Towards Cost Effective Data Centers

Abstract
Data Centers are sub organizations within an IT organization and form an integral part of e-enabled services infrastructure. Their effectiveness is essential for effectiveness of overall IT organization leading to efficient and effective delivery of e-services. Data Center organizations aim for Organizational Effectiveness. Many factors and measures can contribute to Organizational Effectiveness of Data Centers. This paper presents some of the findings from a research study on “Select aspects of Organizational Effectiveness of Data Centers”. As an outcome of this study, amongst other measures, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) was derived as a critical measure for effective Data Centers. Lower TCO leads to cost effective Data Centers, leading to overall effectiveness. In this paper, we briefly introduce various measures of Data Centers’ Organizational Effectiveness and present a detailed analysis of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) as a key measure of Data Centers’ Organizational Effectiveness. We also present various factors contributing to reduced TCO and a comparison between the factors contributing to TCO for Government and Corporate Data Centers.