Real-world training on SharePoint is one of ASPE’s primary specialties, and this week we’re providing some professional white papers that provide great general info as well as step-by-step SharePoint 2010 tips and checklists. We’re focusing on SharePoint 2010 this week, the main version currently used by the majority of our customer base. Even though a forthcoming release of Microsoft’s new version is starting to be a pretty hot topic, we’re leaving that alone for the moment, and focusing on practical, immediately useful white papers that will help you get the most from SharePoint 2010’s powerful collaboration resources (if you can’t help wondering about the next release, check out this blog post from ASPE-IT SharePoint expert Joe Shepley).

Download all four white papers now!

Although it’s been a couple years now since SharePoint 2010 was released, we’re presenting this white paper for anyone who may be thinking about a SharePoint rollout or who may just now be getting started. In particular, this white paper will be helpful to professionals who may have used SharePoint in the past, but are just now beginning to interact with the 2010 version. This white paper covers:

• The six functional areas of SharePoint 2010: sites, communities, search, content, composites, and insights
• How the areas come together to reduce operating cost and empower teams
• Enhancements for Administrators
• Enhancements for Developers
• Enhancements for End Users

Download this white paper now.

SharePoint affects many areas of an organization. In this brief but informative white paper, we provide an overview of ten of the most important aspects of SharePoint 2010, as well as a bit of guidance on getting the most out of them. Our discussion is divided into two parts: We will look at five important features and options that affect end-users in the company, then look at five important features that will help administrators and developers do their jobs. After reviewing this white paper, you will have a good idea of how your organization can benefit from the current version of SharePoint. The features we cover are:

For End Users:

• User Interface
• Enterprise Search
• Excel Integration
• Collaboration Features
• Browser Support

For Administrators and Developers:

• Central Administration Website
• Powershell Administration
• Themes
• Managing Large Lists
• Silverlight Support

Download this white paper now.

SharePoint 2010 is the most versatile, powerful collaboration platform currently available for business and provides a diverse range of enterprise deployments. It simplifies the process of tagging and aggregating data, and easy-to-use community features enable users to share data, similar to Twitter and Facebook. It allows integration both with the company’s FAST search engine as well as with PerformancePoint, Microsoft’s business intelligence software.

SharePoint has consistently increased in complexity over time and now includes new capabilities over previous versions, such as cloud service and Silverlight development, among a host of other additions. In order to achieve a smooth transition to using SharePoint 2010, there are a number of areas to keep in mind. This white paper offers a selection of tips that suggest ways to bring together multiple data flows, improve information sharing, and create an effective collaborative framework for your company.

Download this white paper now.

Content management (CM) is the process of managing information from a technology perspective. It encompasses all facets of data management to include the process of collecting and distributing information, regardless of the medium used. Digital information comes in many formats to include standard documents, audio, and video data. In the digital era, companies often struggle to organize the vast quantity of information at their disposal. The advent of digital content has raised several new challenges. The idea of multiple editors of any given document creates version control problems over time. Which iteration of the document is the correct or current version?

A well-designed enterprise content management system (ECMS) implements automated processes that allow for documents to be either created or imported directly, institutes a versioning system, supports checking documents in and out for editing, and employs a robust workflow process to route the approval of new or revised content. SharePoint 2010 is the ideal business tool to achieve these goals. Step by step, this white paper covers how to set up and manage document sets in SharePoint, drastically increasing the efficiency of your content management while decreasing the potential for errors and frustrating confusion when working with substantial amounts of content.

Download this white paper now.

Those of you who have SharePoint 2010 in place (particularly if your footprint is large or usage is mature) are wondering whether you should continue full-steam ahead or wait for some indication of where Microsoft is taking the product with the next release. Those of you who have older versions in place (MOSS, WSS, etc.), and are feeling the increasing pain of being a version (or more) behind, are wondering whether you should bite the bullet and upgrade to SharePoint 2010 or continue limping along to wait for the next release. And those of you who have no SharePoint in place are wondering whether you should finally dive in now (and begin reaping the benefits of using SharePoint rather than shared drives) or stick it out a little longer until the next version.

On Thursday, May 3rd Joe Shepley presented the free web seminar “SharePoint at the Crossroads.” In this web seminar, he discussed the best way to minimize the risk associated with the next release of SharePoint to an organization, the factors that make staying put with an existing version of SharePoint a good idea versus a bad one, and how an organization balances the need for document management capabilities now with the benefits of waiting for new capabilities of the next release. Listen to a recording of this web seminar in its entirety by clicking View Event Recordings (at the top right).

