By Dick Stark

I spent last Thursday afternoon at BMC in the BMC TV studio video recording two RightStar overviews, one for the BMC partner website and another for a future BMC TV release.  I also did a short podcast with BMC’s Tom Parish, also for the BMC Website.  Here’s an abbreviated version of that Podcast:

Tom: In your whitepaper you mention that citizen demands for accountability and transparency in the public sector will continue to grow.  How does IT fit into this picture?

Dick:  There is a new report just out from the GAO, entitled, OMB Needs to Improve Its Guidance on IT Investments.  What’s mind-boggling is the total amount of money spent on IT, $78B, not counting the intelligence agencies, but also the amount of redundant systems—for example, there are 781 ERP, 15,000 IT management, and 661 HR systems.  The conundrum is how to consolidate data centers without consolidating applications.

Tom: Wow! Where do you recommend public section IT pros start?

Dick: In my whitepaper I’ve highlighted five focus areas: data center consolidation, cloud first, do more with less, IT transformation, and maintain accountability.

Tom: Of these five steps, how does IT decide which steps to tackle first?  Any that you feel are more important or cost effective right out of the gate?

Dick: Well, data center consolidation and cloud first are getting most of the attention now. Eliminating 800 data centers promises to offer huge savings.  At RightStar, we’ve already talked to several agencies about how nlyte, a datacenter performance management solution (and BMC MarketZone partner) for space, cooling and power management can better optimize a data center consolidation effort.

Additionally, the government is making terrific progress with their cloud first initiative with lots of SaaS systems already in production.  I attended a Cloud symposium last month where many solutions were presented that promised to “dramatically alter the way government does business.” One panelist asked the attendees if anyone thought five years from now whether any applications would still be delivered in an on-premise version.  No one raised a hand.

Tom: Do you have any real life examples of how a government entity has accomplished cost savings, efficiency, and accountability?

Dick: Yesterday I was in San Antonio where we have several people working on site at MCiS, an organization that supports the Military Health System, the largest health care organization in the world. I asked about a new rollout of BMC’s BladeLogic Server Automation (BBSA).  Although not yet complete, the expectation is that BBSA will automate server compliancy reporting and management that currently require several full time systems analysts.

Tom: Anything else?

Dick: Only that I’m very bullish about RightStar’s future with BMC.  I’m especially excited about BMC’s SaaS offerings and look forward to a continued strong partnership.