The Total Economic Impact™ Of HPE Compute Ops Management

Avoided Server Downtime

Evidence and data. Interviewees said that with Compute Ops Management, their organizations reduced both planned and unplanned server downtime. They noted that AI-driven analytics, predictive maintenance insights, and intelligent alerting helped identify potential server issues earlier, allowing teams to take corrective action before failures occurred and improving mean time to resolution.

• With Compute Ops Management, the interviewees’ organizations gained the ability to complete server firmware updates faster, more accurately, and with less manual rework. Interviewees said the solution automated firmware updates and helped confirm that all servers received required updates. Because of the increased accuracy, the organizations narrowed their planned server downtime windows.

• The CIO in the US public sector shared: “We have been able to cut planned server downtime by 30% to 40%. We have more visibility into inventory, coordination, tracking, and validation. I can get data on compliance posture, baselines, and other issues so I can fix those items in advance. The required window is about half the time it was before Compute Ops Management.”

• The interviewees’ organizations improved server performance data with Compute Ops Management, and they use this data to proactively prevent server failures. Compute Ops Management automated service ticket creation, so if there was an issue, the server management team was notified and could begin resolving it immediately. Proactive server maintenance and automated alerts led to improvements in the mean time to restore servers.

• The CTO in the US public sector shared: “There can still be some failure points due to degradation of server components, but HPE Compute Ops Management gives us warning signs and insights, and it helps reduce unplanned server time. Mean time to restore has been cut by 25% to 30%.”

• The SVP and head of operations at a financial services organization explained: “Before HPE Compute Ops Management, I could not do server deep monitoring. Our approach was reactive. Now, if an issue is identified, I can proactively address it. This has resulted in 20% fewer incidents overall and a 30% increase in business continuity. The manpower required if something goes wrong is down by 50% because we can proactively address issues earlier. Support tickets are raised directly and tracked in the tool. That is one of the important advantages.”

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite organization manages 1,200 ProLiant servers.

• Before Compute Ops Management, there were 6 hours of planned server downtime per year per server.

• The composite’s planned server downtime occurs when servers are offline for scheduled firmware and BIOS updates.

• Compute Ops Management reduces the composite’s planned server downtime by 50%.

• Previously, 5% of the composite’s HPE servers experienced unplanned server downtime incidents.

• The average unplanned server downtime was 8 hours per server per incident.

• The composite’s unplanned server downtime is typically due to degradation of server components which disrupt server performance.

• Compute Ops Management reduces the composite’s unplanned server downtime by 80%.

• The cost of server downtime for the composite is $115 per hour. This includes potential revenue loss and lost end-user employee productivity. Forrester developed this estimate based on data gathered from the customer interviews, publicly available data on the cost of server downtime, and proprietary Forrester data.

Risks. The scale of this benefit may vary from organization to organization based on:

• The number of ProLiant servers managed with Compute Ops Management.

• The skill level of the server management team.

• Dependence on HPE servers for mission-critical operations.

• The organization’s industry.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $1.1 million.

Server Management Time Savings

Evidence and data. Interviewees said the server management teams at their organizations saved time on server firmware and BIOS updates and patches with Compute Ops Management. They also noted that the teams were able to repurpose the saved time to higher value-added work.

• The interviewees reported time savings between 45% and 80% for firmware and BIOS updates and patches.

• The director of engineering at a retail organization reported, “We’ve seen an 80% reduction in the time for firmware updates.”

• The CITO in the European public sector said: “Our server management team saves 45% of their time with HPE Compute Ops Management. They can do large-scale patches of all our servers more easily. They can detect and replace hardware failures more quickly and, ultimately, we have less downtime.”

• Interviewees reported that by saving time on routine firmware updates, their server management teams were able to focus on more strategic priorities. The CTO at the transportation organization shared, “HPE Compute Ops Management allows us to focus on other things that are more critical for our business.”

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite has eight FTEs on its server management team before the composite organization adopts HPE Compute Ops Management.

• Prior to Compute Ops Management, the server management team spent 80% of its time on server management.

• Compute Ops Management reduces the time spent on server management by 50%.

• The average fully burdened annual salary for a member of the server management team is $120,000.

• The server management team repurposes 85% of the time saved to higher-value tasks.

Risks. The scale of this benefit may vary from organization to organization based on:

• The number of ProLiant servers managed with Compute Ops Management.

• The skill level of the server management team.

• Compensation rates for the server management team.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $771,000.

Improved Server Visibility And Decision Support

Evidence and data. Interviewees said Compute Ops Management gave their organizations better visibility into server performance data. They noted that the solution’s dashboards, analytics, AI-assisted reporting, and HPE Compute Copilot helped teams obtain server performance information faster, reducing the effort required to analyze data. Improved visibility also helped their server management teams and executives make more informed operational decisions while making it easier to comply with audit requests.

