Infrastructure management is the management of essential operation components, usually broken down into three areas: system management, network management, and storage management. Tools and technologies are available to help you better understand your network environment, reduce duplication of effort, and develop risk-mitigating procedures, all of which will help you significantly cut costs.

Microsoft virtual server solutions can help reduce the resources and time needed to administer your infrastructure, and help you become more agile and responsive. Virtualization can also simplify and accelerate provisioning, allowing you to add additional capacity or new capability to business applications quickly and easily. Microsoft provides a complete suite of technologies that enable you to build an integrated, end-to-end, virtualized infrastructure, helping you to maximize ROI, cut costs and improve efficiency.

 

Use the Microsoft Integrated Virtualization ROI Tool to help you estimate your return on investment in Microsoft virtualization tools.

 

WorleyParsons, a leading provider of professional services to the energy, resource, and complex process industries, having grown revenue from half a billion to $3.3 billion over the past five years, is using Windows Server® 2008 Hyper-V™ and Microsoft® System Center Virtual Machine Manager to significantly reduce the growing costs associated with rapid global growth.

 

 

Microsoft's interoperable unified communications solutions-including highly secure mobile messaging, presence, IM, video conferencing and voice over IP-can help you connect and enable geographically dispersed teams to work together from virtually anywhere, anytime. All while increasing efficiency, encouraging collaboration, and driving down operating costs.

 

Rabobank, a global financial services provider with 50,000 employees, will build a digital environment and support seamless multimedia communications across the organization, while reducing operating costs by up to 15 percent.

When combined with Windows Vista Enterprise, it offers a cost-effective and flexible way to manage Windows® desktops, helping you to drive down TCO by eliminating application management costs, instantly deliver applications as services, and better control enterprise desktop environments.

 

The City of Edinburgh Council, based in Scotland's capital city, deployed a service-led technology transformation program to improve services and provide the Council with a stable, flexible platform to support its plans, and total savings over five years of approximately ?6.4 million.

 

Most midsize businesses face the dual challenges of reducing operational costs while increasing system availability and network functionality. Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Administration can help IT professionals minimize management costs and increase organizational productivity by providing IT administrators with a centralized location for proactively managing the network and critical business systems.

 

HiPerformance Systems Botswana (HPS), a technology solution provider, spent so much time managing its own technology that it cut into time with customers. HPS deployed a beta version of Windows Essential Business Server 2008 to gain sophisticated management, messaging, and security tools. As a result, HPS has reduced IT management work by 66 percent, enhanced security, and freed staff time to help customers solve similar problems.

There are some incredible power management tools available today that can help you reduce carbon dioxide output, which is better for the environment, and lowers energy costs. This includes power management software solutions and the creation of a centralized IT administrator to control all your desktops.

 

Most servers run at less than 10 percent of capacity, wasting hardware, space, and electricity. By optimizing your IT infrastructure through server consolidation and dynamic management, you can lower equipment costs and reduce the environmental impact of your data centers, while improving service levels and decreasing costs.

 

Use the Microsoft Integrated Virtualization ROI Tool to help you estimate your return on investment in Microsoft virtualization solutions.

 

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, New Hampshire's only academic medical center, reduced total server holdings by 75 percent and saved $4,300 per server in hardware, maintenance, electrical, and real estate costs, saved 30 hours each month in server management and increased availability by implementing the Windows Server® 2008 operating system with Hyper-V? technology.

Windows Vista® is an energy-efficient operating system, and one way Microsoft can help reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions-and save money. By upgrading to Windows Vista you can give your employees a better user experience, while taking advantage of the built-in energy-saving features of Windows Vista, such as centralized manageability for IT, default settings optimized for best user experience and energy savings, and immediate responsiveness from Sleep or Resume.

 

Continental Airlines, the world's fifth largest airline, consolidated its operating system images, and reduced IT and energy costs by deploying the Windows Vista operating system on 6,000 computers.

One of the fastest ways to save money is by cutting back on business travel and using conferencing and collaboration tools. You can trim travel costs without losing that face-to-face experience. In many cases, sharing information and collaborating can be accomplished more efficiently when done virtually, helping to reduce the cost of running your business.

 

Microsoft's Unified Communications tools-including highly secure email, instant messaging, presence awareness, web conferencing, video conferencing, audio conferencing and Voice over IP- allow you to stay in contact every step of the way with geographically dispersed clients, team members, and mobile workers while on the go.

 

Volvo Group, operating in 180 countries worldwide, will use Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 with Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 to develop a unified communications environment, expecting to cut conferencing costs by up to 50 percent.

 

Lifetime Products, the world's largest manufacturer of residential basketball equipment and polyethylene tables, saved $850,000 using Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging.

