MCPc Blog

April Monthly Roundup: Top IT Industry Articles

Each month, MCPc shares a collection of articles that provide insight into prominent IT topics. April’s roundup takes a look at: data center redesign, server virtualization vendor evaluation, tablet adoption, Amazon’s cloud outage, and a revamped Cisco.

Green Data Center Design

In the article Facebook's 'Green' Data Center Design to Have Ripple Effect, Carolyn Duffy Marsan provides an inside look at Facebook’s new and innovative data center design, one that’s 38 percent more energy efficient than conventional designs and scores one of the lowest Power Usage Effectiveness ratings ever recorded (1.07). The design is sure to have a significant effect on future corporate data centers.

And, in 8 Radical Ways to Reduce Data Center Power Costs, Mel Beckman offers some tips, including:

• Power off unused servers.
• Turn up the heat, and redirect data center heat to make office spaces more comfortable.
• Use direct current to feed power and reduce AC-to-DC conversion.

For additional methods and more details on the above, read the complete article.

Virtualization: Vendor Evaluation

In Virtualization Shoot-out: Citrix, Microsoft, Red Hat, and VMware, Paul Venezia reports on a comparison of these server virtualization solutions — by measures including ease of installation, management capabilities, storage, speed, support and more.

The results? “All four solutions combine very good hypervisor performance with rich sets of management tools. But the solutions are not all equal in either performance or management.”

VMware, the early leader in virtualization, still has the most advanced capabilities and best level of consistency… along with highest price tag. (Although, Venezia points out that hidden, long-term costs may drive up the TCO on other available solutions.)

See the full article for testing results, displayed in tables and graph format when possible.

BYOD, Early Tablet Adoption a Must

There’s No Reason to Delay, CIOs Should Be Experimenting With Media Tablets in Business, according to Gartner. The research and advisory company calls for enterprises to shift their thinking on the acceptance of mobile devices in the workplace, particularly regarding the support of employee-owned tablets. Gartner finds that, after learning their lessons from slow smartphone adoption, CIOs are determined to incorporate tablets to the enterprise early.

Rather than a replacement for the laptop or smartphone, the tablet is a valuable complement. Currently, there is heavy demand from enterprise sales leaders who see the iPad and other tablets as valuable tools for sharing information and accessing data while mobile. Gartner also points out additional uses, such as establishing more personal connections between doctors and patients, or retail clerks and their customers, by using the devices to develop and walk through customized programs.

David Willis, research vice president at Gartner, sums up the argument for tablet adoption simply: “The opportunities are huge.”

Amazon Cloud Collapse

A recap of April’s IT news would not be complete without mention of Amazon’s April 21 cloud collapse. Amazon released its Summary of the Service Disruption on April 29, which covers what happened, the cause, and processes Amazon is putting into effect to prevent a similar event in the future.

In David Linthicum’s post, The Failure Behind the Amazon Outage Isn’t Just Amazon’s, he strikes a main point that cloud users must realize: removing risk in the cloud is an integral component of your cloud adoption strategy.

Just like IT of the past, in the cloud it is necessary to architect around the potential loss of a major component, and not stack all of your data in a single location. Becoming overly dependent on their cloud provider (Amazon), and not considering important factors like redundancy and control, was a key cause for companies hit hardest in the outage.

See Charles Babcock’s article, Amazon Cloud Outage Proves Importance of Failover Planning, for the story of two companies that survived the crash “without business disruption.”

Learn about our approach to cloud computing consulting, which is cemented in a thoughtful, strategic path to the cloud that helps to ensure business continuity.

A Revamped Cisco?

As it expands in the face of virtual market opportunities, many say that Cisco needs improved focus. Recent events — like the dissolution of its flip camera and refocus on enterprise, network-centric platform strategy — have put Cisco in the spotlight of its investors and within the technology industry as a whole. 

In What Would a Revamped Cisco Look Like? Jim Duffy examines Cisco’s current state and future projections for a leaner, more focused operations. The company’s main messages are business alignment and adjacent market focus — with close attention to what’s made Cisco successful to this point, and how it can capitalize on those areas for future growth.

On the Cisco blog, president and CEO John Chambers asked employees, “What do you want Cisco to be?” His own answer to the question follows:

"I want it to be a company that keeps changing the way the world lives, works, plays and learns … A company that knows how to win and intends to continue that track record. A company that's taking the network where it needs to be, with focus. And at a place that puts people, customers and communities at the core of its values. That's Cisco, no excuses."

As a Cisco Gold Certified Partner, we’re excited to see what lies ahead.

What Do You Think?

What articles, blog posts, videos or podcasts did you find interesting last month? Post a comment, and we’ll be sure to keep an eye on those sources and topics for future wrap-up articles like this one.

 

This post is an MCPc blogging team collaboration.

 

Stay Connected with MCPc: Subscribe to the blog; follow us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.