Indian data center IT budgets set to grow by more than 5% in 2010 |
 |
By Jasmine Desai, Principal Correspondent
11 Dec 2009 | SearchDataCenter.in |
|
|
Going by the results of recently conducted Data Center Purchasing
Intentions Survey, it's clear that Indian organizations leverage IT to
drive the business forward in today's tough economic environment.
According to the survey, most Indian companies have been sprucing
up their data centers, which have been growing at a steady pace
even during the tough times of 2009.
The Data Center Purchasing Intentions Survey for Indian
organizations carried out by the SearchDataCenter.in team in October
2009 shows that over 66% respondents expect their data
center budgets to increase by 5% or more during 2010. Among these
organizations, 38% will see their data center budgets grow by more than
10% in 2010. These IT budget increases are driven by the realization
that it is necessary to have the latest technology at one's beck and
call to give customers an enhanced product or service experience. The
entry of technologies like server
virtualization have heightened the desire to venture into newer
areas that also offer savings on the cost and power fronts.
Server purchases to the fore
The survey holds certain surprises when it comes to the traditional
notions that surround server buying. Despite India being a
price-sensitive region, several other factors come into play for IT
purchase decision makers, when it comes to buying servers.
Since servers form the heart of a data center, IT decision makers
are more careful about selection rather than negotiation
of prices. Performance comes first on the evaluation list, with 41%
of respondents attributing essential weightage to this aspect. Nearly
28% of respondents attach importance to technical support and service.
Surprisingly, price assumes criticality only after these two factors,
with just 17% of Indian IT buyers placing emphasis on this aspect.
Power slashes on the agenda
While leveraging technology, CIOs also feel the need to keep in mind
the power consumption of IT infrastructure. On this front, Data Center
Purchasing Intentions 2009 discovered that 77% of Indian companies are
now concerned about reducing
power consumption. For the same reason, 2010 will see a significant
chunk of investments for buying more energy-efficient servers (54%) and
server virtualization (41%).
|
|
|
|
|
In 78% of Indian organizations, the power bill (IT included) is billed to business units. So these business units attribute reduction of data center power consumption as a way to reduce OPEX.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
IT departments in India largely feel the need to reduce data center
power consumption due to pressure from business units. Such demands are
usually imposed, since IT infrastructure power bills are typically
borne by the business units. Data Center Purchasing Intentions Survey
reveals that in 78% of the cases, the power bill (IT included) is
billed to business units. So it goes without saying that these business
units attribute reduction
of data center power consumption as a way to reduce operational
expenditure. This urgency has seen an increase over the last couple of
years.
Indian IT teams are resorting to various means to reduce data center
power consumption. The power saving agenda's primary item is
improvement of air conditioning efficiency, according to 63% of the
respondents. Activating the power down feature on servers comes next
for 51% of the respondents. Interestingly, although precision cooling
has been in India for almost seven years, many organizations still use
simple air-conditioning units to cool the data center.
Focus on systems management
Management of distributed IT systems has emerged as a persistent
issue for most Indian IT teams, according to the survey. As a result,
purchase of systems management software is high on the data center
agenda for 2009. This focus is expected to continue in 2010.
Performance management emerges as the top requirement from a systems
management solution for 67% of respondents. Capacity management is the
next requirement (46%) as per the survey. Asset management is also a
priority from a systems management solution, according to 29% of the
respondents.
When it comes to systems management software, price is clearly the
demarcating factor, as pointed out by 70% of respondents. Features of
the systems management software are the next important evaluation
criteria for 61% of organizations.
While Indian companies are slowly coming out of the throes of the
recession, they are also willing to accept and adopt new technologies.
In this context, it's interesting to see the greater focus placed by
Indian organizations on cost, functionality and ease of implementation,
as detailed by Data Center Purchasing Intentions.
|
|
|
|
