architecture

February 3, 2016

DATA CENTER

The Most Boring Service We offer … And how to bring down a data center in one easy snip!

2 min read

I do enjoy the (sometimes irreverent!) perspectives of some articles on data center in the UK publication “The Register“, and the story of how a data center change went wrong made me laugh, cringe and cry at the same time – the change being when an electrician cut the wrong wire and brought down a […]

January 12, 2016

DATA CENTER

Your New Year’s Resolution for 2016: Start with a Cisco Domain Ten Workshop

2 min read

A few years ago, I wrote a series of blogs on Cisco’s Domain Ten(SM)  framework.  Since then, we’ve used this simple yet powerful analysis tool to help guide many customers on data center and IT transformation projects.  I personally found it quite notable that leading market analyst firm IDC, recognizing Cisco as the worldwide leader […]

December 8, 2015

DATA CENTER

Part 2: Ten Learnings and Observations from the 2015 London Gartner Data Center Conference

2 min read

Last week I attended the 2015 London Gartner Data Center conference. In my first blog (part 1) on this event,  I covered some of my main learnings and...

September 23, 2015

DATA CENTER

Part 2: Why not Initiate a “Save to Invest” Program for your Data Center?

3 min read

Two weeks ago, in my previous blog, I invited you to consider ways in which you could initiate a “Save to Invest” program for your data center. That is, how can you save money from your current data center spend, in order to re-invest it into currently un- or -under-funded areas of your data center. Thanks to […]

September 9, 2015

DATA CENTER

Why not Initiate a “Save to Invest” Program for your Data Center? (Part 1)

3 min read

 As a Scot, I have a natural predisposition – almost a gene – for money saving initiatives!  As I’ve been researching new initiatives in my work for Cisco Services over the past few months, I’ve become aware of – for the first time I am ashamed to say in some cases – some huge sinks […]

August 25, 2015

DATA CENTER

5 Top Challenges of SAN Design: View from our SAN Design Experts – Part 2

3 min read

Last week, here, I started my 2 part blog on some of the top SAN design and deployment challenges we see.  As I mentioned, I put this together...

August 18, 2015

DATA CENTER

5 Top Challenges of SAN Design: View from our SAN Design Experts – Part 1

3 min read

One of the aspects I really enjoy about my job is that I get to learn from some of the world’s top network and data center design engineers, and...

July 15, 2015

DATA CENTER

How Many Servers Do You Have …. Comatose and Sitting Idle?! (Part 1)

3 min read

In my role in Cisco Services, I’m more interested in the challenges of technology adoption and deployment than I am in speeds and feeds, statistics and technology fads. ...