Press Release
STORAGE CONSOLIDATION Q&A WITH ERIC LINXWEILER, LOGICALIS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENTQUESTION: A lot of people consider storage consolidation to be an afterthought to server consolidation. Is this the right way to approach it? Are there benefits to consolidating system resources as a whole?
LINXWEILER: From Logicalis' perspective providing technology solutions, we've seen that the goal for most organizations is strategic IT consolidation -- taking more powerful, yet compact, resources and providing for more service. Removing data and processing silos simplifies management as well as future service and application deployment. Think about it as an overall pool of resources. When your business requirements dictate the need for system and storage resources for a new application, you simply allocate it from the pool. It's simple and provides for better overall availability and lower total ownership costs.
QUESTION: Consolidation and virtualization seem to go hand-in-hand these days. How are these two trends affecting the overall enterprise? What sort of environment will we find ourselves in?
LINXWEILER: Server consolidation is essentially possible due to the benefits afforded by virtualization. Granted, there are benefits available from virtualization that don't require consolidation, and an organization can consolidate without heavy reliance on virtualization. However, those are the extremes. Most organizations don't tackle one, without realizing the benefits of the other. At Logicalis, we've seen an ever increasing adoption of both consolidation and virtualization -- and our customers are continually exploring new ways to leverage this strategy. Most consolidation efforts start with a particular and specific domain. As an organization becomes comfortable with the concept, it feels at ease looking at the overall IT environment in the same way. Simply put - overall IT consolidation, realized through the power of virtualization.
QUESTION: The big question for most of us is how to begin. With most storage systems a mish-mash of vendors, platforms and silos, what are the first things managers should do to get a handle on things?
LINXWEILER: Logicalis sees this often with our clients. It really comes down to understanding the answers to a few key questions: What do you have? Where do you go to get your biggest benefit? What is the scope of benefits possible? And what items do you not want to consider? IT organizations should beware of simple assessments that say, "You will solve your problems just by buying bigger and faster storage systems." It's not often the case. Just as you won't cure a junk collecting habit by building a bigger attic, you won't solve a runaway storage problem by adding drives. It's critical to assess the data you've got to determine what's important, how long it will remain important and when it's time to remove it.
About Logicalis
Logicalis is a global provider of high-performance technology solutions. With over 1,200 people worldwide, Logicalis delivers smart solutions based on specific needs, not the latest IT trend. Logicalis provides options, direction and support to more than 5,000 corporate and public sector customers. The company attributes its success to the everyday positive experiences with its customers and strategic partners such as IBM, HP, Cisco and EMC.
Logicalis is a division of Datatec Limited (LSE/JSE:DTC), a $3.2 billion multi-national organization listed on the AIM market of the LSE and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. With its international headquarters in the UK, Logicalis has annualized global revenues of over $900 million from operations in the U.S., UK, Germany and South America. For more information about the Logicalis experience, visit www.us.logicalis.com.
