1. accelerate your ambition
Copyright © 2015 Dimension Data
Accelerate how you innovate
Data center evolution
in the era of the cloud
Produced by the BPI Network, sponsored by Dimension Data

2. Copyright © 2015 Dimension Data
The software-defined data centre: making the inevitable achievable
Transform to
better perform
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In today’s data-driven world, agile
organizations are embracing a new
model of business-responsive data
centers and networks to drive the
innovation, agility and speed needed
to stay ahead of global competitors.

3. Copyright © 2015 Dimension Data
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Data has changed the business world forever.
The global adoption of mobile technologies, faster
computing, social networks, the internet and the cloud
means the future of business is filled with opportunities
for business leaders who can leverage that technology
to their advantage and for consumers who will get better
service and value as a result of increased competition.
Executive
summary

4. Copyright © 2015 Dimension Data
The good news is that today’s
business managers have more
data than ever to help them make
the best possible decisions.
The bad news is the flow of data
is rising so quickly that it has
outpaced the ability of most
companies to turn most of it into
actionable intelligence. In the
worst cases, it results in unreliable
or even contradictory conclusions.
Getting from there to here :
bringing the data center
into the cloud era
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1

5. Copyright © 2015 Dimension Data
While plotting the way forward is
not a simple task, there are some
basic principles to be followed.
In the mid-90s the Mosaic browser opened
the Internet up to many millions of new
users. Many corporations dismissed the
early days of the Internet as a fad, but there
were also many early adopters that
launched corporate websites and
companies like eBay or Amazon that
pioneered the field of e-commerce that is
now a pillar of the global economy.
In the digital transformation now underway,
the need for better business and IT
processes is clear and present. As noted
earlier in this report, most companies have
established some presence in the cloud
over the past few years.
Who’s leading the charge?
A look at successful
transformations
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2

6. Copyright © 2015 Dimension Data
One needs only to scan the
headlines today to see the
growing challenges of keeping
data safe and protecting the
privacy of individuals. Spurred by
the concern of consumers around
the world, governments have
responded with regulations
designed to protect their personal
information. This is particularly
true in Europe, where personal
privacy has been a priority.
Security and compliance:
Keeping data safe
and private
Read more …
3

7. Copyright © 2015 Dimension Data
The transformation to better
performance isn’t just changing
business. It’s changing IT,
creating demand for technology
workers with skills sets that
are better-suited to a more
agile environment.
Who’ll run all this stuff?
Job requirements for
the new IT
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4

8. Copyright © 2015 Dimension Data
An old joke tells us the three most
important words in real estate are
location, location, location.
They also may be the most
important when considering where
and how to do business today.
Planning a global enterprise is much
easier on a blank white board than in
a world divided by borders, privacy
laws, energy shortages, temperature
ranges, workforce availability and
varying costs for reliable
telecommunication service.
A world apart:
Regional variations
inspire and challenge
Read more …
5

9. Copyright © 2015 Dimension Data
A key goal of the transformation of
business technology is to make
applications more useful to
employees and customers around
the world and around the clock.
Earlier, we discussed the security
and regional considerations of this
transformation, but what about the
applications themselves – the
software that employees routinely
use internally now?
Modernizing your legacy:
ERP’s evolving role
in the hybrid cloud
Read more …
6

10. Copyright © 2015 Dimension Data
Automation is a word with many
meanings, in part because the
evolution of technology gradually
allows for automation of more
things. The data center and
software defined networks will
be the next significant step
for automation.
Putting it on auto pilot:
Automation’s
emerging role
Read more …
7

11. Copyright © 2015 Dimension Data
Until recently, the best way to make
sure your business wouldn’t stop
when the data center went down
was to build a second center that
could take over if the first one
failed. Earlier in this report, we
discussed the extraordinary
expense of building an on-premises
data center; the cost of building a
second isn’t any cheaper. If your
first facility cost millions of dollars,
your backup facility would probably
cost about the same. Worse, it
won’t necessarily prevent a service
outage if the problem is elsewhere
in a company’s network.
Always on:
Assuring high availability
and disaster recovery
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8

12. Copyright © 2015 Dimension Data
John Gage may be most famous
for coming up with Sun
Microsystem’s tagline:
“The network is the computer.” But
his greatest insight might be
“Technology is easy. People are
hard.” One topic that surfaced
repeatedly in our research with
executives in this field was the
importance of change management
when attempting to carry out a
transformation that will make
businesses perform better.
Change management:
Transformation starts
at the top
Read more …
9

13. Copyright © 2015 Dimension Data
The software-defined data centre: making the inevitable achievable
Conclusions
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If we summed up this report in three words, they
would be “things must change.” The powerful
explosion of data we’ve witnesses in just a few short
years has already permanently changed the way
organizations do business around the globe. And this
is just the start. The generation, collection, storage
and analysis of data are all clearly accelerating, with
no end in sight.

14. Copyright © 2015 Dimension Data
Read more …
Data centers must change
The role of IT has changed
Business agility is mandatory
Security and compliance
Data drives costs
Downtime will decline
Six key
findings
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2
3
4
5
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15. accelerate your ambition
Copyright © 2015 Dimension Data
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