Nit and Grit of IT

As the clock keeps ticking towards end of support for Windows XP we need to find ways to accelerate our Windows 7 Migrations.  Just because you accelerate your Windows 7 Migration you don’t have to increase your budget.  In fact what if you could do the opposite….Accelerate the project and reduce cost.

Wait a minute – This is an IT Project.   The words reduce costs don’t really exist in a typical IT Project.  Well maybe they can…

Most Windows 7 Projects I have seen project over 80 % of the costs for that project on Application Packaging and Remediation. 

What if there was a way to have an organization quickly rationalize their deployed applications.

What if there was a way to remove unused software from a desktop prior to the migration.

Tip #1 – I can sum it up in one word “Rationalization”

Well there are a couple of tools out there that can help us out with this.  One is the Application Compatibility Toolkit “ACT” from Microsoft.  It is a great tools that allows us to gain insight into our organization.  This unfortunately requires an agent to be deployed on the workstations and requires us to scan them to see what is installed.  Then pull the information back to a central database and try to analyze what is deployed.

The second tool is one that many of you will already own and have probably deployed.  Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager has a software metering component that will allow us to use simply scan the machines using the Configuration Manager agent.  One problem this requires a lot of configuration and won’t automatically pull back unused software to keep licensing in check.

The third tool is one from 1E Software call AppClarity.  You can checkout a link to this product here: 1E AppClarity  I have personally seen AppClarity give money back to an organization in less than 60 Days after the acquisition of their software.  Think about it…. Why waste money getting shelfware or unused software ready for your brand new Windows 7 Desktops.  Once again “Rationalize” not only the amount of software that needs to be migrated to the new platform but also the amount of work. 

Checkout the screenshot below of this software package.  It has revolutionized the way I approach Windows Migrations.

So in my perfect world that I live in I need a tool that will do the following for my Windows 7 Project:

If you can drive cost savings at the start of this project you will be well on your way.  Gartner has estimated that it costs on average between $1000.00 to 3000.00 +  per desktop to migrate to Windows 7.  Most of this cost comes from the work required to migrate unused applications.  What if you could get back all that time and save hard dollars by removing shelfware before your projects starts.  This makes your project sponsors very happy and allows you to accelerate this project.

Tip #2 – Automation and Self Service

Now imagine that you have finally completed the following phases of your project:

Core Architecture, Gold Image Build and Test, Application Rationalization, Testing, Testing, and more Testing.

Now you need to get your images deployed to end users….. Well this is a problem because most organizations lack the forethought to automate this process.

So when it comes to deploying Microsoft’s Operating Systems there are really two choices that we are normally presented with.  Lite Touch and Zero Touch – Let’s take a moment and define both of these.

Lite Touch = Some manual intervention from a desktop analyst or from user driven menus.

Zero Touch = Fully automated builds when an administrator can choose to deploy operating system upgrades on demand.

Now do either of the above work… The answer is yes absolutely.  The issue is that all of this requires Careful coordination and communication to end users.

This process normally involves hiring project managers, business analysts, corporation communication specialists, and costly IT Engineering time.

My question is this:  We are in a world where we can get applications delivered to all of our phones by simply clicking in a portal and having them magically installed.  We can change devices and simply re-deploy these applications from the same portal. 

WHAT IF… you could do the same thing for your Windows 7 Deployment.  Just treat the Windows 7 Deployment as nothing more than a complex application.  Allowing end users to click on a Windows 7 upgrade icon in a portal.  Then have them them schedule their own upgrade for a time that works for them.

Check out this product from 1E Software called yes you guessed it.  1E Shopping

Does this mean death to the manual spreadsheets… Well probably not – We always seem to return to what we know and love.  I have personally deployed this product and have seen the impact it has on the classical approach to Operating System and Software delivery.

Oh wait – That was Tip #2 and with the incredibly fast ROI for this 1E product it actually kicks back in money to the Windows 7 Projects.  The only requirement for Shopping is that a customer must already own and have configured System Center Configuration Manager.

The best part of this application is that it can be easily be installed and configured in less than five consulting days.

So I want to wrap up this post with a little bit of simple math for everyone:

Assume each Windows 7 Upgrade costs an organization 3000.00 per desktop.

Assume that approximately 50 % of deployed software is not used.

Assume that each request for Software costs an organization 200.00 (BTW This is a really safe number)  I haven’t seen it much lower than this.

Assume it takes over 5 business days to receive the software after a request.

Now…here is a look at the old way!

Deploy 1000 Desktops x $3,000 each = $300,000 in resource costs

Assume 25 Applications averaging 100 each with 50 % unused and deployed to all workstations.  25 Apps x 1000 Desktops x $100 Average License Cost = 2.5 /mil investment in software.  This would work out to having approximately $2500 in software on each desktop – You all know this number is really low!

Assume that the organization receives 20 Software deployment requests per week for 52 weeks per year.  20 Request x 52 Weeks x $200.00 average cost = $208,000 in resource costs to deploy software.

Assume that it takes 5 business days to receive your software once requested.   Well you do the math on this one – Quantify the cost of lost productivity for your employees!!!

How about the new way!!!  Take the opportunity to incorporate this organizational change into your Windows 7 Projects.

Deployment costs reduced by 30 % simply by “Rationalizing” the number of applications that need to be ported to Windows 7 and automating the delivery mechanisms for the images.  You could easily save over $90,000 in soft costs out of the gate.

Reduce the amount of Software Renewals, Support, Deployment, and licensing costs.  Once again we “Rationalize” all of our apps.  Assume a 50 % savings for your organization what does that return?  How about an estimated 1 /mil + savings in hard and soft costs.  By the way – Now that you have a tool that helps rationalize this – Think of the savings the next time the licensing police come visit you.

Reduce the amount of Annual Software deployment costs by over 50 %.  Savings of over $104,000 in soft costs.

Assume your budget for this Windows 7 project was around $500,000.  I will leave you pondering those numbers.  Now of course remember there is an acquisition cost of new software that would save money.  The nice thing about 1E is that all of their software pretty much pays for itself very quickly.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and I welcome any feedback or if you want to share your experiences with your Windows 7 Projects thus far.

Dave