Posted by Cost Impacts of Server Virtualization
Software & IT
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Abstract:
In today’s often budget strained economy, corporations and government agencies are constantly looking for ways to cut costs, streamline data access, and improve security. As a result, newer and more efficient ways of operating, such as the use of virtualized environments, are becoming more prevalent across the IT community. Server virtualization in particular, which can allow a single server to replace multiple servers, is rapidly becoming commonplace.
The commercial industry has already embraced this technology, and initial results have shown a dramatic reduction in the cost of operations. Based on these early findings, the federal government and other organizations are beginning to migrate to a virtualized platform. While server virtualization will undoubtedly provide cost savings, the extent to which operating costs will be reduced is still in question.
A myriad of concerns not necessarily found in commercial implementations will affect the cost to government agencies. Factors such as program size, security and mission-critical application concerns, availability of compatible commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software, virtualized server maintenance support, and program complexity can reduce the total cost savings.
This paper will examine the magnitude of cost savings that can realistically be expected by the government as agencies move toward virtualized environments.
Although virtualization will have a different impact on individual programs due to unique requirements and levels of complexity, this paper aims to establish overarching principles that can be used by cost estimators to assess a program’s future savings due to virtualization.
Author(s):
Leah Roberts
Leah M. Roberts graduated from Virginia Tech in May of 2007 with a B.S. in Industrial & Systems Engineering and a minor in business. She joined Northrop Grumman as an Operations Researcher in August 2007 and performs cost analysis for the Intelligence Community. She also works on a team conducting Independent Cost Proposal Evaluations throughout Northrop Grumman.
Jennifer Woolley
Jennifer G. Woolley graduated from William and Mary in May of 2006 with a B.A. in Economics and Psychology. In July of 2006, Jennifer joined Northrop Grumman as an operations researcher performing cost analysis for the Intelligence Community. She has become one of the lead analysts creating life cycle cost estimates and Intelligence Capability Baseline Descriptions (ICBD) for the development and maintenance of several programs. Ms. Woolley also works on a team conducting Independent Cost Proposal Evaluations throughout Northrop Grumman.
Alisha Soles
Alisha M. Soles graduated from Virginia Tech in December of 2004 with a B.S. in Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Technology Management. Currently she is employed by Northrop Grumman as an Operations Research Analyst leading a team that is responsible for performing cost analysis on several programs in the Intelligence Community.
Will Black
William H. Black graduated from Virginia Tech in 2003 with a B.S. in Accounting and a B.A. in Psychology. Currently he is employed by Scitor Corporation performing cost analysis and tool development for multiple groups within the Intelligence Community. Previously he has been a project manager, leading a team that is responsible for performing cost analysis on various programs.