According to Netcordia (full article here), here are the potential problem areas that await IT managers this coming year:
Unstable network infrastructure will be the undoing of ambitious virtualization projects.
Outages and more outages – at least five big ones in the next 6 months
Non compliance will lead to firings and fees as it is enforced more strictly
An increase in merger and acquisition (M&A) activity will result is a heavier burden on IT departments
“With the potential for network errors to wreak havoc in 2010, network managers will play a crucial role to navigate these potential pitfalls,” said Don Pyle, Netcordia’s CEO. “Based on what’s at stake, here are two more predictions: network managers’ work week will increase 20% – a full day – and ultimately, the network management role will finally get the respect it deserves.”
The specificity of these claims lend them a convincing ring. Time will tell definitively if these predictions will come to pass. Are you doing anything today to avoid the headaches described here?
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Browser Mayhem: Exploring Your Options?
Ouch! Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is suffering from severe damage to its image, as both the French and German governments have recommended that people abandon the browser due to security breaches, according to the Wall Street Journal blog.
Does jumping ship at this point make sense? There is no clear consensus, as some express reservations about whether IE is actually any more vulnerable than other browsers.
The article states:
“Generally speaking, a browser switch is going to be a lot easier for an individual than it will be for corporate users, where IT policies often dictate which browser people use on their computers.
Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant and security firm Sophos, said in a blog post Monday that companies may cause ‘more problems than it’s worth by summarily switching browsers’ because of the potential for employee confusion and Web site compatibility problems caused by the new software.
‘My advice is to only switch from Internet Explorer if you really know what you are doing with the browser you’re swapping to,’ Mr. Cluley said. ‘Otherwise it might be a case of ‘better the devil you know.’ “
Are you advocating a switch from Internet Explorer in your organization?
Does jumping ship at this point make sense? There is no clear consensus, as some express reservations about whether IE is actually any more vulnerable than other browsers.
The article states:
“Generally speaking, a browser switch is going to be a lot easier for an individual than it will be for corporate users, where IT policies often dictate which browser people use on their computers.
Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant and security firm Sophos, said in a blog post Monday that companies may cause ‘more problems than it’s worth by summarily switching browsers’ because of the potential for employee confusion and Web site compatibility problems caused by the new software.
‘My advice is to only switch from Internet Explorer if you really know what you are doing with the browser you’re swapping to,’ Mr. Cluley said. ‘Otherwise it might be a case of ‘better the devil you know.’ “
Are you advocating a switch from Internet Explorer in your organization?
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Minicom and SharkRack Partnership Announced
With SharkRack as a reseller, Minicom expands its presence in the US IT market
We are pround to announce a partnership with SharkRack, a premier provider of infrastructure solutions for data centers and network rooms. SharkRack chose Minicom as their KVM vendor because of their advanced IP KVM and KVM over CAT5 product lines, which include remote access management solutions, KVM switches, LCD drawers with integrated KVM switches, and KVM IP gateways.
“SharkRack’s proven track record of recognizing and responding to the changing needs of data centers makes them an exciting company to have as a partner,” said David Zucker, Director of Business Development at Minicom. “The flexibility and creativity that SharkRack offers its customers is a perfect fit with Minicom’s real needs™ approach, which advocates a customer-centric philosophy. Opening a direct relationship with SharkRack gives our customers better visibility to our industry leading solutions, and we feel confident this partnership will prove to be mutually beneficial.”
"Minicom's breadth of products, advanced technologies and commitment to creating customer focused solutions were the main criteria for why we chose to partner with Minicom,” stated Seth Schalet, president of SharkRack. “Minicom offers easily upgradeable platforms that provide our customers with a long-term solution for supporting their LCD and KVM product needs that is consistent with SharkRack's vision of bundled and standalone intelligent infrastructure solutions."
Join SharkRack and Minicom for "A Look Into Remote Access and Control Solutions" on February 3rd, 2010, from 10AM until 2PM, in Newark, California. In addition to a discussion of how remote access is evolving and can add value to organizations, there will be a drawing for a $200 American Express gift card. Sign up here: http://event.pingg.com/remoteaccessevent!
To learn more about Minicom, visit http://www.minicom.com/. To learn more about SharkRack, visit http://www.sharkrack.com/.
