1. Making the Business Case for Network Virtualization

2. What’s Inside:  This PowerPoint template will walk you through putting together the numbers you need to make a business case for a Network Virtualization in your organization  The accompanying Excel Calculator is designed for simplicity:  It befits a feasibility-level study; more complex analyses would require a more robust model  It is based on cash flow, not P&L  It has no macros  All data and assumptions are to be entered on one tab, the other tabs are for display only

3. Show Current State 1. Input current state data  Simply enter in values in the green boxes  The fields in yellow will be calculated by the model

4. Missing Data? 1A: What if I you don’t have all the data?  You probably don’t, so the model will calculate the data you do have and, if you know the figure is wrong, you can correct it by entering an “override” value

5. Show Project Costs 2. Enter the project costs and discount rate  Estimate costs based on prior experience, market scan, or vendors’ indicative pricing  Discount rate can be usually obtained from CFO group

6. Show Target State 3. Enter in target state benefits by year  Consider reductions in staff and hardware  Understand that some costs are likely to rise  Best to start with the last year, then back into how much of that benefit you’re likely to achieve by the end of each intervening year

7. Customize the Presentation 4. Customize the PowerPoint to fit your needs  Review the numbers in your completed Excel spreadsheet then cut and paste the exhibits into this PowerPoint presentation  Follow the format of presenting the current state, project costs, target state and investment analysis

8. Document the Unquantified Benefits 5. Include Soft Benefits of Network Virtualization  Fine-grained control over the infrastructure which lowers risk and increases ability to deal with compliance concerns  A lower cost when compared to external services like Amazon  Lowered operational expenditures with regard to provisioning resources  A much faster provisioning speed than internal IT typically offers  Better disaster recovery (DR) options  Increased application availability

9. Make it Work 6. If you don’t like the answer, just change the assumptions  You can always go back and change:  Target state reduction projections and the forecast speed to attainment  Number of concurrent and enablement projects  The discount rate you’ll receive Created by William Freedman @ITCaseMaker & Tom’s IT Pro @TomsITPro