Do you have a question for Joe? Leave your comments or tweet us! Follow @ASPE_Inc and use hashtag #ASPEEvents.

As today’s hardware, systems, and business needs advance at a pace that leaves many networks practically obsolete, IT leaders need to understand how to keep up. Constraints of traditional network architecture, new virtualization capabilities, and increasing reliance on rich media and outsourced services mean that demand is high for solutions which tie it all together. Today’s White Paper Wednesday focuses on networks and IT infrastructure, and how to leverage them in a way that taps the enormous business potential offered by modernization and optimization. We have four white papers for you today, brought to you in conjunction with Global Knowledge and HP.

Download all four white papers now!

Server virtualization initiatives are reshaping data center traffic flows, increasing bandwidth densities at the server edge and pushing conventional data center networks to the brink. Hierarchical data center networks designed to support traditional client-server software deployment models can’t meet the performance and scalability requirements of the new virtualized data center. Enterprises must implement flatter, simpler networks to support high-volume server-to-server traffic flows, and they must adopt new management systems and security practices to administer virtual resources and enable on-demand services. HP networking solutions let enterprises build flatter and more efficient data center networks with fewer layers, less equipment and cabling, and greater port densities to address the escalating performance and scalability demands of the virtualized data center, along with advanced security and management capabilities to unify security and administration across virtualized and physical resources. This white paper reviews:

• The impact of server virtualization on the data center
• Contemporary Data Center Network Architecture
• Next Generation Data Center Network Drivers
• Virtualization-Optimized Data Center Network Requirements
• Examples of HP approaches to optimizing the data center network for virtualization

Download this white paper now.

The role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) is changing dramatically. In today’s dynamic business environment, CIOs are expected to handle not only the traditional job of keeping the business up and running, but to also focus on delivering services and solutions that support improved bottom-line business outcomes. While still responsible for resolving vital IT challenges, today’s CIO is also addressing higher-level strategic issues, tackling enterprise-class problems, and driving innovation, flexibility, and profitability throughout the entire organization. One of the most obvious sources of leverage for achieving these goals is the network infrastructure.  Optimized networks and 21^st century SLAs are tools that enterprise technical leaders can use as they work not just to “keep the lights on” but also to carry their entire organization forward. We cover:

• Elevating the role of the CIO
• Creating real business impact
• Rethinking your SLAs and SLOs
• How HP and Riverbed technologies deliver next-generation approaches
• How HP helped Alleghany Energy achieve huge efficiency gains
• Growth in business applications vs. investment in IT management

Download this white paper now.

Video is an essential communications medium for enterprises. It is here to stay, and video will only become a larger and more important element of communication for all organizations. Consider its impact on business: video conferencing reduces costs and increases the pace of business as remote workers and teams collaborate easily. It enables on-demand product information, training, and support with rich and contextual information available 24×7 to employees, partners, and customers. Processes and timed workflows to optimize supply and production performance are increasingly being monitored by video so that issues can be quickly and efficiently escalated to supplier, customer, or distribution channels. Is your business ready for the change in communications paradigm that video is driving? What about your IT operation? Can your network cope with real-time communications, increased traffic, and the security challenges? The network is the key to ubiquitous and effective use of video. IP networks are the standard for delivering converged application like video collaboration, voice over IP, video surveillance, and on-demand video. Real-time applications like video and voice can become useless due to network delays and congestion, placing unique demands on the IP networks. This paper discusses designing a video-ready network and recommends steps to deploying video for positive business outcomes. This white paper discusses:

• Video Usages
• Live Streaming
• On-Demand Video
• Barriers to Adoption
• Video-ready networks
• Examples of network architecture optimized for rich media and video as engineered by HP

Download this white paper now.

It’s no surprise that enterprises are aggressively moving to the cloud. The promises of agility and cost savings are accelerating adoption to the point that IDC estimates that by the end of this year, 85 percent of net-new enterprise applications will be designed to be accessed in the cloud.  The impact of cloud adoption on the network promises to be great. According to the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, “Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal Management effort or service provider interaction. So what does this mean to network bandwidth and management? And how can you be more proactive rather than reactive as cloud applications and business services depend increasingly on the network?

