Transcript IT Consolidation Study @ CSU Status Report – April, 2011

IT Consolidation Study @ CSU
Status Report – April 15, 2011
P. Burns, B. Carney, D. Carpenter, J.
Folkestad, T. Hadley, A. Horn, E.
Peyronnin, R. Scott, and S. Wolvington
Agenda
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Background & Benefits
Approach
Challenges
Areas of Study
Consolidation Opportunities
Next Steps
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Background and Benefits
• Began when we were planning for significant
budget cuts, motivating a desire to retain faculty
positions
• We expect, and other institutions are reporting:
– Substantial cost savings
– Freeing up of departmental IT staff to focus on unique,
discipline-specific needs, e.g. instructional technology,
faculty support, research support, etc.
– Reduced risk
– Better customer service
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Approach
• Engage via RFP an objective entity for analysis
– Enter Adams-Gabbert, November, 2010
– Exit Adams-Gabbert one week later
• Per Provost, continue analysis internally using:
– Information gathered by campus for AG analysis
– Huron Consulting report (Purchasing, 2010)
– Facilities Management report on server rooms
• Report due to Provost March 15, 2011
– A “framework for discussion”
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If at first you don’t succeed…
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Committee Members
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Pat Burns (VPIT), co-chair
Bryan Carney (Director, University Advancement)
Dave Carpenter (IT Director, CAHS)
Jim Folkestad (Faculty, CAHS)
Thom Hadley (Director, CVMBS)
Allison Horn (Director, Internal Auditing), co-chair
Ed Peyronnin (IT Director, CAS)
Rusty Scott (Assoc. Director, ACNS)
Stephanie Wolvington (Internal Auditing)
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Inherent Challenges
• The departmental view:
– Loss of control, flexibility, agility
• Level of trust in central IT varies across campus
• Can central IT ‘ramp up’ to support a higher level of
consolidated services?
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Areas of Study for Possible
Consolidation
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Data Center & Associated Hardware
Applications and Licensing
Web Design and Programming
Identity and Access Management
Purchasing
Helpdesk & Desktop Support
Networking and Networking Support
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Building a Framework for Discussion
• Theme: “Simplify the IT environment”
• Consider savings, benefits, and risks at varying
levels of consolidation for each area:
– Tight and/or tighter collaboration
– Hybrid approach, some consolidation
– Complete consolidation
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Narrowing the Scope
• Considering savings, value & risk to campus:
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Data Center & Associated Hardware
Applications and Licensing
Web Design and Programming
Identity and Access Management
Purchasing
Helpdesk & Desktop Support
Networking and Networking Support
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Data Center and Associated Hardware
Background
• Dozens of server rooms exist on campus today
• Although there are a few excellent server
rooms, the environment for most systems
would improve by accommodating them in
the main Data Center.
• Consolidation would take advantage of
– Central access controls, security, monitoring
– Environmental controls (backup power, cooling)
– High speed connectivity
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Data Center and Associated Hardware
Tight Collaboration
• Relocate hardware ‘as is’ to central data center
• Benefits
– Better overall control of physical environment
– Recovery of space & facilities costs
• Risks & Constraints
– Need adequate disaster recovery facility as well
– Insufficient space in central data center
• Savings
– Primarily facilities costs (cooling, power, etc.)
– Projected at $200K/year
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Data Center and Associated Hardware
Hybrid Approach
• Migrate servers to central, virtualized environment
• Benefits
– Same as ‘collaboration’ option, plus:
– Very scalable (and greener!)
• Risks & Constraints
– Same as ‘collaboration’ option
• Savings
– Facilities costs, hardware economies of scale, staff efficiency
– At 75% of servers, up to $700K/year
– Requires initial investment of $110K?
