Many forces are pushing IT to explore the new data center model. Among them:
The need to support the extended enterprise. As companies link their systems and applications with those of customers and suppliers, the applications, and the underlying infrastructure, must evolve.
The need to cut costs and maximize use of existing resources (boosting that old ROI).
Improving application performance and scalability.
The need to support greater mobility and ubiquitous access to information and applications.
The move from monolithic applications to Web-enabled applications and services-oriented software, where applications are, in essence, a collection of services pulled together to support business functions.
The need to improve manageability and reliability, as well as to ensure business continuity in the face of disasters or threats to IT assets.
Adoption of a more comprehensive approach to securing information and resources.
The ability to upgrade intelligently. During the past lean years, IT shops have pushed resources to their limits. As they weigh new investments, they want to ensure that new technologies mesh intelligently with a new architecture.
