Who says you can't lower the cost of network operations?

Part 1 - Guest post by Scott Steves, State of Kansas

Picking the right tools for software consolidation is challenging. It is even harder when you are managing a geographically dispersed and architecturally diverse network. We are going through an organizational change and, like everywhere, it took our team a bit of time to absorb the change. However, when our departments at State of Kansas heard we needed to find ways to consolidate operations and improve staff productivity, our group in Networking Services decided we could do it. Ultimately, we got improved network availability and performance, increased staff efficiencies and lowered operational costs. Here are five tips that I learned when going through our technology infrastructure transformation. Keep these in mind the next time your team hears someone utter the words "consolidate" and "boost." It's not as difficult as you might think.

Tip #1: Implement standardized management methodologies wherever possible

Tip #2: Consider replacing point-to-point tool providers

Tip #3: Software should support the organization's consolidation goals

Tip #4: Pay attention to the richness of the portfolio

Tip #5: Automate whenever possible

I'll do another post with more details on each tip later.

I'm Scott Steves; I work in the Network Analysis Group as a Systems Network Software Consultant for the Division of Information Systems & Communications at the State of Kansas. I provide research and support for the network and configuration management solutions in the Division. Feel free to connect with me via LinkedIn