Windows Small Business Server 2008 is an all-in-one server solution designed to help you keep your data more secure and your company more productive.

 

Windows Small Business Server 2008 can also increase the productivity of remote and mobile knowledge workers through the new Remote Web Workplace feature. Remote Web Workplace brings flexibility to the Windows Small Business Server 2008 solution through virtually anytime and anywhere access.

 

Robby Gordon Motorsports-the only single-car, owner-driver team on the premiere NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit-competes with teams three times its size. To increase its ability to compete, the company upgraded to Windows Small Business Server 2008 beta software. The organization's efficiency and collaboration have been significantly increased, making a positive impact on the increasing communications and operating more efficiently.

Every business is looking for ways to hold onto cash, without hurting business. One of the most effective ways to increase cash flow is by building your business. To build your business, you need to have the capacity and flexibility to jump at opportunities as they arise. One of the best ways to make sure your business is ready, is by investing in your IT solution. If you follow your game plan, you will maintain cash flow, and grow.

 

Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite is a set of messaging and collaboration solutions hosted by Microsoft, and consists of Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Live Meeting, and Office Communications Online (coming soon). These online services are designed to give your business streamlined communication with high availability, comprehensive security, and simplified IT management. Your business benefits from always up-to-date technologies that are deployed rapidly, maximizing your valuable IT resources and reducing your need for infrastructure investments.

 

Archiver's wanted to migrate from its old POP3-based e-mail system to an enterprise class messaging and collaboration system, but the cost and in-house IT resource requirements were too great. By subscribing to Microsoft Online Services, Archiver's immediately gained access to the enterprise-class e-mail capabilities it wanted-without the need for in-house infrastructure or additional support.

Unlike traditional financing, Microsoft Financing covers 100 percent of eligible Microsoft, third-party, and independent software vendor (ISV) software-as well as partner services and hardware-with no hidden costs. Microsoft Financing offers credit-approved customers immediate access to capital so you can purchase and deploy IT solutions today, with no fees or large up-front costs and a flexible and predictable payment structure. This helps free up budgets and capital that you may need to utilize elsewhere.

 

For more about Microsoft Financing visit http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/financing/default.mspx

 

Microsoft Financing is not a financial services company. It is a financing solution backed by Microsoft to support sales of Microsoft products and services to qualified customers.

For your businesses to grow, you need to effectively manage business performance, marketing costs and IP security. This means making sure your IT infrastructure provides a seamless flow of trusted information throughout your organization. This way everyone is working from the latest information, sharing the same resources and using business tools that are intuitive to learn and use.

 

Microsoft's Business Intelligence (BI) is a complete suite of server, client, and developer products. BI offers a comprehensive, seamlessly integrated system that will allow your organization to collaborate more efficiently and make better-informed business decisions. BI supports employees in developing deeper knowledge and insight while using a familiar 2007 Microsoft Office interface in a highly secure and scalable environment.

 

Culver Franchising Systems, used RedPrairie's powerful Performance Management solution, based on Microsoft's Business Intelligence technologies, to save $45,000 per year.

The 2007 Microsoft Office delivers powerful new capabilities that make it easier to more effectively manage, analyze, and share information.

 

How can Office 2007 save you money?

Washington based Systmatech needed robust tools for creating professional marketing resources in an efficient manner. With no training budget, they required business tools that employees would find intuitive to learn and use. With Microsoft® Office Professional 2007, Systematech has been able to create dynamic sales presentations and materials that have helped win business.

Licensing management means more than keeping a list of all the software your company owns. Taking advantage of tailored programs and promotions allows you to better handle the size and purchasing preference of your company. These offers can provide simple, flexible, and affordable solutions that enable you to easily manage and maximize your license portfolio.

 

Microsoft Software Assurance is a comprehensive maintenance offering that can help you increase worker productivity, accelerate organizational performance, and quickly realize a return on your software investment.

 

Benefits:

The Microsoft Open Value Subscription is a comprehensive, subscription-based Microsoft Volume Licensing program that enables small to midsize organizations that have an existing network of 5 to 250 desktop PCs to acquire the latest Microsoft technology at the lowest up-front costs available.

 

Learn how C. Rokas SA, a leader in renewable energy sources and electromechanical projects, used Microsoft Open Value Subscription licensing to upgrade and unify all its systems, with a single license key, giving the company greater flexibility and more predictability in managing software without a large initial investment.

Reduce database total cost of ownership with Unlimited Deployment Rights for SQL Server and Microsoft Application Platform Products. *

 

 

To grow your business, be competitive and ready to respond to opportunities that come along, you need an infrastructure that allows for it. That means having the right tools, working seamlessly and efficiently as possible, or the means to get the tools you need. Microsoft offers several programs designed with you in mind-each offering different ways for you to build the infrastructure you need, at significant savings.