VMware Server Migration Questionnaire

[liamfleming]

Hi

I'm a student from Loughborough University. For my dissertation I intend to research the migration of servers into a virtualised environment. The focus of the investigation is to establish whether the promised savings can be made in the time estimated. I want to find out if there are any common problems that occur within organisations that delay server migrations and therefore add cost to the project.

I'm hoping to find as many real life examples as possible. Ideally I would like to find details regarding how well projects keep to time and cost. Any information on return on investments etc. If the project was successful finding evidence for the cost saving. If the project wasn't successful the reasons as to why it wasn't. Hopefully I will be able to find examples from different industries and different size companies so as to cover a substantial cross section of the market.

I would be very grateful if any of you could provide me with your experience of virtualised server migrations by completing the questionnaire below. I know that this information maybe confidential. A university representative and I are willing to sign confidentiality forms to prevent the information from being distributed if you require it. If you want to send the questionnaire to me personally rather than post it on the forum my email address is any additional information/ideas that you think would be interesting would be very welcome.

Many thanks

Liam

VMware Server Migration Questionnaire

*ignore if previous question was no for N/A

1)

A) Company:

B) Role:

C) What were the business objectives of moving into a virtualisation environment? Highlight the three most important factors.

Reduce IT Costs

o Improve existing hardware utilization to reduce costs

o Reduce software license requirements

o Leverage scarce IT resources to manage more

o Reduce energy costs and drive Green IT initiatives

o Improve management of virtual infrastructure

Drive Business Improvements

o Better adapt to business changes

o Deliver services on demand

o Improve availability of applications

o Better secure data and infrastructure from risks

D) How successful would you consider your virtualisation project to be?

2)

A) Number of servers estimated to migrate?

B) Actual servers migrated?

C) *Reason for difference?

3)

A) Projected time to complete the migration?

B) Actual time taken?

C) *Main reason for delays?

4)

A) Was there any cost over run? If so what percentage?

B) * Main reason for difference?

5)

A) What was the estimated return on investment (ROI) for the project?

B) What was the actual (ROI)?

C) What was the estimated Payback period for the project?

D) What was the actual Payback period?

6)

A) Did the management style, culture or organisational structure limit or delay the project?

B) Did the physical distribution of servers prove to be an issue? E.g. communication and planning methods for migration?

C) Where there any other factors that made the migration more challenging. E.g. lack of knowledge or experience in the company, key members of staff leaving, changes in budget etc.

7)

A) Where there any compatibility issues regarding hardware and software that delayed the project?

B) Where there any licensing problems? Did this delay the project or add additional costs?

C) Where the planned consolidation ratios reached?

😎

A) What affect did the migration have on performance?

B) Did users experience any downtime?

C) Did you reduce energy needs? If so by how much ?

D) Do you feel the correct virtualisation package for your company was used?

Thanks