Is IT measuring up to expectations?

Server vendors always complain about the fear, uncertainty and doubt that other server vendors create. Certainly, users can be kept hovering between architectures, never sure that they have chosen the right one.

However, new developments in virtualisation and consolidation technology mean arguments about the efficacy of different server technologies and architectures are becoming largely moot.

Meanwhile, though users want to reduce complexity, technology will continue to become more complicated.

I recently discussed these issues with Tikiri Wanduragala, IBM's senior server consultant. He said a new set of metrics are needed to help IT and business managers to identify and quantify what they want from technology, and to bridge the communications gap between them. This would help IT staff managing and integrating the remorseless upgrade process. Every day, faster, more powerful, more comprehensive options come along to improve upon and replace systems already in place.

So what metrics are needed? Wanduragala came up with four, which, pleasingly, have very little to do with clock speeds, chipsets or gigabytes. Instead, they do have a lot to do with why IT is used – the cost-effective management of business.

For example, does a particular system or technology reduce the overall cost of doing business over the long term? Second, does it significantly increase the potential for revenue generation over the long haul? IT purchases are often driven by cost-savings alone, but technology can also be both a direct and indirect revenue generator.

Third, does it reduce the overall complexity of management over the long haul, or increase it? When considering this question, it is important to remember that doing more with the same human resources can be as good, and sometimes better, than doing the same with less.

Lastly, does it make the infrastructure more flexible and capable of responding quickly to business needs? Being able to change business processes to meet new business requirements in fast-changing markets is no longer a luxury but an absolute necessity.

Although Wanduragala didn't mention any of them specifically, a growing number of vendors of software development tools are creating products to help business managers and technologists work better together. Microsoft's BizTalk Server 2006, which was launched last week, is being sold with a similar rationale. It helps business managers model business processes, and helps IT staff link data sources to meet those goals.

There is more work to be done before firms can develop benchmarks for these variables, but I suspect these issues are far more relevant to the real world than most of today's technology metrics.