Technology trends
In the area of computing infrastructure in 2007 our "technology du jour" seems to be based on reinvention's of business processes and technology platforms being repackaged from yesteryear, two examples are multi-core processing and virtualization.

Dual Core and Quad Core processing

• These recent advancements are following the same trend of their mainframe predecessors from decades ago, circa early 1980’s, first faster processors that pushed the limits of the processor chips architectures, power and heat capabilities, then spreading the width of the processing into multiprocessor capable paths that allow for broader width of concurrent processing (not necessarily faster individual instructions but more of them  completed simultaneously in the same period of time) followed by OS and application utilization of the concurrent processing capability. There were flavors of this architecture from all of the leading manufactures including IBM, Honeywell, Univac and DEC (the cast from the past).
• In comparison to the current dual and quad offering in today’s microprocessors, I would suggest that we are in the middle ground of this similar cycle in that OS and applications capable of pushing dual and quad core capabilities are still not prevalent yet but are sure to increase over the next 18 months.
• From the commercial data center perspective the major advantage in power and heat management is undeniable and once again set’s the path of advantage for replacing our hardware asset base for the incremental environmental advantage these technologies offer.  The benefits in this area have a tremendous effect on the larger data center when the heat and power consumption's are amplified by size (especially in large sever farms with thousands of servers).

 Indeed, this is pattern of increased computing capability and miniaturization continues as a living testimony to Moore’s law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law which continues to astound in accuracy as depicted over 40 years ago.

Virtualization is another much talked about trend in many large IT shops throughout the last couple of years. I was at a social event last week and was speaking with a recently graduated software engineer on the topic of VMware and what it means to IT strategy to be able to deploy images quickly with best value cost containment. In the discussion I mentioned that I first ran VM in 1983 on an IBM mainframe and as we compared the functionality between the original and reinvented versions of today, it was astounding to note the similarities of the offerings, again same basic concept in approach but with the industry advances in hardware and software the new offerings are far more economical then the cost paradigms of their predecessors.

Outsourcing - If you work in an IT services organization in 2008, then I submit to you that your company has a goal for this year to move closer towards or farther away from IT services outsourcing. Throughout 2007 I continued to run across many IT groups that have become increasingly disillusioned by the allure and false promises of outsourcing marketing and are now retreating from the bait and switch service philosophies’ to an area of more control of their own IT service offerings. Some strategies do this with the intent of competing multiple outsourcing against each other for better competition and cost advantage (such as the industry famous GM model – that provide incentives for suppliers to play well with each other for potential of a greater piece of the cash cow) to reducing suppliers to only commodity services roles while attempting to in-sourcing the specialization services. While there may be some merit in these approaches as well as the broader spectrum in between, there is shared between them a common theme. Finding the correct balance and strategic approach to the outsourcing engagement that brings optimum return on the investment continues to be one of the major IT outsourcing management issues for this decade that fortune 500 IT organizations will grapple with!

Customer Service - As the technology continues to mature and with each passing year and as the technology becomes more dependable with higher levels of data processing and data refinement, greater infrastructure availability, and continued exploitation of functionality, there appears to remain one constant differentiate between companies IT organizations that allows them to stand out from the their peers in very visible ways (both good or bad) and that X factor is good ole Customer Service! In sifting through the significant technology advancement in recent decades, although many modern technological advances have become prevalent in many facets our day-to-day lives,  the ones that stick around the longest or provide the greatest fundamental change, center around the availability of deploying information infrastructure and systems rapidly, correctly with repeatable results and with contained cost structures.

However, even if the infrastructure exists, it only provides benefit to the company when the support organizations have coordinated their delivery cycles to converge for the end product of information delivery to the business. This is where proper IT leadership and management is imperative for the successful and sustained results. We often find that after the technology is sifted out from the hype, there is rarely anything new under the sun. The basics in IT management present themselves over and over again in every company that deploys an IT organization and customer service will always be king in delivering the business value from your company's IT investment. If you would like to learn more about these insights and how they may benefit your companies IT deployment strategies, please do not hesitate to contact me.

To all of my customers, employers, peers and friends in the IT services industry, 2008 will offer an exciting field to continue the challenges of cost effective and performance balanced IT solutions. I wish you all continued success in your endeavors and a healthy and prosperous 2008.

Dean Trasente

blueprint for a data center service model "Data Center of the Future" was created by myself and my colleagues at JDR & Associates. This addressed the continually increasing complexity faced by large scale data centers who were grappling with how to standardize service processes within Network, Mid Range and Mainframe computing spaces.

The technologies had come of age in their own unique spaces and increased business demands were challenging us to blend the operational characteristics of these disciplines in order to maximize efficiency and introduce common best practices for customer service delivery excellence.

It is amazing to me to look back almost a decade later, the concepts were "spot on" and still the foundation for quality service in may of the premier data centers today.

Be sure to call me today and we can schedule an appointment for me to present the materials in detail and to discuss how my experience in this area can benefit your data center operation.

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