A poll conducted during a panel discussion at DatacenterDynamics Converged London revealed that 53% of IT professionals feel that finance heads represent the greatest barrier to freedom of choice, and 31% are considering procurement to present the next biggest challenge.
Fewer respondents felt the obstacle came from IT or facilities management (9% and 3% respectively), with only 3.1% of IT professionals saying that no barriers exist.
During the panel discussion, the debate turned towards the perceived risk of purchasing ‘best of breed’ solutions in favour of ‘one stop shop’ technologies. One panellist commented that "no one gets fired for buying IBM," with others arguing that "best of breed" technologies tend to be more expensive.
The poll found that 67% of IT professionals lack the freedom to choose innovative ‘best of breed’ technologies over ‘one stop shop’ solutions, which can ultimately stagger data centre efficiency.
Enlogic urges all stakeholders to fully evaluate and assess the total cost of ownership and operating cost over the lifespan of the product.
Eddie Desouza, global marketing and communications director, Enlogic, commented: "Innovation is rife in the data centre industry. There are some incredible breakthroughs taking place that organisations should be embracing with open arms. Aspirations are clearly being pinned back by finance and procurement teams that no doubt see ‘one-stop-shops’ as a safer, easier, option. More needs to be done by the industry as a whole to communicate the benefits – and ROI – of new technologies so that finance and procurement become a supporting force behind new investments."