There are answers to these questions, and the IT leaders who can implement them will be the ones who can really guide their organization toward realizing the promises that cloud computing have to offer. In this white paper, we identify and address the following “hot spots” that network managers need to stay on top of in order to get there:

• Hot Spot #1: Measurement
• Hot Spot #2: Relationships
• Hot Spot #3: Multiple Vendors
• Hot Spot #4: Availability
• Hot Spot #5: Compliance
• Hot Spot #6: Manual Processes

Download this white paper now.

It takes a lot of IT infrastructure to power the web, and that equipment generates a LOT of heat. This week we look at the difference between data centers and computer rooms, then we give you a great white paper on best practices for cooling.

When you surf the web, ask Siri a question on your iPhone, or get a Facebook update, somewhere your electrons are generating heat in a computer. Now multiply that activity by the billions of people, all the websites, all the cloud services, and all the apps of today’s world. That’s a lot of electrons, and that’s a lot of computing.

Do you know the difference between a computer room and a data center? Have you ever wanted to learn how the big players design cooling solutions for their data centers? Today’s white papers shed light on these topics.

Download both white papers now!

The differences between a data center and a computer room are often misunderstood. Furthermore, the terms used to describe the location where companies provide a secure, power protected, and environmentally controlled space are often used inappropriately. This paper provides a basis for understanding the differences between these locations and how they relate to each other. Our first white paper discusses the following:

• The function and philosophy of a data center
• The vocabulary you should be using
• The parts of a data center
• Where does the building stop and the data center begin?
• Typical topology
• What’s a computer room…really?
• Design criteria
• Systems and sub-systems of the data center
• Proper nomenclature and correct philosophy: one small step

Download this white paper now.

Maintaining a suitable environment for information technologies is arguably the number one problem facing data center and computer room managers today. Dramatic and unpredictable critical load growth has levied a heavy burden on the cooling infrastructure of these facilities making intelligent, efficient design crucial to maintaining an always available data center. The purpose of this white paper is to establish a best practices guideline for cooling systems design for data centers, computer rooms, and other mission critical technical spaces. The white paper covers:

• How cooling works
• The differences between cooling equipment and cooling for comfort
• Cooling Systems Design Goals
• Critical Load and Heat Load
• Power Requirements on a per RLU Basis
• CFM Requirements for each RLU
• Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) Modeling
• Room Power Distribution Strategy
• Room & Cabinet Data Cabling Distribution Impact
• Cooling Zone Strategy
• Cooling Delivery Methodology
• Determining the Floor Plan
• Establish Cooling Performance Monitoring
• What NOT to do

Download this white paper now.

The Microsoft community has been abuzz in the last few weeks as we seem to be nearing some tangible news about what the next version of SharePoint will look like—needless to say, speculation about what the folks in Redmond might be planning (or not planning) for SharePoint 2013 is running rampant.

With the next release, there are some opportunity areas for SharePoint—and where Microsoft decides to go will have critical implications for current and future SharePoint customers:

1. Will SharePoint’s records management capabilities finally be ready for prime time?
2. Will SharePoint offer fully-functioning integration with capture technology?
3. Will SharePoint provide more robust workflow capabilities to go beyond basic document-centric processes?
4. Will SharePoint evolve into a true social business tool?
5. Will SharePoint 365 overcome the limitations of BPOS?

In this last post, I’ll be stepping through Microsoft’s existing cloud SharePoint offering and lay out not only how Microsoft might address it in SharePoint 2013, but also raise some key implications for current (and expectant) SharePoint customers.

#5. Will SharePoint 365 overcome the limitations of BPOS?

The problem: to say that Microsoft’s hosted offering for SharePoint to date has been problematic is an understatement. BPOS (Business Productivity Online Services), at least among the clients I serve (Fortune 1000 organizations, mostly in financial services, insurance, banking, and pharma, as well as heavy industries such as oil and gas, mining, and manufacturing), has been a non-starter for a number of reasons:

• No customization
• No support for records management
• No e-discovery capabilities
• Weaker security than on premise offering

An organization that used BPOS for its SharePoint, given this list of limitations, would be managing their non-records that were low risk for litigation and required low security—and what documents are these, exactly?

Every company I’ve ever worked with had business records and all sorts of other high risk content all over their shard drives, SharePoint, email, Lotus Notes databases, line of business applications, you name it. So why in the world would they sign up for BPOS when they would be storing all this valuable and risky content in a less manageable repository than on premises SharePoint?