About SharkRack
SharkRack is a premier provider of infrastructure solutions for data centers and network rooms. We provide products and engineering services to improve the cost-effectiveness, availability and viability of mission-critical data and networking systems. For almost a decade, leading organizations in a variety of fields—from telecommunications to financial services to government and military—have trusted SharkRack for advanced data center solutions.
SharkRack's history of innovation includes pioneering multi-vendor rack-mounting systems. Today, we are leading the industry in addressing a new set of challenges—in cooling, space, management, and security, and other areas—through an approach that views the data center as a single, interdependent system. Our sharp focus on the problems facing modern data center workers and managers allows SharkRack to give customers the independent attention and flexible service required to solve unique technical and business problems.
Video: Manage Your Data Center From Your iPhone
OK very cool - The virtual I/O vendor Xsigo recently introduced an iPhone application which enables you to remotely alter an existing implementation, billed as a data center in the palm of your hand (video and more info here).
The glaring omission of any mention of security is a bit worrying. Should potential breaches be a concern?
The glaring omission of any mention of security is a bit worrying. Should potential breaches be a concern?
Monday, January 18, 2010
Obama’s Plan to Update IT in the Government Sector
That there is a lag between technological advances and government adoption is old news. What is different now is that Obama is willing to listen and to make changes, inspiring hope that there will be significant strides in IT for government (full article here). According to the article:
“Modernizing the federal IT infrastructure and learning from the best practices used in the private sector has been a common refrain of prior administrations, but this time federal officials say it will be different -- the problem is getting the direct attention of the president. And, they add, government IT projects are becoming more visible to the public via efforts like the federal IT dashboard that tracks projects.”
The short list of those included in a meeting at the White House to help Obama with ideas for how to update federal IT systems include:
Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft
Shantanu Narayen, president and chief executive officer of Adobe Systems Inc.
Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist
Chris R. Hughes, co-founder of Facebook
Ronald Sargent, CEO of Staples Inc.
Having Vivek Kundra as the first federal CIO also sends a strong message that this administration is serious about closing the technology gap between the public and private sectors. Obama’s image of the children of federal employees having better technology in their backpacks than their parents have at work is a striking one, underlining the urgent need implementation of updated technology for federal offices.
Will Obama follow through? Will the next few years bring substantive changes in the world of federal IT?
“Modernizing the federal IT infrastructure and learning from the best practices used in the private sector has been a common refrain of prior administrations, but this time federal officials say it will be different -- the problem is getting the direct attention of the president. And, they add, government IT projects are becoming more visible to the public via efforts like the federal IT dashboard that tracks projects.”
The short list of those included in a meeting at the White House to help Obama with ideas for how to update federal IT systems include:
Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft
Shantanu Narayen, president and chief executive officer of Adobe Systems Inc.
Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist
Chris R. Hughes, co-founder of Facebook
Ronald Sargent, CEO of Staples Inc.
Having Vivek Kundra as the first federal CIO also sends a strong message that this administration is serious about closing the technology gap between the public and private sectors. Obama’s image of the children of federal employees having better technology in their backpacks than their parents have at work is a striking one, underlining the urgent need implementation of updated technology for federal offices.
Will Obama follow through? Will the next few years bring substantive changes in the world of federal IT?
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Battle of the Bulge for British IT Professionals
From DatacenterDynamics:
“…a survey of British workers by Fat Free Fitness recently found that IT workers were the most inactive and had the poorest diet of all UK workers. Elizabeth Sparrow, President, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT said: ‘It is a concern that the IT profession has been deemed to be the unhealthiest in the UK according to recent research. Fewer than 19 per cent are getting the recommended amount of physical activity and only 14 percent are eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. With the start of the New Year and this new resource which offers and signposts expert advice, there has never been a better time to make a New Year’s resolution to change your diet and lifestyle habits.’ ”
Hmmm…do American IT workers have an equally grim reputation in terms of fitness? The shortlist of America’s least healthy professions always seems to focus on truck drivers and other sedentary jobs. Take a look around your next conference – should we be cutting back on the tea parties like our friends across the pond, or are our six packs tight as blade servers?
