An expert guide

August 30, 2011, 5:03 PM — Cloud computing and virtualization are forcing dramatic changes in the way data centers must be designed and run, from the servers to the storage to the network infrastructure.

The surface of this transformation

Most companies have just scratched the surface of this transformation. To help IT managers get a handle on the key aspects to consider, Network World and its sister publications CIO and Computerworld present the latest thinking and explore the latest trends in how data centers are evolving toward the cloud ideal.

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The Kelley School of Business at Indiana University deployed VMware Infrastructure which decreases costs, streamlines server deployment, and reduces energy consumption.

Cloud computing strategies help IT organizations reduce costs, improve service levels, and increase business agility by dynamically sharing IT resources across multiple applications and workloads. Though many organizations have started their cloud journey by using software-as-a-service offerings or implementing self-serve approaches to virtual server provisioning, a small nevertheless rapidly growing group of IT organizations are focused on using cloud to optimize more broadly across application development, infrastructure operations, and day-to-day management processes. A recent global IDC survey, sponsored by HP, examined the experience of this proactive group of integrated cloud managers.