Data Center Transformations:

Gaining agility and reining in escalating IT

costs in education and government agencies
IT Solutions
1
As organizations grow and evolve, their data centers can quickly multiply
to serve a myriad of needs. With computer rooms being established and
managed by diverse groups across the organization, it can be difficult
to manage costs and quickly respond to individual user needs. This
segmented approach to IT management leads to server sprawland
inordinate costs for floor space, cooling, system management, and more.
Moreover, this means exciting new initiatives can go unfulfilled. Theres no
easy way to bring applications online quickly to support these endeavors.
To solve these challenges, organizations need a more strategic approach to
data center management. After all, a data center is not mere space. It is the
heart of the organization. Its the people, processes, and technology that
keep operations pumping.
In this paper well discuss key techniques for achieving productivity gains
across the data center. This paper will explore the numerous steps Verizon
Business can take to help make the most of the resources that drive
each business. These steps can transform data centers into finely tuned
operations, poised to support strategic goals and objectives.
TODAYS DATA CENTER CHALLENGES
Unquantifable costs
We all know data centers are expensive to build and maintain. Whats
often unknown is what are the full costs involved, where can those costs
be reduced, and how can the organization gain a strong return on its
investment in the data center. With new servers cropping up in far flung
data closets across the enterprise, its difficult to know what resources
exist, let alone optimize them. But doing so is crucial to the success of the
business. The ever-changing IT environment requires active management
and review to align with evolving business goals.
Poor server utilization
Often new servers are established and dedicated to a particular function
or application, and are sized to fulfill that need during peak periods. Yet
this means much of the time, a portion of the machines processing
capacity may sit idle. This can result in unnecessary server capacity and
related expenses. Poor server utilization can also waste money on excess
computing power and associated management and electric/cooling costs.
Unforeseen and uncontrolled power and cooling costs
As servers have sprung up across the enterprise, HVAC needs have grown
exponentially. In fact, power and cooling expenses are growing four times
as fast as new server spend. Whats more, energy usage at data centers has
doubled between 2000 and 2006, and is expected to double again by 2011.
Organizations are looking to reduce power and cooling needs, both in
an effort to reduce their carbon footprint and to drive down escalating
costs. Some energy efficiency gains can be made through means such
as improved transformers, direct liquid cooling systems, and power
management. However, the most significant energy savings will result from
aggressive server consolidation. To that end, in its Report to Congress on
Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency, the EPA advises that the greatest
efficiency improvements will likely result from a comprehensive approach.
Space constraints
Its quite easy to bring new servers online but theres usually no process
in place for retiring these servers when an initiative ends or the persons
using that machine leave the company. This leads to server sprawl. By 2011,
more than 70 percent of company-run U.S. enterprise data centers will face
tangible disruptions related to energy consumption, floor space, and/or
costs, according to Gartner, Inc.
But its not just space that organizations need. They require high-density
data centers with room to support their growing needs, built to meet
stringent security requirements. This space comes at no small price. Industry
experts estimate that converting office space to data center space triples the
cost of construction.
Business continuity planning
Organizations must find ways to maintain the availability of key systems
and business processes during an outage or disaster. In addition, many
Many public agencies and educational institutions are seeking to answer the Presidents
call for greater efficiency, yet this is no easy feat. Theyre often mired down by rigid
technologies and old processes that make change painful.
WHITE PAPER
Data Center Transformations: Gaining agility and reining in escalating IT costs in education and government agencies
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government entities and other industries such as healthcare and financial
services must also create business continuity plans that meet privacy
and security standards. However, its often difficult for organizations to
determine if their existing plans are sufficient to meet any unanticipated
disruption. Frequently they dont realize the shortcomings of plans until an
unexpected incident occurs.
Physical and logical security
Countless organizations today are grappling with a host of security threats.
In 2008 alone, Verizon Business conducted forensic investigations involving
more than 285 million compromised business records. Nearly all these
records were compromised from online assets. To safeguard their prized
information, companies need strong physical and logical security in place.
However, they often find methods such as biometrics or dedicated 24x7x365
security guards cost-prohibitive. This is especially true when an organizations
servers are spread among multiple data centers, or even when multiple
business groups with differing security requirements share data center space.
TACKLING TOUGH DATA CENTER CHALLENGES
Verizon Business understands that data centers arent mere rooms with
servers and rack space. They represent the epicenter of the organization.
Keeping them running at peak efficiency requires a keen understanding of
more than just technology. Thats why Verizon takes a holistic approach to
improving both the systems and processes that support the organization.