“…a survey of British workers by Fat Free Fitness recently found that IT workers were the most inactive and had the poorest diet of all UK workers. Elizabeth Sparrow, President, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT said: ‘It is a concern that the IT profession has been deemed to be the unhealthiest in the UK according to recent research. Fewer than 19 per cent are getting the recommended amount of physical activity and only 14 percent are eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. With the start of the New Year and this new resource which offers and signposts expert advice, there has never been a better time to make a New Year’s resolution to change your diet and lifestyle habits.’ ”
Hmmm…do American IT workers have an equally grim reputation in terms of fitness? The shortlist of America’s least healthy professions always seems to focus on truck drivers and other sedentary jobs. Take a look around your next conference – should we be cutting back on the tea parties like our friends across the pond, or are our six packs tight as blade servers?
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Data Center in 2010
It’s still early enough in the year to get those last minute predictions in. What to Expect in 2010, by Mission Critical’s Kevin Heslin, covers the gamut in terms of what is coming up this year in the data center space. While most of his predictions are safe bets, there are a few riskier propositions that will be fun to follow. Have to respect someone who is not scared to put it out there, especially knowing the potential risk of public ridicule at the end of the year in the event of serious error. Funky choice going with nine predictions instead of the oh-so- expected ten…
What made the list?
1. More government involvement in the data center space (think this prediction is already coming true – see Uncle Sam Distributing Energy Goodies)
2. End users will try new ways to beat high energy bills, to ensure compliance, and to simplify their data centers. See how this trend is playing out in Taking Control of Your Data Center: New Approaches to Reduce Energy and Improve Efficiency.
3. The role of water will gain new prominence in the data center world.
4. Because IT and facilities personnel just cannot get along, enterprise problems like poor designs, security breaches and network issues will rear their ugly heads.
5. Outages and more outages. Smart Grid anyone?
6. Data center specific LEED certification
7. The proliferation of infrastructure products
8. Increased popularity of performance-based testing for data center systems
9. PUE will be a thing of the past, replaced by a more comprehensive metric
On a more general note, Reuters addressed the issue of how current expectations match up to the rate of technological advancements (full article here). Interestingly, despite all the technological advances recent years have seen, those pesky 18 to 30 year old boys/men want more toys more quickly.
Some people find technology is moving too quickly – this video from SNL’s Seth Myers takes a wry look at the downside of technological advances.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
The Importance of Remote Centralized Access for IT Infrastructures
Could not have said it better myself:
“If you need to manage data centers and branch offices anytime from anywhere, there is an answer. A centralized management approach with out-of-band capability can increase data center control, allow you to do more with less, and provide remote access from anywhere in the world.
Today’s support-minded network administrators need around the clock access to servers 365 days a year – both at the rack and in remote locations. Fortunately, with centralized management (including both in-band and out-of-band connectivity), your data center has never been so close.”
(Excerpt of an article from Fix Laptop Problems – full article here)
In today’s IT world, 24/7 access is a requirement. Make sure you are meeting expectations. Minicom happens to have remote centralized management solutions designed to increase IT efficiency, to save on IT costs, and to simplify the daily workload of the IT staff.
“If you need to manage data centers and branch offices anytime from anywhere, there is an answer. A centralized management approach with out-of-band capability can increase data center control, allow you to do more with less, and provide remote access from anywhere in the world.
Today’s support-minded network administrators need around the clock access to servers 365 days a year – both at the rack and in remote locations. Fortunately, with centralized management (including both in-band and out-of-band connectivity), your data center has never been so close.”
(Excerpt of an article from Fix Laptop Problems – full article here)
In today’s IT world, 24/7 access is a requirement. Make sure you are meeting expectations. Minicom happens to have remote centralized management solutions designed to increase IT efficiency, to save on IT costs, and to simplify the daily workload of the IT staff.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Goodbye to 2009, From an IT Perspective
Just when you thought 2009 was so over…a last lingering look at memorable IT moments that can inform decisions and directions in 2010:
These top five IT leadership blogs of 2009 span the range from entertaining (20 cynical project management tips) to advice (10 great ideas from five great bosses) – no wonder they made the list.
The Top 15 Tech Events of the Decade will make you smile with recognition at trends past and present. Despite the proliferation of social media, “unfriend” is 2009’s word of the year. Remember the terror that accompanied the deadly phrase “Y2K?” Read them all and see if you agree that these are the top 15.
