers on realising savings through these minor tweaks as well as the macro level projects such as virtualisation from Intel to mainframe. However, it is the adoption of ‘tweak-onomics’ that is the fastest and simplest way of freeing resources and cash for investment in their bigger projects.”

In the first instance, Logicalis proposes three key priority areas for IT departments to consider, in the bid to execute cost-saving initiatives:

1.   Investments to the IT infrastructure that create micro or macro level efficiencies
2.   Investments in, and changes to IT operational processes and IT delivery, to create efficiencies
3.   Investments that create organisation-wide efficiencies and enable the wider organisation to manage its cost base

Tom Kelly, managing director of Logicalis, concludes, “We often talk about IT enabling positive change, and now is the time for the industry to deliver.  Even the smallest tweaks can improve the performance or efficiency of legacy infrastructure, but it is absolutely critical that these successes are recorded and communicated back to the business.  In doing so, IT is afforded the opportunity to demonstrate its leadership qualities, in addition to its intimacy with the business issues, ensuring it is associated with helping secure the stability and profitability of the business, and sealing its deserved position at the boardroom table.”

Further ‘tweaks’ will be posted to the Logicalis website later today: www.uk.logicalis.com
 
Ends

About Logicalis, www.uk.logicalis.com
Logicalis is an international provider of integrated ICT solutions, delivering secure, converged computing and communications infrastructure and services.  We can provide the architecture, deployment, integration and management of networks and systems to deliver leading edge solutions that create value for our customers and meet their business needs now and into the future.

Logicalis is a trusted provider of multi-vendor solutions and services operating in the most complex and challenging business environments.  Our relationships with the industry's leading technology suppliers, combined with our business understanding enable you to invest with confidence.

The Logicalis Group is a division of Datatec Limited (DTC), a $3.2 billion multi-national Group listed on the AIM market of the LSE and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.  With international headquarters in the UK, the Logicalis Group has operations in the US, UK, Germany, and South America.
 
Logicalis UK has achieved independent certification for its integrated management system, information security, IT service management offerings and its environmental standards: ISO 9001; ISO 27001; ISO 20000 and ISO14001 respectively.