IT optimization through consolidation, virtualization, infrastructure and more.

Labrador is at your side every step of the way

Not every project requires building a brand new data center to realize an increase in efficiency or business results. As a leading technology consulting organization, Labrador can share industry insights and specialized expertise to help you evaluate options to upgrade, modernize, and consolidate or otherwise enhance your IT systems, infrastructure, and delivery. We do so with a strategic approach to planning, optimizing, consolidating and upgrading.

Data management, consolidation, and security strategy

Where is your data? You know you have a lot of it, you know it is important, and you know you have to keep it secure. Some organizations have chosen to simply keep everything as their need for storage has grown and per unit costs to save the data have become relatively inexpensive. But even if you keep all your data, do you really know where it all is? How long would it take you to find a specific file saved somewhere on your backup? We help clients define Data Management strategies to:

• Identify what data you have and where it currently lives;
• Identify where your data needs to live and where it is duplicated;
• Develop a strategy to identify, index, and consolidate your current data – determine what can be purged, what needs to be maintained for regulatory, litigation, or other reasons, and how legacy data will be tagged so you can find it in the future;
• Develop a forward-looking strategy to manage new data and create policies around retention of data;
• Develop Security policies that are consistent with your data management strategy.

Optimizing IT delivery through consolidation and virtualization

Virtualization is continuing its proliferation throughout the enterprise, and Labrador is here to help clients understand their options, consider alternatives, and develop the right strategies for delivering their IT services. We help clients identify services that can be made more efficient by consolidating and moving to a public or private cloud, and also weigh the costs and benefits of virtualization choices, strategies and products, such as:

• How can virtualization increase efficiency and availability of IT resources and applications?
• How can consolidating multiple applications onto virtualized machines free up an organization’s time and money?
• How can a virtualized platform allow for rapid scaling with on-demand resources?
• Which services are best candidates for virtualization to quickly respond to market opportunities?
• What duplicate resources (e.g. applications, hardware and infrastructure) resulting from rapid growth in scale and complexity, technology updates or business acquisitions, can be eliminated with virtualization?
• Would my business be improved with the ability to more quickly deliver desktops and applications to remote locations from a central, secure location?

Optimizing the existing data center

Rapidly changing business drivers and evolving technologies can force change extremely quickly, and IT departments need to respond quickly by adding equipment, custom applications, and other services. In some instances, a crowded data center becomes inevitable. Before you build a new data center, consider consolidating. Strategic consolidation projects – affecting server, network, infrastructure and administration – can have an immediate, tangible effect on your IT costs and footprint. Labrador will help you evaluate how your existing data center can be optimized and what options you have for consolidation to extend the life of your current data center.

• What current inefficiencies or duplications present opportunities for consolidation?
• Can consolidating many physical machines onto fewer logical machines free up power, cooling and space…three elements in high demand in data center spaces?
• What’s the best way to leverage existing and new assets to reduce the data center footprint and deliver even more IT functionality?

We provide options to reach business and technology goals while postponing or mitigating the need to build new space, reducing real estate costs and physical infrastructure, and increasing energy and operational efficiency.

Technology modernization assessment (Feasibility Study and Gap Analysis)

Labrador Technology works with clients to clearly define the strategic objectives and options of projects, by addressing issues of cost, technology, scheduling and operational feasibility. Some of our feasibility studies:

• Evaluate whether to build out a new data center or lease space within a collocation facility;
• Recommend expanding existing locations or building / moving to a new location;
• Give options for voice recording within a trading environment;
• Provide telephony options for trading environments, e.g. turrets or phones.

Infrastructure upgrades

Making changes to existing technology platforms requires thorough analysis and planning, and Labrador is at your side every step of the way. Whether you are upgrading your data center switches and moving to a Top of Rack topology for greater throughput, expanding your storage capabilities, or standardizing on a new server platform, we make sure your upgrade succeeds. We help clients:

• Determine requirements and select and implement solutions;
• Manage all aspects of a technology transition with minimal disruption to your operations;
• Smooth the transition from current infrastructure to the new infrastructure;
• Lend our expertise with users, vendors and technical staff.

WAN review and optimization

Labrador’s expert staff can review your current WAN (Wide Area Network) configuration to look for unrealized efficiencies. We can:

• Optimize productivity with minimal upgrades, often without overhauling the WAN infrastructure;
• Evaluate your circuit agreements, routing strategy and other factors of your environment;
• Articulate our analysis of the most current and cost effective methods of delivering your WAN, so that it can be communicated to the appropriate players.