This distinctive model of data center management and rationalization
helps organizations to:
Control data center costs
Improve efficiency and agility
Strengthen security
Become better environmental stewards.
Verizon Business has a comprehensive yet modular portfolio, built over
15 years of experience and validated with numerous vendor certifications
as well as process and security reviews.
Objective assessment
It all starts with a comprehensive assessment of the multiple facets of
an organizations IT infrastructure and associated processes. To help
organizations improve server utilization, for example, Verizon Business
provides a complete inventory and objective assessment of the entire IT
infrastructure, identifying where clients can benefit from consolidation. But
we look beyond the technology to help organizations:
Enact efficient processes for deploying new applications
Identify old or underutilized equipment
Retire or reallocate resources to prevent future sprawl
Secure confidential information
Develop and test disaster recovery plans
For an even more tailored approach, Verizons professional services team
can be utilized onsite on a contract or retainer basis for an in-depth,
on-the-ground assessment. By immersing themselves in the clients
organization, our Verizon consultants can make the best recommendations
based on the real dynamics and needs of the organization.
Consolidation capabilities
Verizon analyzes current CPU, disk, network, and I/O utilization to locate
excess capacity that could be applied elsewhere in the organization. Verizon
Businesss in-house experts examine not just available resources but usage
patterns and other pertinent data before making any recommendations.
Based on these insights, the company helps clients to harness the computing
power of every data center square foot. Clients can usually gain compression
ratios between 6:1 and 10:1 from the consolidation effort alone. This approach
helps organizations to keep servers from languishing once they are no
longer needed, and conversely, prevent servers that users rely on from being
inadvertently retired.
This consolidation initiative can help clients use available hardware much
more efficiently, and control associated power, storage, real estate, and
management costs. For example, a major metropolitan transportation
agency found it was able to improve productivity by consolidating down
from four data centers to one. The consolidation process also reduced the
need for physical rack space, cable plant, switch port capacity, and more.
Server virtualization
Many government and educational organizations can realize cost
control from virtualizing servers. The impressive financial advantages of
virtualization have made it a key initiative for organizations looking to
identify cost saving opportunities.
However, virtualization needs to be approached prudently to achieve
cost efficiencies, without disrupting operations or hampering security.
Organizations need sound guidance to determine the appropriate
server and applications best suited for virtualizationand a roadmap for
continuous improvements. As a Gold Partner in the VMware Authorized
Consultant (VAC) Program, Verizon Business provides a complete suite of
virtualization services, including cost/benefit analysis, design, configuration/
installation, migration, and monitoring of the virtual infrastructure. This top
tier of the VAC Program provides Verizon Business with immediate access to
VMware tools, methodologies, and its newest offerings.
Verizon Business brings a wealth of experience managing complex
applications and virtualized environments. The company also recently
undertook its own virtualization efforts, decommissioning 1,700 of its own
servers and converting 2,100 to virtualized machines. These servers are now
running at 60-80 percent capacity. Learning from its own experience and
those of its many customers, Verizon Business brings valuable insights to
help organizations gain maximum efficiency from their existing IT resources.
Risk assessment
Verizon Business performs a wide range of vulnerability assessments on
applications, wired and wireless networks, and associated infrastructure
to identify and resolve any security gaps. The company provides design,
implementation, and management services for multi-layered security
solutions, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and network
access controls (NAC). Perhaps more importantly, Verizon Business advises
clients on managing risk and responding to security attacks such as denial
of service, malware propagation, and other critical security events.
Data Center Transformations: Gaining agility and reining in escalating IT costs in education and government agencies
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Verizon Business has considerable expertise in this area. This wealth of
knowledge enhances the teams ability to pinpoint likely areas of risk within
customer environments and foresee vulnerabilities in emerging technologies.
Partial or full data center outsourcing
Data center outsourcing is another very effective approach many agencies
take to enhance productivity and manage real estate, IT, and power/
cooling costs. With Verizon Business, operations needing to augment or
replace their existing data centers can choose to locate their IT operations
at one of our world-class data centers around the globe; or have Verizon
build and manage a fully customized data center. The company designs,
builds, and tests data centers in a timely manner. Once the data centers
are up and running, our strategic services team helps to fine-tune system
availability, performance, and security.