• Interviewees reported that Compute Ops Management’s centralized dashboard made it easier and faster to monitor server performance and compile server data for audits. They said improved visibility into server data helped support more informed operational decisions.

• The SVP and head of operations in financial services shared: “With HPE Compute Ops Management, I can monitor CPUs, storage, power issues, and hardware failures. I can do this monitoring continuously. I could do monitoring before, but the monitoring accuracy has increased.”

• Interviewees reported that Compute Ops Management made it easier and faster to extract and compile server data for audits. Previously, teams spent time pulling data from multiple sources; afterward, server data was centralized.

• The head of digital development at a manufacturing organization said: “HPE Compute Ops Management helps save time with audits for sure. We can extract the server data in a more efficient way. It’s a cost reduction because less time is required to prepare for the audit whether it’s internal or external. You are saving time, but you are saving money also.”

• The CITO in the European public sector explained: “HPE Compute Ops Management helps with voluntary audits with our national cybersecurity agency. It allows us to furnish the data in the quickest way. It helps a lot when having to send lots of data.”

• The CTO at a transportation organization shared: “Before HPE Compute Ops Management, when we had to do a compliance report or an auditor check, it was very time-consuming and kind of a needle in a haystack looking at multiple systems and then integrating the data into one report. This tool does that for us. Before, our auditors would find unpatched or un-upgraded servers. With HPE Compute Ops Management, we have an automated, comprehensive way to manage the upgrades, and we don’t get negative audit reports.”

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite has eight FTEs on its server management team.

• The server management team spends 15% of its time on server monitoring and data analysis.

• Compute Ops Management reduces the time the team previously spent on these tasks by 80%.

• The server management team compiles server data four times per year to meet audit requirements.

• Compute Ops Management reduces the time needed to compile server data for audits by 95%.

• The average fully burdened annual salary for a member of the server management team is $120,000.

• The server management team repurposes 80% of the time saved to higher-value tasks.

Risks. The scale of this benefit may vary from organization to organization based on:

• The number of ProLiant servers managed with Compute Ops Management.

• The skill level of the server management team.

• Compensation rates for the server management team.

• The organization’s prior server monitoring solution.

• The extent and number of compliance and regulatory audits that require server data to ensure compliance.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $260,000.

Decommissioning Other Server Management Tools

Evidence and data. The interviewees’ organizations cut costs by decommissioning other server monitoring and management tools after deploying Compute Ops Management.

• Three of the six interviewees said their organizations saved costs by decommissioning legacy server monitoring and management tools.

• The cost savings ranged between $10,000 to $275,000 per year, depending on the tools decommissioned and the size of the organization’s HPE ProLiant server fleet.

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• Previously, the composite organization spent $100,000 per year on other server monitoring and management tools.

• The composite decommissions 25% of these tools in Year 1, 50% in Year 2, and 100% in Year 3.

Risks. The scale of this benefit may vary from organization to organization based on:

• The number of ProLiant servers.

• The types of legacy server monitoring and management tools and their costs.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $132,000.

Edge-Location Travel Cost Savings

Evidence and data. Interviewees said Compute Ops Management allowed their organizations’ server management teams to resolve server issues remotely, reducing the time spent and the travel costs incurred for traveling to edge server locations.

• Four of the six interviewees said their organizations’ server management teams avoided travel to remote server locations after deploying Compute Ops Management.

• Before Compute Ops Management, these server management teams traveled to remote server locations to manually address server issues (e.g., unsuccessful firmware updates, server component failures). Travel time ranged from a few hours to two days depending on the location of the servers and where the server management team was based. Travel costs ranged from $200 per trip to $4,500 per trip when air travel was required.

• Interviewees reported that Compute Ops Management firmware updates and patches were consistently successfully reduced the need for on-site updates and fixes. They said the solution provided server management teams with improved server data and analytics, enabling more effective predictive server maintenance and resulting in fewer server issues at edge locations.

• The head of digital development in manufacturing shared: “Sometimes the IT teams have to travel to remote locations, and it’s very expensive. With HPE Compute Ops Management, the travel frequency globally has been reduced by 60%.”

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite organization has 300 ProLiant servers at 75 remote edge locations with an average of four ProLiant servers at each edge location.

• Before Compute Ops Management, the server management team travels to 15 remote sites (20% of the locations) each year to resolve server issues.

• Each site visit requires an average of 4 hours of round-trip travel time

• The average transportation cost per trip is $600.

• With Compute Ops Management, the server management team remotely resolves 80% of edge server issues that previously required on-site visits, reducing travel time and costs associated with maintaining edge infrastructure.

Risks. The scale of this benefit may vary from organization to organization based on:

• The number of remote server sites.

• The number of ProLiant servers at each remote site.

• The time, distance, and costs related to travel to remote sites.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $24,000.

