How to convince management to upgrade

What you will learn from this tip: How to effectively convince your boss or other management of the need for an upgrade or technology acquisitions.

So how do you know that you need some type of upgrade in the first place and how do you know what needs to be updated? There can be many different symptoms and indicators, from your phone ringing off the hook to a full e-mail inbox to error messages from applications to lack of memory preventing data from being saved. These are all re-active, or after the fact, signs of the need for some type of upgrade.

If you have some type of storage resource monitoring (SRM), performance monitoring, capacity planning or other activity monitoring tools, these can be leveraged. Resource monitoring tools can be used to track the status of your storage resources (bandwidth, capacity, etc) and if it is time to add more. You can learn more about storage related capacity planning in chapter 10 of "Performance and Capacity Planning" in the book "Resilient Storage Networks" (Elsevier).

The following questions can help you prepare to convince management that it is time for a storage-related upgrade:

With regard to cost, look beyond the price of the technology (hardware, software, networks and services) that you are looking to ac

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quire. Additional cost items to consider, among others, include:

You may only have one chance to sell your upgrade to management so make it count. In addition to talking about return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO), capital expenditures and operating expenditures, present the nonfinancial benefits. Convey what you expect or anticipate for the future to set a level of expectation. This is where having a forecast and plan can be used as a tool to show that you are proactively monitoring and managing resources (inventory) for the business.

In summary, to be successful in convincing your management that it is time to do an IT acquisition or upgrade, make sure you are prepared and anticipate and articulate what you are doing in the context of your business environment. Learn from others, seek out advice and leverage your vendors as partners. Look for effective pricing and not necessarily the lowest cost to enhance overall TCO and ROI -- also known as horizontal TCO and ROI. Be an informed buyer and know your alternatives and when the best time to make your acquisitions to balance the needs of the business and special deals from your vendors.

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