What do these three things have in common? For Lone Star College System (LSCS), the fastest growing community college in the U.S., these items helped build a whole new technology foundation.
While at a higher-education conference, CIO of LSCS, Link Alander, and former VP of data center virtualization at Presidio, Steve Kaplan, began hashing out what it would take to deliver the best computing experience—on a napkin. They jotted down all the ways technology could deliver a customizable, optimal, and educational platform to students and faculty.
The vision was a toolbox, not just any one tool: an entire resource pool for professors to contribute to -- and students to pull from -- anytime, on any device, from anywhere.
Just keeping the lights on is no longer good enough
We know how important it is that your data center is performing at its best. So outdated platforms have no place there -- consuming more energy than necessary, taking more space than needed, and not keeping up with the pace of business.
With the never-ceasing progression of technology, cloud, desktop virtualization and big data have become hot topics among IT and business professionals. And benefits such as improved manageability, efficient and flexible IT service, and lower maintenance costs give good reason for this. So just keeping the lights of IT on is not good enough.
Whatever IT strategies you are considering, consider that Unleashing IT brings you the latest in IT, so you can make informed decisions. Thought provoking content is available in both print and online. It includes company profiles as well as an abundance of resources that can be viewed and downloaded.
Return on investment has been around for ages, but the meaning of ROI is taking a spin in today’s business world. Companies are no longer purchasing solutions for technology improvement; they are investing in better industry processes as a whole. In return, they can achieve positive cash flows.
Concentra, a national healthcare company, provides a perfect example. With an outdated data center, the company had exhausted their power and cooling resources and was in need of reconstruction.
Concentra did some research and discovered that, by significantly investing in revamping their IT infrastructure, not only could they dramatically improve efficiencies and performance, but they could also create a positive cash flow for the company.
Furthermore, implementation doesn’t have to be risky. Concentra’s Senior Vice President and CIO, Suzanne Kosub, says, “With the right planning and financial analysis, we were able to show exactly how much the project would cost, how long it would take to pay for itself, and what the company would gain moving forward.”
Migrating mission-critical applications have known benefits, which are often accorded significant attention -- and for good reason. But what’s left unsaid is how the process is successfully carried out.
Application migration can be fearful – poor execution could result in unexpected and detrimental IT issues, which may negatively impact service levels for the entire company. But simply avoiding a migration is not solving the problem, either. More than likely, you will have to face an application migration at some point, due to poor application performance, outdated technology, or compromised architecture. This is when it becomes crucial to consult the right technology, and the right people.
Cisco provides a framework to help you understand the process of undergoing a data center transformation. In the Cisco® Domain Ten Framework, Cisco Services outlines information such as network standards, management procedures, security, and outsourcing options -- just to name a few.
The Cisco Domain Ten Framework will guide you through the most important aspects of the migration process, and what you should expect. You will gain insight into your environment that will enable you to predict whether your migration will be successful, and how to best execute the transformation – whether you are working with a virtualized, automated, or full cloud environment.
