Virtualization – The chargeback conundrum

Funding it vs. Paying for it...

I have recently had 6 discussions in the past two weeks with companies on how to get a Virtualization project funded, which is a relatively simple discussion to have. It basically involves us working with our ROI model to come up with real cost savings on quantifiable (hard) costs. Based on that the projects are either funded or not and we help roll out infrastructure (on premise or a third party site), licensing, etc. – the usual project lifecycle stuff.

Where clients fall down in on how to get business units and departments to pay for what they use. I have dubbed it the Chargeback Conundrum.

The issue is that when an enterprise wants to execute an Enterprise License Agreement (an ELA) for the Virtualization software (VMWare) there are no simple controls or visibility into what businesses consume and how to charge them back. From the business perspective, they are reluctant to go all in to help pay for it when there is no proof of what they are getting or understanding of what they will be charged, and arguably more important – no trust with the IT organization.

In other words –

Business Executive: How do I know that I am not giving a piece of my budget to another group?

IT Executive: (insert explanation here).

Business Executive: OK, prove it.

IT Executive: (insert deer in the headlights look on face here)



If you need help – reach out – inquiries@virtualizationstuff.com

We can give you unprecedented visibility as product or a service so if you don’t want the cap ex on your balance sheet we can accommodate.

The services offering for Virtualization is also preferred when you want to pay for the functionality vs. be responsible for it.

You’ll need to work with your facilities folks to look at power consumption. While you can shrink the footprint, the power per cabinet jumps from 4KW to 7KW (almost doubles), and you’ll want to have the specialized floor tiles with variable speed fans, the temperature sensors on the front and back of the cabinets with the blades in them, and have it tied together in a management console.

If it sounds too cumbersome – reach out. We’re great at cutting to the chase…

inquiries@virtualizationstuff.com