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IT infrastructure decisions are challenged from all directions. Budget pressures are increasing and business units are asking tougher questions. Even the infrastructure itself has changed: Cloud computing and virtualization throw old assumptions out the window even as the physical and electrical footprint of equipment shrinks.

How can an infrastructure manager make a case for IT investments?

The datacenter investment business case must answer the following questions:

• What broader business context requires additional IT infrastructure?
• What is the desired outcome for the business? When will these benefits appear? How can these benefits be quantified?
• What is the true total cost of proceeding?
• What risks or costs will arise if this investment is not made?
• What risks come with a project of this type?
• Who must be involved? What resources will be committed?

You must start by asking yourself the toughest questions: What options do we have? Does it make sense to build or can we make do without? What will the real return be on this investment? These will guide the creation of a solid justification for IT investment.

We will discuss the evolution of IT as it moves "up the stack" from infrastructure to virtualization, platforms to applications. IT strategies must be presented in terms of benefit to the business as a whole, especially in financial terms.

Once hardware, implementation, facilities, and operations costs are totaled, many IT investments lose their appeal. But business risks, from compliance and litigation to missed opportunities, can swing the balance back. It is critical to include a complete picture of the cost, risk, and benefit.

Sun or Intel representatives will surely have experience discussing IT investments in the context of overall business benefit, total cost of ownership and return on investment, and project planning. We would expect them to join the discussion in nearly every area of the presentation, bringing their own experiences to the discussion.