Even the New York Times got into the act, with an article about how to make science and technology “cooler” so that promising students will be drawn to the field. C’mon, won’t you miss those bottleneck glasses and shirts buttoned all the way to the collar? How will we recognize the computer geeks if they walk among us in disguise?
Everybody enjoys watching someone else admit they were wrong. Enjoy a recap of 2009's most notable IT apologies, which includes a critique of the quality of the apologies. For example: using Twitter to apologize for an application which offered guys advice how to pick up women? Really? Pepsi’s half hearted mea culpa only earned a rating of one, while Google’s apology for its Gmail outage garnered a respectable 8.5.
These top five IT leadership blogs of 2009 span the range from entertaining (20 cynical project management tips) to advice (10 great ideas from five great bosses) – no wonder they made the list.
The Top 15 Tech Events of the Decade will make you smile with recognition at trends past and present. Despite the proliferation of social media, “unfriend” is 2009’s word of the year. Remember the terror that accompanied the deadly phrase “Y2K?” Read them all and see if you agree that these are the top 15.
Even the New York Times got into the act, with an article about how to make science and technology “cooler” so that promising students will be drawn to the field. C’mon, won’t you miss those bottleneck glasses and shirts buttoned all the way to the collar? How will we recognize the computer geeks if they walk among us in disguise?
Everybody enjoys watching someone else admit they were wrong. Enjoy a recap of 2009's most notable IT apologies, which includes a critique of the quality of the apologies. For example: using Twitter to apologize for an application which offered guys advice how to pick up women? Really? Pepsi’s half hearted mea culpa only earned a rating of one, while Google’s apology for its Gmail outage garnered a respectable 8.5.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
KVM Switches for SMBs: A Buyer’s Guide
Thanks to Paul Mah at IT Business Edge, who eloquently explains what to look for when investing in a KVM switch.
What criteria made the list?
1.You should decide whether you want an IP KVM switch or not.
Advantage: The freedom to work from anywhere.
Possible deterrents: Increased potential for security breach; higher price.
2. You should determine your ideal number of concurrent users.
Paul Mah posits:
“However, I would advocate support for at least one remote and one concurrent local user in instances where more than a dozen servers are connected via a KVM.”
This is a logical recommendation, given the number of servers being accessed. Minicom’s Smart 232 IP, for example, enables one local and two remote users access and control of up to 32 servers, as well as the capability for two remote users to operate serial sessions for controlling serial devices such as routers, managed network switches or PDUs.
3. Do you want CAT 5 cabling, which reduce cable clutter and are relatively inexpensive, or shorter, pricier cables (Duh!)?
4. If you are thinking about expanding the number of servers your SMB has, make sure you get a KVM switch which supports cascading. The author points out, “Note that the connectors for these KVMs are typically proprietary and support cascading only with the same models or devices within the same product family.”
Still have questions? Check out our KVM library or contact us.
What criteria made the list?
1.You should decide whether you want an IP KVM switch or not.
Advantage: The freedom to work from anywhere.
Possible deterrents: Increased potential for security breach; higher price.
2. You should determine your ideal number of concurrent users.
Paul Mah posits:
“However, I would advocate support for at least one remote and one concurrent local user in instances where more than a dozen servers are connected via a KVM.”
This is a logical recommendation, given the number of servers being accessed. Minicom’s Smart 232 IP, for example, enables one local and two remote users access and control of up to 32 servers, as well as the capability for two remote users to operate serial sessions for controlling serial devices such as routers, managed network switches or PDUs.
3. Do you want CAT 5 cabling, which reduce cable clutter and are relatively inexpensive, or shorter, pricier cables (Duh!)?
4. If you are thinking about expanding the number of servers your SMB has, make sure you get a KVM switch which supports cascading. The author points out, “Note that the connectors for these KVMs are typically proprietary and support cascading only with the same models or devices within the same product family.”
Still have questions? Check out our KVM library or contact us.
