NOVEMBER 2017CIOAPPLICATIONS.COM8IN MYViewDATA CENTER EVOLUTIONPAUL SCHULTZ, VP OF DATA CENTER, CLOUD & INFRASTRUCTURE BU, KGP COMPANIESsimple web search for "what is a data center" yields a surprisingly interesting history of the evolution of what the term "data center" has come to mean, and where all of us in the business of managing and maintaining data must be prepared to go.In 2009, a data center was described as: Known as the server farm or the computer room, the data center is where the majority of an enterprise servers and storage are located, operated, and managed. There are four primary components to a data center:Support Infrastructure:The additional space and equipment required to support data center operations--including power transformers, Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS), generators, Computer Room Air Conditioners (CRACs), Remote Transmission Units (RTUs), chillers, air distribution systems, and more.IT Equipment:Includes the racks, cabling, servers, storage, management systems, and network gear required to deliver computing services to the organization.Operations:The staff assures that the systems (both IT and infrastructure) are properly repaired when necessary. While the categories contained in the definition of a data center may remain applicable today, their contents--and their impact--have changed dramatically. A recently published definition of data center by IT research and advisory firm Gartner provides some insight into the dramatically different view of how the data center has evolved:The data center is the department in an enterprise that houses and maintains back-end Information Technology (IT) systems and data stores--its mainframes, servers, and databases. In the days of large, centralized IT operations, data center and all the systems resided in one physical place.Market and industry trends are changing the way enterprises approach their data center strategies, driving enterprises to look beyond traditional technology infrastructure silos and transform the way they view their data center environment and business processes. These include aging data center infrastructures that are at risk of not meeting future business requirements, an ongoing cost-consciousness, and the need to be more energy-efficient.Many enterprises are looking to modernize through virtualization, fabric-based infrastructure, modular designs, and public/private or hybrid cloud computing as they explore how best to optimize their resources.This evolutionary shift, at its heart, is a reflection of the evolution of technology, data utilization, management practices and the organization required to support it all.Today, the white space for support infrastructure and IT equipment has a far more inclusive definition. What used to be limited to a single (or few) brick-and-A
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