Data Center Journal

Volume 32 | June 2014

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k eeping up with technology trends has always been daunting. In just a few minutes and with a few clicks, anyone can find a dozen articles that each ex- pose a unique vision of the future of the data center. e "experts" continually debate the top handful of trends that every CIO and director of IT should be following. M ost of the "top five" data center lists today include some variation of these trends (in no particular order): Virtualization is one remains on the list as companies expand their initia- tives to include VDI and tighten up security. MoBility Smart devices continue to drive up traffic and data, and call for adjustments to traditional resource management and allocation. networKs Besides 100/400G next-generation switching and routing hardware, Soware-Defined Networks (SDNs) are changing the configuration of data centers. Big Data Information continues to explode, and the latest analytics solu- tions are also changing the way that corporations think about business processes. the ClouD With far-reaching implications, the evolution of the cloud will be driving IT initiatives for a long time to come. While industry watchers and analysts debate the trends and forecast the future, data center managers are le to make decisions today based on the currently available technologies and products. And of course, risk management is always paramount when it comes to an infrastructure vision and related plans. And that calls for some careful observations. For example, looking at the above example of a "top five" list of data center trends, some common data center infrastruc- ture themes can be identified. e first is expansion. e data center will continue to grow, and scalable systems and networks position the data center to evolve with the trends. Business agility is another theme, with each of the above trends aimed at better alignment of the business and the infrastructure. Clearly, a major characteristic of a future-proof data center relates to the ability to change and grow the data center. erefore, it makes sense to focus efforts on the optimization of systems and What do they all have in common and how can IT minimize the risks inherent to infrastructure changes? THE DATA CENTER JOURNAL | 3 www.datacenterjournal.com

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