Co-location services
With co-location, organizations can house their IT equipment at Verizons
secure data centers. Clients taking advantage of co-location opportunities
can leverage Verizons capital investment in the necessary infrastructure,
expert staff, and proven processes to help protect their critical business
applications and data. They also gain direct access to one of the worlds
fastest, most expansive IP networks. They can choose from standard data
center support to premium support, which includes 24x7 on-site security
and remote hands and eyes support.
Data center outsourcing
Verizon can also manage an organizations entire data center offsite at any
number of secure data center locations around the globe. The company offers
a complete suite of data center outsourcing services for all major platforms.
Data center build-out and customization
Agencies can also choose to have Verizon Business build out and
operate a customized data center residing in one of Verizons secure
switching facilities, also known as a central office. As Verizon has replaced
older telephone switching systems with newer, much more compact
technology, this has freed up central office space within Verizon facilities
for clients to house their computing equipment.
Each of these facilities possesses the infrastructure elements to immediately
begin data center construction efforts. This reduces the time and effort
spent searching for just the right building and constructing a center from
the ground up. By leveraging Verizons cost-effective data center design and
construction expertise, agencies benefit from a single point of contact for
vetting the system design, managing the design-build process, and advising
the organization on ways to make the most efficient use of data center
resources. In addition, these facilities sit on top of the Verizon network.
Many organizations have realized improved performance from outsourcing
data center functionality to Verizon Business. For example, a major
metropolitan airport had considered a data center build-out to consolidate
nearly 200 communication rooms. Instead, they decided to move to one
dedicated, secure Verizon central office location, cutting construction time
while gaining access to Verizons private fiber network as well as full-time
data center support. Similarly, Verizon Business also built out a data center
for a large prison healthcare system, supporting applications that help
improve patient care.
Application hosting
Application hosting is another alternative for organizations looking to free
themselves of the burden of software management, and avoid getting
stuck with outmoded applications. However, any hosting environment
should bring simplicity, not more complication, to the organization. Most
data centers today encompass a wide array of hardware, operating systems,
and applications. Thats why Verizon Business is committed to a vendor
neutral approach. Its multi-platform operations host more than 50 different
applications, giving clients considerable breadth and depth of expertise.
Verizons IP Application Hosting solution is SysTrust certified, confirming
effective controls in production environments around the globe. By
providing SLA-backed services for a broad set of applications, Verizon
Business frees companies from the worry of data center management so
they can focus on their core competencies.
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is a cost-effective option for agencies dealing with
unpredictable fluctuations in system utilization. With cloud computing,
organizations gain exactly the system resources they need, on demand.
They can also benefit from high levels of performance, availability, and
security. Verizons cloud computing platform, Computing as a Service
(CaaS), delivers a highly resilient computing infrastructure that enables
customers to employ computing resources in the quantities and duration
dictated by their business.
At the heart of the CaaS platform is the Advanced Workflow and
Automated Resource Engine system, a custom designed management
application that speeds implementation, and gives organizations control
over their architecture so they can deploy resources quickly to be more
responsive to customers needs.
A large school district that outsourced its mainframe functions to a
Verizon IT data center has experienced improved network reliability
while avoiding unexpected staffing and support costs.
Data Center Transformations: Gaining agility and reining in escalating IT costs in education and government agencies
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CONCLUSION
Ironically, amidst all the belt tightening occurring in the wake of this challenging economic period, data
center management is a relatively untapped opportunity for cost control. This is an opportune time
to gain control of IT resources. As schools and government agencies face this tough financial climate,
it is impractical to allow their data centers to remain the great unknown business expense. Every IT
investment dollar must be accounted for and used to the advantage of constituents, students, and
educators.
But the ultimate goal of data center management goes beyond that. Data centers are the heart of any
organization. Keeping them running smoothly is important to the health of the organization. With the
right people, processes, and technologies in place, the data center serves as an enabling forceready
to tackle the next big challenge.
NEXT STEPS
Most data center managers are too busy keeping the operation humming to have the time to plan
the in-depth strategic activities necessary to continually enhance system performance. Verizon
Business has the professional expertise and data center acumen to provide objective insights to help
organizations resolve performance bottlenecks, mitigate security vulnerabilities, and control IT costs.
A good place to start is by having a consultative session to identify opportunities for improving data
center performance.
For more information about data center solutions, please contact your local Verizon Business account
manager or visit www.verizonbusiness.com.
Worldwide Software 2008-2012 Forecast Summary, IDC, July 2008
Report to Congress on Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency, Environmental Protection Agency, August 2, 2007
Data Breach Investigations Report, Verizon Business RISK Team, April 2009
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