The emergence of converged infrastructure and the "software-defined data center" presents many ways to make IT operations more agile and powerful. But data center managers must first sort out the many options for taking advantage of these technologies, implementing them in their facilities, and aligning data center operations with business goals.
AFCOM, the association for data center managers, is here to help with a full plate of education and information programs at Data Center World Fall 2013, scheduled for Sept.29 to Oct. 1. in Orlando. This year's conference theme is "Aligning the Data Center With Business Strategy," which includes a new track on data center business trends.
The keynote address will be presented by Shannon Poulin, vice president of Intel’s Datacenter and Connected Systems Group, who will provide insight into Intel's initiatives to re-architect data center infrastructure and enable IT managers to become more service-driven than ever before.
“Data Centers are increasingly faced with supporting and delivering rapid service,” said Tom Roberts, president of AFCOM association and chairperson for Data Center World. “Intel is leading the industry in its efforts to deliver the scale and efficiency required across network, storage and servers to meet the demands of a services –oriented mobile world. We are excited that our attendees will gain insight on new approaches to delivering that service from an industry leader like Intel.”
“We have a vision for a software defined infrastructure that will help IT accelerate the delivery of new services, make it easier for business’s to enter new markets, and enable IT to get closer to their customers” said Poulin. “Our goal is to enable IT managers to orchestrate data center infrastructure so they can provision server, network and storage resources on demand. This is no easy task, but I look forward to sharing more information about how this can be achieved and the products Intel offers that will help data center managers successfully make this transition into a new era of rapid service delivery.”
Poulin is a vice president in the Datacenter and Connected Systems Group and General Manager of the Datacenter Marketing Group for Intel. In this capacity he is responsible for all marketing activities including the design win process, product positioning, pricing and outbound messaging across all datacenter segments.
The education program will target data center executives and decision makers with new sessions on topics covering data center business models, staffing and development plans, risk assessment, finance for the DC Manager, Energy Productivity, Thermal management, and IT and Facilities Organizational Convergence. The new Data Center Trends track will cover the latest developments in colocation, data center automation, Big Data, real estate, the lease vs. own decision, Software-Defined Data Centers and cloud computing.
For the full agenda and to register, visit the Data Center World website. You can learn about upcoming sessions on Facebook and follow AFCOM and Data Center World on Twitter.