The answer is that they wouldn’t, which is why, at least among these firms, BPOS was a real flop.

My two cents: given how hugely cloud services are poised to transform corporate IT and how successful cloud content management services like Box.net have become, it would be crazy for Microsoft to ignore it’s hosted SharePoint product. If it does, it risks getting disrupted in core areas like shared drive replacement and basic document sharing by folks like Box.net…something I would think Microsoft would want to avoid at all costs.

Furthermore, given how much pressure IT departments at all organizations are being pressured to do more with less, in the next 18 – 24 months, I think we’re going to see lots of IT folks who previously would have never considered the cloud thinking seriously about it…if for no other reason than cost.

The final word

Well, that brings us to the end of my adventures in SharePoint prognostication. In a month or two, this will all be moot when the public beta starts and we all start getting actual glimpses of what Microsoft has cooked up for us in SharePoint 2013. But until then, let’s hear your prognostications—jump in, and let’s get the conversation started.

Joe Shepley, PMP is the Vice President and Practice Leader at Doculabs in the Greater Chicago Area. He specializes in several areas including SDLC (software development life cycle) methodolorgies, ITIL (V3 Foundation), Project Management, and most importantly Microsoft SharePoint. You can connect with Joe via Twitter by following @joeshepley or on LinkedIn.

More from this author:

• What’s Next for SharePoint Social?
• What’s Next for SharePoint Workflow?
• What’s Next for SharePoint Capture?
• What’s Next for SharePoint?
• SharePoint Needs Information Architecture
• What the Heck is Information Architecture and Why Should I Care?
• Building a Successful Information Architecture
• You Already Have a SharePoint Information Architecture
• Using Information Architecture Elements to Improve Your SharePoint Environment: Part 1 – Site Structure
• Using Information Architecture Elements to Improve Your SharePoint Environment: Part 2 – Folder Structure
• Using Information Architecture Elements to Improve Your SharePoint Environment Part 3 – Metadata
• Using Information Architecture Elements to Improve Your SharePoint Environment Part 4 - File Naming
• Using Information Architecture Elements to Improve Your SharePoint Environment: Part 5 – Document Types
• Using Information Architecture Elements to Improve Your SharePoint Environtment: Part 6- Resource Requirements
• Using Information Architecture Elements to Improve Your SharePoint Environment: Part 7 – Process Requirements

The Microsoft community has been abuzz in the last few weeks as we seem to be nearing some tangible news about what the next version of SharePoint will look like—needless to say, speculation about what the folks in Redmond might be planning (or not planning) for SharePoint 2013 is running rampant.

With the next release, there are some opportunity areas for SharePoint—and where Microsoft decides to go will have critical implications for current and future SharePoint customers:

1. Will SharePoint’s records management capabilities finally be ready for prime time?
2. Will SharePoint offer fully-functioning integration with capture technology?
3. Will SharePoint provide more robust workflow capabilities to go beyond basic document-centric processes?
4. Will SharePoint evolve into a true social business tool?
5. Will SharePoint 365 overcome the limitations of BPOS?

In the first three posts I addressed core ECM functionality (records management, capture, and workflow), but today I’ll be stepping outside of traditional ECM and into social business functionality, an area that SharePoint is the industry leader or laggard in, depending on who you ask!

#4. Will SharePoint evolve into a true social business tool?

The problem: SharePoint’s social business capabilities, a category that’s relatively new compared to capture, workflow, and records management. Despite that, it’s one of the main things folks will tell you they’re interested in using SharePoint for, so where Microsoft goes with 2013 will have a big impact on many of the organizations currently using (or considering) SharePoint.

But before we dive in, let’s start with a bit of background on social business software, because it’s a relatively new product category that’s rapidly evolving.

As Figure 1 shows, social business software is part of the larger context of collaboration technology.

Figure 1 – Collaboration Technology Quadrants

Without going too deeply into this figure, which could be a whole blog post in and of itself, suffice it to say that SharePoint made its name by bridging two quadrants that had been distinct up to the release of MOSS: document-centric collaboration and conversation-centric collaboration for internal audiences (i.e., employees behind the firewall). And so from very early on in the development of SharePoint, collaboration has been at the heart of its value proposition, although this collaboration was initially focused on document-centric and team-based collaboration

Shortly after MOSS, however, other vendors were considering how they could bridge the gap between conversation-centric collaboration for internal and external audiences, and by the time 2010 was released, a number of them had released built for purpose, enterprise ready true social business tools, all of which provided far better social functionality than SharePoint 2010 could (e.g., Jive, Social Text, and Liferay).

