A good IT architecture plan improves efficiencies. When your IT architecture program includes consolidation and centralization of technology resources, particularly in the data center, you gain improved resource use, document recovery, security, and service delivery; increased data availability; and reduced complexity. Some elements that you can consolidate or centralize include
IT personnel: Consolidate IT personnel into centrally managed, focused support groups based on need and skill sets.
Servers: The number of physical servers can be reduced by implementing virtualization or simply eliminating redundant functionality.
File storage: Get local file repositories off multiple file servers and onto a centralized storage solution such as a storage area network (SAN).
Directory services: Provide a common directory service for authentication or implement a single sign-on or federated authentication solution to bridge multiple directories.