@scottalanmiller said in Windows Server 2016 Pricing:
@crustachio said in Windows Server 2016 Pricing:
@scottalanmiller
@scottalanmiller said in Windows Server 2016 Pricing:
I think that the biggest issue here is that there are loads of decisions that sound unlikely to make sense and all depend on one another. We can't really get a good picture without knowing the whole picture. We are picking apart portions that seem crazy, but they might not be. Likely they are, but we cant really know. We don't have enough info.
But the suspected problem is that the IT manager has an emotional tie to VMware and is funneling them money (not suggesting a kickback, just that he wants to support a vendor that he likes, it's a normal emotional response) and is using this "going to give them money no matter what" opinion to build all other decisions off of. He didn't, we assume, consider lower cost Starwind options instead of VSAN, VSAN drove his sizing, sizing drove his licensing, and so on. If we pull out the VMware linchpin, we are guessing that the rest all falls apart. But we can't be sure until we know all of the factors.
A fair assessment.
It feels like we're just at the end of a very long chain of decisions, almost like reaching terminal velocity, that looking back we're at the only place we could have ended up based on our original trajectory. And without getting too detailed, I can think of a lot of reasons why A led to B led to C.
I can see it in the descriptions. Someone likely made a firm decision in a vacuum while ignoring the fact that their decision was much, much more widespread. For example, they chose ProductA thinking "no big deal, it's just one little product." They ignored the fact that it required SQL Server, AD, only runs on Windows 2003, needs Windows clients, doesn't have support, isn't supportable, isn't secure, etc. They make it sound like "I only chose ProductA", but in reality they were given the power to define the entire IT infrastructure.
This is why holistic IT decision making is absolutely critical. Someone has to look at the big picture when decisions are being made and make sure that little decisions aren't made without someone thinking through would it really means or to make sure that someone can't use a small decision making power to "social engineer" an environment of their choosing that doesn't fit the needs of the organization.
In this case, it might be as simple as the VMware mandate. Or maybe it is the Windows apps. Or both. It's often easy to find these problem apps because they are mandates, rather than exposed decisions. Instead of an open conversation about what's the best option, they are a piece that is "unquestionable". Look for these, they are often done as a means to hide chain reaction design decisions that someone wants to enact without a reason to justify them.
Or it can be an accident of someone that doesn't understand the necessities of planning.
This. All of this. Yes.
But put yourself in my shoes. You have the ability to advise and to some degree influence, but in no way control these mandates. It is easy for someone to say "Oh, you guys should be doing X, Y and Z", but that doesn't actually make such changes possible.
I feel like I have to make the best of the situation I am in.