Outsourcers aim to aid new data center Hand Doing your due diligence Deciding to outsource Tooling up for the new data center The self-managing desktop Compelled to outsource

By now we're all well versed on the attributes of the "new data center," characterized by service-oriented applications running over a virtualized service-oriented infrastructure. This next-generation data center brings the benefits of agility, lower operational costs, better utilization and rapid application deployment.

Architecturally, a next-generation data center relies on commoditized pools of resources that can be combined to support a variety of applications. This architecture applies to the four critical pillars of data center infrastructure: management, storage, computing and networking. But how can organizations transform their data centers to the next-generation model? The trick lies in translating this vision into a series of discrete, incremental steps - a road map, in other words. The road map comprises four major steps: consolidation, standardization, virtualization and utility.

With consolidation, multiple devices are consolidated into a single location. While standardization ensures that devices have consistent interfaces and protocols. Virtualization abstracts the physical infrastructure creating one or more virtual (logical) instances running on a single physical resource. For example, one physical server might be virtualized to appear as eight virtual servers, perhaps running different operating systems. And utility describes an infrastructure that appears as a service for purchase on demand, similar to a utility such as water, electricity or phone service.

These four steps apply across each of the critical infrastructure pillars. An IT organization can start with whichever pillar makes the most sense for it - or even all at once. The best part is that even an incremental step in one area can deliver tangible benefits.

After extensive research on the new data center, Nemertes Research has identified some of the most interesting products that "move the needle" in innovation. For each category, we looked at approximately 30 products - 120 in all - and selected those that best demonstrate customer-driven design that responds to the needs of IT executives implementing the new data center. Each highlighted product adds a key innovation or implements a novel approach to data center design. (Product descriptions and features are derived from vendor documentation. Nemertes has not tested the products highlighted in this story.)