Monday, December 28, 2009
The Year That Will Be: Data Centers in 2010
It’s always fun to see what industry experts are willing to commit to in print about the upcoming year, and then see what does and does not come to fruition. Matt Stansberry, on SearchDataCenter.com, puts it out there with “The top data center 2010 trends.” Mostly the usual suspects (dip into the cloud, keep a close on energy use), but some new trends as well, such as a direct correlation between the rise in popularity of hot-aisle/cold-aisle containment and the death of the raised floor.
There has also been a recent spate of “How-to” advice for 2010.
Take a look at the slideshow Seven Ways to Make Your Security Budget Pay Off in 2010. Nice visual presentation which reinforces the messages on the slides.
Slide 4 talks about single-sign on as an important security measure – read about how Minicom has implemented single-sign on in our remote access management products with great results.
Who could not use some direction about How to Improve Your IT Planning in 2010? Despite the vagueness of the title, this CIO.com article offers practical and specific suggestions.
There has also been a recent spate of “How-to” advice for 2010.
Take a look at the slideshow Seven Ways to Make Your Security Budget Pay Off in 2010. Nice visual presentation which reinforces the messages on the slides.
Slide 4 talks about single-sign on as an important security measure – read about how Minicom has implemented single-sign on in our remote access management products with great results.
Who could not use some direction about How to Improve Your IT Planning in 2010? Despite the vagueness of the title, this CIO.com article offers practical and specific suggestions.
Facebook, Google and Amazon: Data Center Developments
Check out these developments in the data center world:
Facebook now has 30,000 servers
Google’s Belgian data center spurns chillers in favor of free cooling
Amazon Web Services’ December outage
Facebook now has 30,000 servers
Google’s Belgian data center spurns chillers in favor of free cooling
Amazon Web Services’ December outage
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Finally, Some Optimism in the Tech Sphere
Some light breaking through the clouds of all the dire predictions for 2010. It is not unbridled, unrestrained optimism, but there is encouraging news for the future of IT. In an article by Marc Ferranti in CIO.com, the following news brings hope:
“Global IT spending will increase by 3.2 percent in 2010, attaining the 2008 spending level of about US$1.5 trillion, IDC said Thursday [December 3rd]. The research company said it based its prediction on a fairly conservative forecast -- an increase of 2.6 percent -- for global GDP growth... ‘High tech should lead us out of the Great Recession in 2010,’ said Frank Gens, chief analyst at IDC, on a conference call Thursday. The main themes for IT in 2010 will be recovery and transformation, he said. “
The article continues on a less upbeat note, with warnings not to get too comfortable, but the potential for good news is there.
eWeek’s article, Technology Hiring Expected to Increase in 2010, echoes this generally positive sentiment. In the words of Frank Scavo, president of Computer Economics:
"Based on our 20 years of tracking IT budgets, all signs point to a recovery year. IT executives are prepared to make midyear adjustments, up or down, based on the strength of the recovery, but right now it appears we see a year of stabilization in IT spending and staffing."
TechNewsWorld seconds that emotion in Pragmatism, Persistence Fuel 2010 IT Budget and Hiring Trends, which strikes the same note of cautious hope.
What is the feeling out in the field? More of the same, or light at the end of the tunnel?
“Global IT spending will increase by 3.2 percent in 2010, attaining the 2008 spending level of about US$1.5 trillion, IDC said Thursday [December 3rd]. The research company said it based its prediction on a fairly conservative forecast -- an increase of 2.6 percent -- for global GDP growth... ‘High tech should lead us out of the Great Recession in 2010,’ said Frank Gens, chief analyst at IDC, on a conference call Thursday. The main themes for IT in 2010 will be recovery and transformation, he said. “
The article continues on a less upbeat note, with warnings not to get too comfortable, but the potential for good news is there.
eWeek’s article, Technology Hiring Expected to Increase in 2010, echoes this generally positive sentiment. In the words of Frank Scavo, president of Computer Economics:
"Based on our 20 years of tracking IT budgets, all signs point to a recovery year. IT executives are prepared to make midyear adjustments, up or down, based on the strength of the recovery, but right now it appears we see a year of stabilization in IT spending and staffing."
TechNewsWorld seconds that emotion in Pragmatism, Persistence Fuel 2010 IT Budget and Hiring Trends, which strikes the same note of cautious hope.
What is the feeling out in the field? More of the same, or light at the end of the tunnel?
