Managing and supporting a desktop computer costs several times more than buying it initially. The $300, $500, even $1,200 the organization pays for the computer will be a marginal expense compared to what the organization will pay to support it over the 3 to 5 years of its typical life.

The costs arise from configuring, patching, and supporting the machines. According to a 2008 Gartner report, “for a large company, the cost of purchasing a desktop PC may be only $1,200, but, kept for four years, the total cost of ownership (TCO) could be as much as $5,867 per year.” Most companies I talk with pay substantially less than $1,200 for a desktop system, but the 5x TCO doesn’t change.

There are a number of things companies can do to drive down desktop TCO. Some, such as desktop virtualization, have been noted here previously. Another approach uses various PC life-cycle management (PCLM) tools, according to Gartner. more

The project management office (PMO) sets world-class operations apart from the rest, according to a recent Hackett Group research note on PMO maturity. The PMO, typically established as a resource coordinating function, can be elevated to deliver strategic value with the right leadership.

According to Hackett, many companies place (strategic) portfolio management and performance management processes in the PMO alongside (tactical) program execution and delivery. When following “the path to a cross-functional G&A Service Delivery Model and to convergence between IT and the business, PMOs [become] a crucial vehicle for bringing various stakeholders together,” according to the researchers.

Jack Duggal, a leading PMO expert and frequent lecturer at the Project Management Institute (PMI), goes even further, believing that the PMO is not only strategic but also indispensable, especially in turbulent times. Here he gives five reasons why. more

Microsoft has introduced Windows 7, its long-awaited upgrades to Windows Vista. Microsoft’s announcement is here. If your organization runs Windows, you probably have a decision to make: upgrade to Windows 7, remain using what you have, or do something completely different.

IT industry research group Information Technology Intelligence Corp. (ITIC), in conjunction with Sunbelt Software, surveyed more than 1,600 companies worldwide about plans regarding Windows 7. It found that 60 percent of survey respondents indicated they will migrate to Windows 7. Of this group, 49 percent indicated their organizations will upgrade to Windows 7 within the first year; another 11 percent say they’ll convert their desktops “as soon as the first service pack ships” and they are assured any bugs are worked out.

There is no big rush to adopt Win 7. If you are running really old versions of Windows, pre-Windows XP, then you probably should do something sooner rather than later. Otherwise, take time to consider your options. There are several. more

Michael Dell, CEO, Dell Computers, claimed that a broad shift to x86-based (PC) systems and automated management could trim $200 billion off the $1.2 trillion IT spending in North America. Following his own advice, Dell expects to save $200 million on his company’s own IT spending by the end of 2010.

Dell was speaking at OpenWorld 2009, the widely reported annual Oracle lovefest. Here is the mp3 link to a snippet of Dell’s talk. A larger snippet can be found here.

What Dell recites is the new catechism of the distributed commodity server age. You previously read about it here. It goes like this: Put your workloads on commodity PC servers and then use virtualization to consolidate them. The payoff: increased server utilization, lower energy costs, and a reduced server real estate footprint. more

According to Gartner, 84% of data loss incidents involve authorized parties distributing content externally. This data factoid was contained in a CERT Insider Threat Study titled Understanding the Risks & Defending the Enterprise, available here. The cost of that loss, according to 30% of survey respondents, exceeded $500,000.

The CERT study dates from the early part of this decade. There is little reason to believe the situation has improved much. Organizations are exchanging data more than ever as collaboration and partnering become strategy bywords and the human factors behind most bad security factors have changed.

There are ways to address this problem, which were described here back in April. Usually, they involve the use of secure online space, like that offered by Brainloop and IntraLinks. Although far from expensive, they are definitely feature-rich and high-end. Now the low end of the market is emerging. more