NEW YORK, June 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A fully functional
converged infrastructure that integrates servers, storage, networks
and management into a single, flexible and adaptable IT environment
is the gateway to all the advantages cloud computing has to
offer. So why are IT pros meeting with internal resistance
when it comes to implementing a converged strategy? According
to Logicalis US, an international IT solutions and managed services
provider (www.us.logicalis.com), a big barrier to realizing the
benefits of a converged infrastructure may be political, not
technical. Before effectively changing the company's
technology, CIOs must change the culture of the typical IT
department.
"Traditionally, IT departments are divided into different groups
or silos depending on the specific technology they are responsible
for. There's a server group, a storage group, a network group, an
applications group, an operations group," says Kevin Gruneisen, Senior Director, Cloud and Data
Center Solutions, Logicalis US. "Separated from each other by
specialty, there is often very little interaction between members
of the different silos. Each group makes decisions independently
and often competes with each other for budget. It's important
for each team member to understand that a converged infrastructure
doesn't make their knowledge irrelevant, or diminish their value to
the organization in any way. Fear of change may well explain
some of the resistance to converged infrastructure and cloud
computing within IT departments, even though these advances in
technology hold the promise of making their jobs easier…and more
interesting."
Overcoming Barriers to a Converged Infrastructure
- Collaborate on a New Culture: A converged infrastructure
reflects a shared-use model where resources are available on
demand; intelligence built into the IT fabric can provision and
deploy the right resources based on rules and best practices
established by the IT department, allowing technologists to focus
on what the business user wants to accomplish in more creative and
productive ways – a very different strategy from the previous
silo-culture in which every application required its own dedicated
environment. The solution: Get server and storage staff
collaborating with networking staff. Virtualization abstracts
the physical hardware and software in separate layers, but the
people who know how each layer interacts with the one above it are
still an integral part of the equation. Therefore, all
stakeholders should be working together to create the culture that
will reflect the horizontal orientation of a converged
infrastructure IT environment.
- Get IT's Buy-In: Typically, the decision to implement a
converged infrastructure and advance toward cloud computing comes
from the top down. The CEO wants the increased performance,
flexibility and resilience. The CFO wants the pay-for-what-you-need
efficiencies of the shared-resource model. And the CIO wants the
kind of intelligent, dynamic, self-regulating IT environment that
will be required in the future. While the decision to commit
to a converged infrastructure may come from the top, it needs the
buy-in of the people who are going to implement and support it to
succeed. This is the next step after outlining a new
converged-ready culture. In this step, CIOs need to include
technologists in strategy meetings and really engage them in
discussions about how to re-organize in a way that reflects the
convergence of the underlying technologies. Most will appreciate
being given the opportunity to drive change as opposed to being run
over by it.
- Build Relationships: As advanced as technology has
become today, designing solutions, implementing them, managing and
supporting them is still essentially a task for people. Despite the
availability of ITIL best practices strategies, the intelligence to
empower the IT environment to live up to its full potential still
has to come from the IT team itself. Fortunately, the
activity of developing and carrying out a converged infrastructure
strategy as a precursor to cloud computing can be an ideal exercise
in building collaborative relationships among previously siloed
teams. And it can create a new way for these talented IT
professionals to work together to use technology to give the
company a competitive edge.
Want to Learn More?
- Find out how servers, storage, networking, virtualization, and
other technologies form an integrated solution with converged
infrastructure here: http://www.ict-log.us/t35Ib.
- Watch a Smart Pros interview with Logicalis' Samad Ali, "Converged Infrastructure: Benefits
& Challenges," then read "Six Tips for Creating a Converged
Infrastructure": http://www.ict-log.us/xQDtW.
- Watch a short video about the IT Transformation Journey here:
http://www.ict-log.us/wNDd7 and take a quiz to see where your
company stands.
- Download a free Ponemon report, "The Impact of IT
Transformation on Enterprise Computing," here:
http://www.ict-log.us/sonCx.
About Logicalis
Logicalis is an international IT
solutions and managed services provider with a breadth of knowledge
and expertise in communications and collaboration; data center and
cloud services; and managed services.
Logicalis employs nearly 3,500 people worldwide, including
highly trained service specialists who design, specify, deploy and
manage complex ICT infrastructures to meet the needs of almost
6,000 corporate and public sector customers. To achieve this,
Logicalis maintains strong partnerships with technology leaders
such as Cisco, HP, IBM, CA Technologies, EMC, NetApp, Microsoft,
VMware and ServiceNow.
The Logicalis Group has annualized revenues of approximately
$1.5 billion from operations in
Europe, North America, South
America and Asia Pacific
and is fast establishing itself as one of the leading IT and
Communications solution integrators specializing in the areas of
advanced technologies and services.
The Logicalis Group is a division of Datatec Limited, listed on
the Johannesburg and London AIM
Stock Exchanges, with revenues of over $5
billion.
For more information, visit www.us.logicalis.com.
Business and technology working as one
To learn more about Logicalis activities through a variety of
social media outlets, click here.
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SOURCE Logicalis US