And so even though social business capabilities had evolved in 2010 to include rudimentary conversation-centric, more social collaboration through Facebook-like My Sites and on the fly content tagging, SharePoint on its own really can’t touch these built for purpose social business tools…although when combined with a tool like News Gator, it gets pretty close.

My two cents: Given the drive across all industries to “go social”, and given how much they’ve hyped 2010’s social capabilities, it would be hard to imagine that Microsoft wouldn’t amp up SharePoint’s social business capabilities. The only real question is whether Microsoft will do so through better native social business functionality or through improved integration with tools like News Gator.

But here’s the rub: lots of folks who have SharePoint (many of them with significant footprints) also have one or more social business tools to provide the social business functionality MOSS and 2010 lack. So when 2013 comes out, these organizations will have a bit of a mess on their hands to sort out, depending on how much Microsoft has upped SharePoint’s social business capabilities. And given how entrenched SharePoint is at most organizations (how many sites, how many users, how many terabytes of documents), I think most will opt for whatever 2013 has in it rather than sustain both SharePoint and one or more built for purpose social business tools—but only time will tell.

The final word

Okay, with one buzzword out of the way, let’s move to the next, the cloud, and see what Microsoft might have in store for hosted SharePoint. But while you all wait with baited breath for the final post in the series, feel free to dive in and let us all know your thoughts on the future of SharePoint—let’s get the conversation started.

Joe Shepley, PMP is the Vice President and Practice Leader at Doculabs in the Greater Chicago Area. He specializes in several areas including SDLC (software development life cycle) methodolorgies, ITIL (V3 Foundation), Project Management, and most importantly Microsoft SharePoint. You can connect with Joe via Twitter by following @joeshepley or on LinkedIn.

More from this author:

• What’s Next for SharePoint Workflow?
• What’s Next for SharePoint Capture?
• What’s Next for SharePoint?
• SharePoint Needs Information Architecture
• What the Heck is Information Architecture and Why Should I Care?
• Building a Successful Information Architecture
• You Already Have a SharePoint Information Architecture
• Using Information Architecture Elements to Improve Your SharePoint Environment: Part 1 – Site Structure
• Using Information Architecture Elements to Improve Your SharePoint Environment: Part 2 – Folder Structure
• Using Information Architecture Elements to Improve Your SharePoint Environment Part 3 – Metadata
• Using Information Architecture Elements to Improve Your SharePoint Environment Part 4 - File Naming
• Using Information Architecture Elements to Improve Your SharePoint Environment: Part 5 – Document Types
• Using Information Architecture Elements to Improve Your SharePoint Environtment: Part 6- Resource Requirements
• Using Information Architecture Elements to Improve Your SharePoint Environment: Part 7 – Process Requirements

Listen to a recording of this web seminar in its entirety by clicking View Event Recordings (at the top right). Learn about the changes in ITIL V3 (2011) from the perspective of a person who has already received ITIL V3 (2007) Foundaiton training.

Do you have a question for Alan? Leave your comments or tweet us! Follow @ASPE_Inc and use hashtag #ASPEEvents.

ASPE’s Golden Ticket promotion started its run in the newest edition of our Course Catalog.  The code GOLDENTICKET allowed any customer to book onsite training before March 31, 2012 for 20% off. The second part of this promotion gave ONE lucky customer the chance to win a FREE 2-day onsite training session for up to 10 people.  Who is this ONE lucky customer you may ask?

Congratulations to Mike MacMillan from American Airlines for winning our FREE 2-day onsite training session! Mike and his team have not selected their free training course yet, but they do have a couple in mind. They are currently considering courses in our ITIL curriculum, such asITIL V3 Foundation Exam Preparation Boot Camp or ITIL Service Operation.  They are also considering courses in our Agile curriculum, such as Agile Boot Camp or Agile Project Management.

Even though our Golden Ticket promotion is over, you can still register for a chance to win one of two iPads! Visit http://www.aspeinc.com/ipad/ to register! Please stay tuned for our drawings on May 15th and June 19th. You could be one of our two iPad winners!

Register to win an iPad!

Congratulations to Tom McQuade from Concord, North Carolina for being our first iPad winner! There are still two chances left to win! Please stay tuned, our next two winners will be chosen on May 15th and June 19th.