Monday, December 21, 2009
Dramatic Data Center Crashes - The Best of 2009
Everyone was a-twitter about these show-stopping outages, news of which circulated like wildfire on social media sites. Funny how the very proliferation of social media is both the cause and the instrument of publication for some crashes. A flurry of tweets about the fall of Gmail in February, for example, would not have been possible during the August 6th three hour downtime on Twitter.
Michael Jackson’s influence remained strong posthumous, as the Web strained under the weight of his June 25th death. Storm clouds made a brief appearance, as the loss of data for T-Mobile Sidekick cast a shadow on much hyped cloud computing.
Interesting information about different ways of handling the sheer volume of Twitter.
Will 2010 boast outages as colorful as this year’s? Watch this space…
Michael Jackson’s influence remained strong posthumous, as the Web strained under the weight of his June 25th death. Storm clouds made a brief appearance, as the loss of data for T-Mobile Sidekick cast a shadow on much hyped cloud computing.
Interesting information about different ways of handling the sheer volume of Twitter.
Will 2010 boast outages as colorful as this year’s? Watch this space…
Sunday, December 20, 2009
New Product: Smart 108 IP - For Small Scale IT Environments
The ability to access servers around the clock, from any location, is an essential element of IT infrastructure today. IT managers have to be able to troubleshoot and maintain their servers even if they are not physically in the server room. The Smart 108 IP is a high end remote access solution designed for small scale IT environments, with excellent price performance. Using the Smart 108 IP, one local user or one remote user can access up to 8 mixed platform (PS/2 & USB) servers at a time. The combination of convenient local access and secure remote access means that businesses can make sure their servers are available 24/7, and that downtime is kept to a minimum. Because the Smart 108 IP is operating system independent, allowing access to servers at the BIOS level, administrators can access, control and manage servers even in the event of system failure.“We keep seeing companies with branch offices, and companies that need to keep their options open in the event of growth. The Smart 108 IP fulfills the demands of businesses in disparate locations, and businesses that need a solution that can accommodate expansion. We are also happy to have an attractive package for Managed Service Providers who want to offer their customers the flexibility of small scale local and remote access without the price tag associated with unnecessary ports,” explains Benny Hayumi, KVM Product Manager.
The Smart 108/116 IP can be managed by Minicom’s remote management solutions, AccessIT and KVM.net II. The Smart 108 IP is the latest addition to Minicom’s highly successful Smart line of digital KVM switches: Smart 116 IP, SmartRack 116 IP, Smart 216 IP and Smart 232 IP.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
The Year That Was: Data Centers in 2009
Check out The top 10 data center stories of 2009.
Lots on environmental monitoring – ASHRAE’s raise of recommended inlet air temperature for servers made the list, as did the growing popularity of hot-aisle/cold aisle containment. Some business deals like Oracle’s acquisition of Sun, and some related economic news such as reduced budgets for data centers. Chock full of links so you can find out more about whatever catches your fancy.
Lots on environmental monitoring – ASHRAE’s raise of recommended inlet air temperature for servers made the list, as did the growing popularity of hot-aisle/cold aisle containment. Some business deals like Oracle’s acquisition of Sun, and some related economic news such as reduced budgets for data centers. Chock full of links so you can find out more about whatever catches your fancy.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Recipe For Data Center Success Over the Holidays
Brick and mortar storeowners may be hearing their voices echo, but online traffic remains steady as people shop and spend, with sales up 14% from last year’s Cyber Monday (full story from CIO.com here).
According to the article:
“The trend highlights the importance of keeping the data centers powering e-commerce sites and online traffic running smoothly, says Dan Blum, principal analyst for the Burton Group.
‘Availability is crucial,’ he says. ‘Without availability, you are going to lose traffic; you are going to lose business.’ "
Good point, as every crash translates directly into lost business opportunities. The article goes on to mention a number of ways businesses can prepare for the holiday onslaught. Surprisingly, remote access did not make an appearance – given that it is a fast way to access servers at the BIOS level from any place at any time, you would think it would be offered as one way of keeping data centers up and running 24/7.
According to the article:
“The trend highlights the importance of keeping the data centers powering e-commerce sites and online traffic running smoothly, says Dan Blum, principal analyst for the Burton Group.
