New Ways To Get The Most Out Of HardwareNew Ways To Get The Most Out Of Hardware

With hardware spending all but dried up and IT managers not overly confident about prospects for a quick turnaround, many companies will be trying to extract more performance from existing servers in an effort to maximize capacity utilization. Any new purchases must pass efficiency tests before they're approved.

For example, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is testing IBM Enterprise X-Architecture servers, slated to go into full production early this year. They'll feature a new IBM chipset that uses copper and silicon-on-insulator technologies to maximize speed and reduce heat emissions, helping to keep electricity costs down.

The systems will have remote input/ output capabilities that will let users easily combine servers using a new approach to symmetric multiprocessor clustering. Remote I/O lets users connect up to four servers via an expansion port to create a 16-way system. IT managers can buy as many servers as they need, when they need them, rather than paying for a 16-way system they hope to grow into.

Other vendors are designing products that emphasize bang for the buck over bells and whistles, and users are taking advantage. Paul Ho-sing-loy, chief technology officer at Wells Fargo Corp. in San Francisco, wants to support a growing business while keeping costs in check. Although the bank expects its brokerage business to double in the next three years, Ho-sing-loy says he'll save about $10 million to $15 million by using software designed to maximize server efficiency. The software, Terraspring Inc.'s Terraspring 1.0, is designed to keep servers running at 80% capacity, far beyond the typical 25%.

Ho-sing-loy and his team support 300 applications. Wells Fargo runs a mix of 200 Unix and Windows servers, a number that could grow to 600 in three years. Without the Terraspring software, Ho-sing-loy says, the company's outlay for servers would grow from $10 million to $30 million.

Other companies are reining in spending by focusing on labor costs. Data Return Corp. in Irving, Texas, is testing technologies designed to reduce total cost of ownership. Among them are new software and hardware from Compaq, which early this year will unveil technologies designed to create self-managing systems. The software and hardware will let users more easily remotely control Intel-based servers, load software images on several servers simultaneously, automatically detect and fix component failures, and automatically direct computing resources where they're most needed.

Data Return expects the technology to cut the cost of managing its data center, says Stephen Johnson, group program manager. "Server management is one area where we can look for some savings."

He isn't alone in looking for savings. According to the latest information IT Confidence survey, IT managers are still pessimistic about the economy. But at least vendors appear to be getting the message.