Chapter 18. Planning the Evolution of the Data Center

In This Chapter

  • Checking out Google's approach

  • Planning corporate and data center strategy

  • Creating a road map for the data center

The data center is at the heart of the computing environment. Anyone working there knows that a data center is dynamic, changing and maturing as business requirements evolve and as technology emerges. This chapter helps you plan for changes in the data center.

Data center management has two aspects, both of which are critical for service management success:

  • Day-to-day management includes operational and support issues such as configuration, release, and provisioning. (See Chapter 9 for more details.)

  • Long-term evolution incorporates all the changes that companies need to support long-term strategic plans.

At the heart of these components is the requirement that project portfolio management (PPM) play a pivotal role in managing the evolution of the data center. PPM is a process intended to help your organization acquire and view information about its projects according to their importance. PPM focuses on important aspects of projects, including issues such as cost, value to company goals, and impact on resources. Management must understand the value of the collection of assets.

In the case of the data center, management must understand

  • How the combined assets are managed

  • How they benefit the business today

  • How they must change to meet future requirements

In this chapter, we discuss the primary areas of data center ...

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