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Data Center and Associated Hardware
Complete Consolidation
• Migrate servers and storage to central data center
• Benefits
– Same as hybrid model, plus
– Simplification of environment for users
– Collaborative spaces, compliance for researchers
• Risks
– Storage: ‘Eggs in one basket’, albeit a good basket
• Savings
– Additional economies from storage
– Up to $780K/year
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Data Center and Associated Hardware
Observations
• Some server rooms on campus are very robust
• Complete consolidation is inadvisable
– For reasons of backup and disaster recovery
– Units with well established, efficient data centers
could use central facilities for backup and DR
• With some initial investment, substantial
improvements & savings are possible
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Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Background
• Managing electronic identities and access to
resources; an administrative simplification
• Centrally, this is ‘eID’
• This has been an ongoing area of study
• Campus has identified gaps in our IAM profile:
– Some users need multiple systems to conduct campus
business
– eID does authentication, not authorization
– Need better support for external constituents
– Increased need for federated logins
– Support for Levels of Assurance (LoA)
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IAM
Tight Collaboration
• Communications campaign
– Minimize confusion regarding multiple credentials
– Assist in leveraging eID (CVMBS model)
• Benefits
– Some simplification, less confusion & frustration
• Risks & Constraints
– Does not address the problem of multiple credentials
– Does not provide authorization services
• Savings
– Efficiency of users
– Hard to quantify, but considered low
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IAM
Hybrid Approach
• Consolidate authentication
• Extend existing IAM to include distributed authorization
• Benefits
– Simplifies environment with single credential
– Extends functionality for provisioning services
– Minimize (or eliminate) child domain confusion
• Risks & Constraints
– Normalization of rules & processes across campus
• Savings
– Efficiency of users and IT staff
– Hard to quantify, but considered MUCH higher
– Substantial effort to implement (personnel)
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IAM
Complete Consolidation
• Consolidate systems, operations and staffing related to
IAM
• Benefits
– Same as hybrid, plus;
– Facilitates more consistent operations
• Risks & Constraints
– Same as hybrid, plus;
– Lack of agility and responsiveness to user’s needs
• Savings
– Same as hybrid approach with incremental added efficiencies
for IT staff
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Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Observations
• Making real headway in IAM will require initial
investments in the areas of:
– Aligning processes and policy space
– Developing a mechanism for authorization
• However, this is considered to be highly
important as a simplifying, ‘enabling’
technology improving efficiency, privacy, and
security
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Purchasing
Background
• Scope of analysis; Windows-based desktops
and laptops
• Currently ‘distributed’ with some ad hoc
aggregation efforts
• CSU has contracts with multiple vendors
– $5M+ annual spend on desktops & laptops
– 80% is for standard/administrative models
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Purchasing
Tight Collaboration
• Coordinated group purchases for admin. computers & ‘zero clients’
• Benefits
– Group purchasing has greater efficiencies
• simplifies purchasing processes
• standardizes systems and support
• achieve additional quantity discounts.
– Zero clients are
• Cheaper than thin or thick clients
• Less effort to manage
• Less susceptible to technical obsolescence
• Risks & Constraints
– Difficult to implement
– Video and software licensing an issue with zero clients
• Savings
– Approximately $400K/year
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Purchasing
Hybrid Approach
• Strategic business alliance with single vendor (SBA RFP)
• Benefits
– Even greater efficiencies for purchasing and technical support
– Scholarship & internship potential
• Risks & Constraints
– Need a liberal exemption process for faculty, research, …
– Specific product line issues could be significant
– Service and support issues need to be considered and
specifically addressed
• Savings
– Approximately $700K/year
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Purchasing
Complete Consolidation
• Centralize ALL purchases, likely within Purchasing
dept.
• Benefits
– Single point of purchases
– Simplify purchasing
• Risks & Constraints
– Inflexible. Won’t respond to user needs.
– Enforcement may be impossible
• Savings
– Approximately $700K/year (?)
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Purchasing
Observations
• Of all of the consolidation opportunities, likely
the best hope for short-term savings
– And the savings are substantial!
• The easiest to implement
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Networking and Networking Support
Background
• ACNS currently responsible for:
– Our connections to the ‘outside world’
– Campus fiber & copper (wire) infrastructure
– ‘Core’ network switches
• Building and distribution switches are the responsibility of
distributed IT staff
• However, many are centrally operated and managed
– Life and safety devices attached to the network
– Wireless network
• Network dependency on the rise
– Life and safety devices
– VoIP!
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Networking & Networking Support
Tight Collaboration
• Formalize/enforce network operations, distributed
management continues
• Benefits
– Improves network availability
– Clarification of responsibilities
• Risks & Constraints
– Additional effort to communicate/coordinate/train requires FTE
– Complexity of distributed model hampers management of life
and safety devices, VoIP
• Savings
– Very low in $
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Networking & Networking Support
Hybrid Approach
• Single unit responsible for switch operations
– Non-central staff continue to make some changes in closets
• Rapid response time
– Central management is responsible for switch operation/mgmt.
• Benefits
– Improves network availability (‘hardens’ the network)
– Increases effectiveness and efficiency of network operation
• Risks & Constraints
– Some inconsistencies may persist
• Savings
– Efficiency savings, considerably higher than ‘collaboration’ and ,
may significantly reduce liability risk
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Networking & Networking Support
Complete Consolidation
• Single unit responsible for switch operations
including connections to the end user
• Benefits
– Greatest possible network availability
• Risks & Constraints
– Slow response time during high activity
– Telecom -> Networking staff reallocation required
• Savings
– Departmental staff are freed up from network
responsibility
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Networking and Networking Support
Observations
• As our dependency on the network grows
– ‘Hardening’ becomes critical
– We must move to a more effective and efficient
operational model
– Should also explore models for funding edge
switch replacement from the monthly telephone
chargeback as we deploy unified communications
via VoIP
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Final Thoughts
• Areas of additional savings and greater
efficiencies should be explored:
– Consolidating in house or outsourcing faculty &
staff email
– Outsourcing basic services, including virtual
platforms
– Centrally supporting open source, dynamic web
services (LAMP infrastructure)
– New models for delivering next gen telephony
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Feedback Solicited
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Data Center & Associated Hardware
Identity and Access Management
Purchasing
Networking and Networking Support
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