Think like a highway designer before you buy your next server

Funny thing about building highways. You take a clogged road and you decide you want to clear out the congestion. Sounds like a simple problem with a simple answer. Build a few more lanes and the highway will be big enough to accommodate all the cars that previously were choking their way through right?

Wrong! New roads and lanes just attract more drivers, and soon after building this infrastructure investment your highway gridlocks again. In fact, studies show building more roads to battle traffic congestion actually creates increased congestion.

More is NOT Always Better

Much like in highway design, building IT infrastructure creates complicated problems that can’t be solved with a “more is better” approach. Like building more roads, buying more servers for your organization isn’t always the right answer. And even when it is, shrinking budgets often take that option off the table.

Net, net: Both sets of problems demand creative answers.

So the next time you face squeezed resources and increasing demand, borrow a principle from our brothers in highway design. In place of adding more highway lanes, they handle growing traffic through the clever reworking of side roads, service roads and one-ways that take the stress off the highway.

Ask yourself: “How can I take the stress off my organization’s infrastructure instead of just building bigger pipes?”