Sign up at www.aspeinc.com/ipad for your chance to win one of two remaining iPads, an exciting way to experience the web, email, photos, video, & more.

Despite skyrocketing use of cloud-based services and systems, a lot of people in the business world still don’t quite understand what the “cloud” is. But there’s no excuse to go another day without educating yourself! Let us help with these three brief but informative (and free) white papers.

Cloud computing is a term that has become almost universally used over the past few years. But is there an “emperor’s new clothes” element at play here, in which nobody wants to admit that they just don’t quite know what cloud computing really is, exactly?

Now, I know that plenty of people in the tech space (especially IT pros and tech-savvy management) are perfectly familiar with the state of the cloud. But you don’t have to have many conversations among the larger business world to understand that in fact there’s a lot of ambiguity and misunderstanding among the general public about cloud computing. Is the so-called “cloud” really something big and new – a total paradigm shift – as all the hype would seem to indicate? Or is it really just hype; a new way to describe traditional IT services that are being packaged and marketed in a new way?

The reality is that there’s a lot of truth to both angles. So today’s white papers are about cloud education at its basic level…call it cloud computing for the rest of us. Those of you who have been working in IT for decades and pay attention to technology religiously can probably tune out now. But for everyone else: the cloud is a concept that’s much too important to be unsure any longer about what it means. So let us help with the following three brief but informative white papers which will de-mystify cloud computing for regular folks.

Download all three white papers now!

The “cloud” is a great marketing term, derived from many years of network design diagrams that used a picture of a cloud to represent what was generally understood to be the public internet, or at least some portion of the network that was beyond the reach and control of the network designers. An image of a “cloud” made sense because it was part of the network equation that was – like the weather – a nebulous outside ingredient, unable to be directly managed, but often still providing critical functions to the overall system design.

But beyond that origin of the term, definitions rapidly begin to diverge and get fuzzy. There are different meanings for different people. This disparity, combined with fast and loose language by marketers and companies with something to sell, has led to the current state of confusion when discussing the cloud. Our first white paper discusses the following:

• The origin of what we call “cloud computing”
• Different meanings for different people: simple vs. complex definitions
• The two types of “clouds”–public (external) cloud and private (internal) cloud
• The beauty of the cloud: “pay-as-you-go” services, quick scalability, and reduced system risk
• The evolution of the cloud: where we are and where we’re going
• Using cloud computing in your own organization

Download this white paper now.

While it’s true that cloud computing offers new levels of capability across the business spectrum, the ideal characteristics that users hope the cloud will deliver are a constant work-in-progress. Current economic circumstances continue to drive the demand for a more effective model of delivering applications and computing services. Yet while the technology evolves, users are encountering a range of cloud experiences, both positive and negative. As a result, a number of users and organizations still question the reality of what the cloud can deliver.

This white paper explores some of the early drivers of cloud services and how they have influenced current expectations. We’ll look at how different technologies have helped create those promises—some that have been realized, and others that haven’t. Finally, we’ll learn about the current realities of cloud computing as they relate to data control, performance, security, and ROI. We cover:

• What is the cloud: a review
• The big questions facing cloud computing. How will it evolve? What does full-scale adoption mean? Can it meet the increasing complexity of the business-service model? How will it transform markets and industries as it develops?
• The promises of the cloud: Cost savings, software development, computing power, automation, infrastructure simplification, and multi-tenancy
• The realities of the cloud: Security, fail-safe reliability, integration factors, and first adopter costs
• Further reading

Download this white paper now.

Competitive business environments are putting pressure on IT managers to accomplish more each year with reduced budgets. With the need for flexibility, competitive edge, and faster time to market, IT organizations must find new solutions that are more efficient and more cost-effective than their past or current solutions.

The original data center started as a private server room hosted within the organization’s facility containing many individual servers running single applications. In the early days of data centers, most organizations were responsible for maintaining the servers and software, and required a number of personnel resources to manage the servers as well as the facility. While some larger organizations continue to manage internal data center, many business managers are able to increase service levels, cover more users, and lower response times by outsourcing their out-dated server farms to third-party data centers and cloud computing providers. These third-party data center providers are better equipped to maintain and update server equipment.

• This white paper will define data centers and explore cloud networking, as well as providing links to additional sources for more in-depth further reading.

Download this white paper now.