‘Availability is crucial,’ he says. ‘Without availability, you are going to lose traffic; you are going to lose business.’ "
Good point, as every crash translates directly into lost business opportunities. The article goes on to mention a number of ways businesses can prepare for the holiday onslaught. Surprisingly, remote access did not make an appearance – given that it is a fast way to access servers at the BIOS level from any place at any time, you would think it would be offered as one way of keeping data centers up and running 24/7.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
More Gloom and Doom From Gartner on Upcoming Data Center Challenges
OK OK we get it – there are tough times ahead for IT leaders. Statistics like the projected 650 percent growth in enterprise data over the next five years do cause one to pause (full article here).
The ten key issues that David Cappuccio, Gartner analyst, identified as necessary for IT managers to examine are:
Virtualization
The data deluge
Energy and green IT
Complex resource tracking
Consumerization of IT and social software
Unified communications
Mobile and wireless
System density
Mashups and portals
Cloud computing
Why does social networking get such a bad rap? The article states:
“Social networks are coming into the enterprise whether CIOs want them to or not, Cappuccio said. Twitter use grew an amazing 1,382 percent in 2008 and the majority of new users were between the ages of 39 and 51, he said.
‘It is a growing phenomenon which we can't shut down,’ he said. Employees and customers are using wikis, blogs, Facebook and Twitter and ‘it's affecting you now whether you know it or not.’ Businesses need to examine Web-based social software platforms because they are transforming interactions with both customers and employees, he said.”
Seems more negative than the situation warrants – how can you explain the concern about social networking, a potentially positive development?
Monday, December 07, 2009
Minicom Celebrates the Opening of Shanghai Office
Minicom is proud to announce the opening of our Minicom China office in Shanghai. The Shanghai office joins Minicom’s global network of offices in North America, Europe and APAC. The office will be headed by Kingsun Kwok, based in Shanghai, with other representatives located in Beijing and in Guangzhou.
Minicom has had a lot of success in China to date, with projects in industries such as government, banks, telecomm, electrical, and finance. Established OEM customers are already using Minicom’s solutions. Looking forward, Minicom hopes to invest considerably in additional sales and marketing activities.
Read the rest of the Official Press Release>> "Minicom Celebrates the Opening of Shanghai Office"
Minicom has had a lot of success in China to date, with projects in industries such as government, banks, telecomm, electrical, and finance. Established OEM customers are already using Minicom’s solutions. Looking forward, Minicom hopes to invest considerably in additional sales and marketing activities.
Read the rest of the Official Press Release>> "Minicom Celebrates the Opening of Shanghai Office"
Green Energy = Big Business
Undiluted capitalism, without any environmental claims.
This post on Energy & Capital: Practical Investment Analysis in the New Energy Economy confirms conventional wisdom that energy use is on the rise, then proceeds to make a case for cutting data center costs.
The logic is as follows:
“Intel executives have said publicly that 2010 will be the year that lifetime electricity costs (about 4 years) for a single server outweigh the sticker price of the hardware. That'd be like buying a $25,000 car that used more than $6,000 per year in gas.
You'd be in the market for a more efficient car, right?
That's exactly what internet executives are thinking. At the recent Emerging Technologies conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one executive was quoted saying that ‘profits will deteriorate dramatically if data center costs don't get contained.’ "
The author, Nick Hodge, equates smart grid development with profits for investors, without any whiff of idealism.
Is his theory correct? Are energy efficient innovations going to line the pockets of those who get there first?
This post on Energy & Capital: Practical Investment Analysis in the New Energy Economy confirms conventional wisdom that energy use is on the rise, then proceeds to make a case for cutting data center costs.
The logic is as follows:
“Intel executives have said publicly that 2010 will be the year that lifetime electricity costs (about 4 years) for a single server outweigh the sticker price of the hardware. That'd be like buying a $25,000 car that used more than $6,000 per year in gas.
You'd be in the market for a more efficient car, right?
That's exactly what internet executives are thinking. At the recent Emerging Technologies conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one executive was quoted saying that ‘profits will deteriorate dramatically if data center costs don't get contained.’ "
The author, Nick Hodge, equates smart grid development with profits for investors, without any whiff of idealism.
Is his theory correct? Are energy efficient innovations going to line the pockets of those who get there first?
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