Forecasting: When Modeling is Not the Only Option for Capacity Management

Review 4 capacity forecasting techniques to see which is best your organization

Why Forecast?
The goal of forecasting is to investigate into and plan for what is going to happen in the future – particularly where there are going to be changes within the organization. The business may be adding an application, reducing the use of an application or even merging a data center. You want to be confident that the right amount of resources is available.

As IT demand has grown, so has the complexity of IT systems.  To make the right forecasts, your organization needs to make good business decisions, resolve possible business and IT  conflicts, provide IT efficiency and balance cost versus services.

The impact on the service versus the impact of the cost is something that must always be taken into consideration. A prime example of this is Cloud computing – which has helped organizations to find the right balance. Utilizing Cloud resources efficiently means knowing how much you are going to need
and when you’re going to need it. Forecasting requirements in advance helps tone down costs and prevent overspending.

It is important to remember that forecasting relies on:

• Correct technical and business data
• Proper business information such as, what is the business doing overall and is there growth or decline within the organization
• Valid technical and business assumptions
• The ability to compare past activity
• Matching needs versus cost

Download this white paper to learn more about the pros and cons of the four main capacity forecasting techniques and which is the best option for your organization.