Unquantified Benefits

Benefits that provide value for the composite organization but are not quantified for this study include:

• Enhanced security posture. Interviewees said HPE Compute Ops Management helps their organizations maintain firmware and BIOS compliance across their HPE ProLiant environments. The head of digital product in manufacturing explained: “Timely server firmware updates, monitoring, and provisioning are business-critical for cybersecurity, and we can manage this in an extremely efficient way with HPE Compute Ops Management. The cybersecurity and IT security features are critical and why we selected HPE.” The CITO in the European public sector said: “We can automate group-based firmware and BIOS updates and maintain the firmware compliance against a lot of threats. We can deploy a security baseline and apply it across groups of servers with automated deployment, on-demand updates, and even a rollback if necessary.” The composite organization applies policy-based controls and workflow approvals across every server to reduce risk, prevent configuration drift and maintain compliance.

• AI-powered automation, insights, and decision support. Interviewees said Compute Ops Management’s AI capabilities automate server lifecycle management, enhance predictive server maintenance, and automatically generate support tickets. HPE’s Compute Copilot is a natural language AI tool that allows users to easily get answers about server performance and develop custom reporting. These AI capabilities make it easier, faster, and more accurate for the server management team to identify issues earlier, accelerate troubleshooting, manage server lifecycle, proactively plan for server provisioning, and easily access key server performance metrics.

  • The head of digital development in manufacturing shared: “HPE Compute Ops Management automates server lifecycle management. If something is happening with a server, we get the information in a matter of minutes, and it triggers a ticket request. With that information we can take action to trigger a process to fix the issue.”
  • The CITO in the European public sector said: “HPE Compute Ops Management’s AI capabilities help with predictive server maintenance. They reduce the time to detect a specific hardware failure, which allows us to replace the server more quickly, and, ultimately, we have less downtime. Compute Ops Management can automate support ticket case creation. This streamlines our IT operations and strengthens our security posture because we are in a highly regulated environment.”

• Regulatory compliance. Interviewees said Compute Ops Management helped support compliance requirements across their server environments. The CITO in the European public sector shared: “HPE Compute Ops Management helps us comply with European regulations, especially NIS2 (Network and Information Security Directive 2). We have automated group-based deployment capabilities, so the solution automatically augments our cybersecurity posture by guaranteeing that all servers, regardless of if they are in a data center or remote, are running the latest cryptographic and security patches. We can also ensure compliance with our national data governance framework and other regulations.” For the composite organization, Compute Ops Management supports regulatory compliance with automated policy enforcement, group-based deployment capabilities, and real-time server compliance monitoring.

• Support for sustainability initiatives. Interviewees said Compute Ops Management provided visibility into server performance, thermal data, and power consumption. The director of engineering at a retail organization explained: “Our servers generate enormous heat. Before Compute Ops Management, the cooling was set statically. So, during off-peak hours, the servers might be running at 30% to 40% utilization, but the cooling was at 100%. Compute Ops Management give us real-time visibility into the power draw and thermal data for every server. It helps us centrally set the cooling and has reduced cooling costs by 12%.” The composite organization can use the HPE data to forecast server power usage, set power consumption thresholds, and optimize cooling infrastructure in support of corporate sustainability initiatives. To quantify this benefit, the composite would need to measure changes in power consumption, cooling costs, or sustainability-related metrics. Because only one of the interviewees’ organizations was able to quantify the value of this benefit, Forrester did not include this benefit in the ROI analysis for the composite organization.

• Improved server management team experience. Interviewees said Compute Ops Management reduced the time server management teams spend on lower-value tasks and allowed them to focus on higher-value work. This helped enhance overall employee experience. The CIO in the US public sector explained: “HPE Compute Ops Management reduces operational friction and improves troubleshooting. It improved the tedious and time-consuming aspects of server management. Instead of spending time on validation, ticket entry, and coordination, the team can spend more time on work instead of processes.” For the composite organization, the server management team spends less time on validation, ticket entry, coordination, and other administrative activities, leading to an improved employee experience. To quantify this benefit, the composite would need to measure changes in employee satisfaction, productivity, or retention.
   

Flexibility

The value of flexibility is unique to each customer. There are multiple scenarios in which a customer might implement Compute Ops Management and later realize additional uses and business opportunities, including:

• Scalability. Compute Ops Management can support anywhere from a single server to thousands of servers providing flexibility for growing companies as they expand their server base. Compute Ops Management scales easily to accommodate geographically diverse server fleets and varying server use cases. The head of digital development, manufacturing shared, “It’s easy to deploy and scale the platform to more and more places and for different use cases. For each location the set up may be difference because there may be different applications and differences in server performance and capacity. With HPE Compute Ops Management its plug-and-play because the platform is able to adopt to those requirements and not the other way around.”

Flexibility would also be quantified when evaluated as part of a specific project (described in more detail in Total Economic Impact Approach).