Softchoice, VMware Study: Most Data Centers Need a Rehaul
Like many cars on the road that are an average of 10 years old, data centers across North America are also beginning to show some grey streaks, according to a joint study by technology and software service provider Softchoice and VMware (VMW).
Like many cars on the road that are an average of 10 years old, data centers across North America are also beginning to show some grey streaks, according to a joint study by technology and software service provider Softchoice and VMware (VMW).
The study found the companies that typically see the most success are those with an efficient IT structure, where the flow of data is unhampered by outmoded tech and can be managed easily. The rapid aging of many of these data centers is due in part to the change of pace with which personal mobile devices evolve. And while enterprise employees are apt to upgrade to the latest and greatest smartphone every year or so, they continue to work with equipment in the office that could be considered ancient by today’s standards.
“With cloud and mobile’s enterprise footprint expanding, more front office workers are empowered to choose their own technology and apps,” said Doug Sekus, Softchoice’s Director of Business Development, Datacenter, in a prepared statement. “We’ve found most organizations’ outdated data centers are struggling to keep up with employees’ and clients’ growing demands.”
Softchoice and VMware surveyed IT managers and found that IT departments with sufficient infrastructure are 4 times more likely to deploy new applications within one business week. Fifty-eight percent of organizations take more than a month to deploy new applications, while 61 percent of organizations still virtualize less than half of their IT environments. Even more worrying, 46 percent of organizations still do not have any hybrid cloud capabilities at all.
Although many companies might not be concerned that their data centers are a little behind the times, they may want to change their viewpoint: according to Softchoice and VMware, those IT departments that have sufficient infrastructure are “far more likely to be viewed as strategic partners by the rest of their organization,” while giving them a competitive advantage. By making sure that their data centers are up to speed, Softchoice noted, IT departments will benefit in the long run—after all, you’ve got to spend money to make money, right?
“Organizations with IT infrastructure that is highly virtualized, highly automated and that supports software-defined solutions can implement new processes faster, respond to employee needs quicker and focus more time on growth and innovation,” Sekus said. “Leveraging new technology to go to market faster is the new, virtual space race and organizations with the right IT infrastructure are winning the race.”
The fact that so many organizations still don’t utilize some kind of hybrid infrastructure is interesting, considering just how many of the big IT organizations are emphasizing the importance of the cloud and the future of virtualization. While hybrid cloud servers may seem to just be buzzwords to some people, it is clear the industry as a whole is taking the idea very seriously. The bottom line: If enterprises want to stay in the game, they’re going to need to do some serious reworking on their IT infrastructures.
