Quite often in a server refresh, workloads are moved on a like for like basis - not taking into consideration the relative performance capabilities of the new machines. In a VDI cluster, where CPU contention is the key constraint - it's often the case that capacity is managed using vCPU ratios. As a result, based on demand profiles, it's important to make sure instances are sized appropriately - and a new server refresh could allow for the same (or better) on less vcpus.

Software licensing is a good one - some DB vendors have become wise to reducing core counts and are now licensing based on the core count of the physical machine. Therefore, consolidating further or reducing vcpus isn't actually reducing costs - in fact, bringing in new hardware can increase costs.

Another thing to consider is to plan future growth and model those scenarios. Quite often these projects are done on an ad-hoc basis then it's BAU and, after a year or two, another expensive and time consuming exercise in consolidation and rationalisation. Understanding the rate of growth in workloads (across vcpu allocation and resource utilisation) and projecting that rate of growth forward gives visibility into Cluster Time To Live - which can provide early visibility on when new hardware, storage or network bandwidth is required to support that growth.

Finally, it's key that IT and business work together - projecting expected demand volumes onto supporting infrastructure to determine if capacity is sufficient.

All these approaches lead to smarter planned spending while making sure business goals can still be met.