The most common IT challenges do not necessarily demand complicated solutions. Five of the most widespread difficulties can be addressed with fairly simple approaches, the IT Productivity Center advises in a new report, summarized in a slideshow by Dennis McCafferty at Baseline.

Most large organizations are all too familiar with the thorny nest of vipers known as the database, and managing it tends to swamp the staff. Rather than sinking under the weight, you can automate database functions and outsource routine administrative tasks, the Center recommends.

Related to the database challenge is the problem of expanding storage needs, which can seem to be exploding beyond control. The center suggests consolidating databases and freeing up valuable storage space by compressing and archiving data to cheaper media.

The rising cost and complexity of regulatory compliance is another challenge few industries these days are immune from. The solution, according to the Center, is to implement solid data governance policies and centralized records management.

The multiplying of small, inexpensive servers--what the Center calls "server profusion"--is another common problem. Consolidation and virtualization are fairly straightforward ways to address it.

Finally, the need to scale increasingly complex systems while providing reliability tends to raise costs and threaten accessibility. Echoing a theme in the report, the center recommends consolidation, virtualization and centralization.

For more:
- see Dennis McCafferty's slideshow at Baseline

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