FEATURE : CIO STRATEGIES
FOR THE FORWARD- LOOKING CIO , IT MAY BE TIME TO EVALUATE YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE PORTFOLIO TO ENSURE YOU HAVE THE CAPACITY AND AVAILABILITY TO SUPPORT THESE NEW REQUIREMENTS .
Question 2 : Who last accessed your IT rack and is the physical environment appropriate for equipment that is now considered mission-critical ?
The large number of server room and wiring closet locations represents a potential attack surface for physical intrusion – perhaps not as significant as a full-blown cyberattack but a vulnerability nonetheless and one that must be taken into consideration .
In many distributed IT locations , it is unlikely there is local , knowledgeable staff . For the CIO , the challenge is to implement systems that enable the same best practices in data centers as in these remote locations .
Question 3 : How much energy is your IT consuming ?
Sustainability of IT has begun to come to the forefront in recent years . Harvard Business Review reports that 99 % of large company CEOs agree that sustainability issues are important to the success of their businesses and these concerns will extend , at some point , to the IT infrastructure .
Most CIOs in the future will be asked a simple question : what is the carbon footprint of your IT and what are you doing to reduce it ? Having visibility into the energy consumption of your entire IT infrastructure is rising in importance .
Software is key to drive reliability , security and sustainability
These three questions are directed at CIOs but that doesn ’ t mean CIOs have to answer them alone , nor should they be expected to do so . Resources and experts are available .
Developments in Data Center Infrastructure Management software ( DCIM ) have made it easier to manage remote IT sites and derive granular information into not only how they are performing , but the status of maintenance schedules and software and firmware updates , or early warning of possible malfunctions .
One more question
I want to add one final question that might not be so obvious : Are you prepared for the looming energy consumption dilemma at the Edge of your network ?
It ’ s easy to overlook the impending energy consumption dilemma if Edge / distributed computing is
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