Overbuilding an Infrastructure

Interesting observation at The Register:

Firms waste billions on network over-design
Most organisations follow outdated network design and procurement practices. Result? Overpriced and under-performing networking infrastructures. So says analyst firm Gartner, which reckons the trend of building over-engineered networks is set to continue.

It warns that firms will waste more than $10bn installing Gigabit Ethernet systems on local area networks (LAN) by 2008, a figure which omits the added cost of Gigabit-equipped phones, larger power supplies, upgraded facilities, and other miscellaneous requirements.

A bit more - a quote from analyst Mark Fabbi:

"Most businesses have an increasing number of users in remote locations - either in branch offices or working on the road and at home - so high investments in LANs are totally missing the point. By designing networks that map to actual user requirements, rather than falling into the trap of buying the next new thing, businesses could recoup substantial capital dollars that can be redeployed in areas where they actually make a difference."

Network managers should focus their attention towards implementing technologies that bolster security, data control, application optimisation and mobility services instead of installing Gigabit Ethernet on users' desktops, Fabbi advises.

Very true -- the tendency is to do a whole-system upgrade every so often when it is actually not needed. The IT people should study the system and certainly eliminate bottlenecks but the idea of giving everybody on the LAN Gigabit Ethernet is nuts -- if anything, it will encourage the use of streaming media which will bog the company's internet connection. 100BT is more than enough for most people.