Firstly, you might ask what is MJTV1? I was thinking that I would like to tag all my posts for this series with something to be easy to recognize it by. So no it is not Michael Jackson TV 1, but rather
My Journey To VSphere. I started two weeks ago with this post.
So let us start with Part 1. Today I will discuss the topic: Benefits and Justification
As you might all know the actual percentage of the technical part of a successful project is is less than 20%. I believe that a project will succeed/fail mainly based how well the project was planned documented, thought through, risks identified, risks mitigated and only in the end - technical implementation.
So what goes into planning your project?
First and foremost - you will have to identify (and of course "sell" to Management) why do you need to upgrade? We all know the saying "if it ain't broke then don't fix it!" I personally do not really believe in that because technology evolves, all the time, things get better, faster and cheaper which makes this kind of logic not always the best option. I mean driving around in a Mustang 69 is a really cool thing - I mean you get the babes, you get to go from A->B and in general this car fills it purpose.Comparing it to the new Hybrid cars today - you still get the babes - get from A->B and it also fills it purpose. But looking at the bigger picture…
Your Mustang needs:
- frequent repairs and tune-ups
- more gas
- a new coat of paint
- doesn't drive as fast
- emits more fumes
- parts are harder to come by
- but it still stays a cool car!
- no air-conditioning
Your Hybrid needs:
- less gas - because it use alternative energy
- less repairs (it is a new car)
- zooms like the wind
- easier on the environment
- can be a cool car - depends on who is driving it
- it has air-conditioning
I think you see where I am going here. Let us take it to the upgrade to vSphere. The question you will and must ask yourself is - "What are the benefits I will receive with the upgrade?" Now of course I can list a number of benefits here - you can get them from VMware's site or from your own personal environment. Also you can add to the list - what are the problems / issues I am currently experiencing in my environment and does this upgrade solve/ease them?
From the list you must identify - what are you pain-points that you are currently suffering from and how this upgrade can ease / solve them.
For me - these are the some of the Benefits I will emphasize for upgrading to vSphere 4 U1.
- VDR and vStorage API's - Better options for backup compared to 3.5
- Large performance improvement on the same hardware.
- Larger Resources available for each Virtual Machine
- Host Profiles and dvSwitch - will save a huge amount of time in the enterprise with configuration of ESX hosts.
- Higher density on each ESX host.
If you cannot come to a good list of why you should upgrade and what are the problems that this Upgrade will solve FOR THE BUSINESS then you should not be doing it. I do not agree with those who upgrade to a new version just because it came out. That is why so many of Microsoft's Enterprise customers told Microsoft to take Vista, and shove it. We did not deploy Vista - there is no reason and never was any reason to do so. Now that Windows 7 is now out and the benefits in the new OS include a large number of Enterprise features that we can use - there is more of a reason to roll out the new OS. I want to emphasize one more thing here - and it was written here in Capital letters a few lines above - the upgrade could make things easier for you as an Admin - they could save you time - you could do your job better - but if there is no real benefit for your Business - then you will have a hard time selling the justification to Management.
Of course this will all have to go down on paper / presentation for the right people, in order to get the go-ahead for your project.
You of course have to keep in mind What the process of the Upgrade will be but that is for another post.