Within many organisations the Data Centre and its supporting infrastructure is the responsibility of a facilities team. Typically they do not understand IT and likewise the IT team does not understand the mechanical or electrical systems that make up the Data Centre infrastructure.
This has resulted in arms length discussions in trying to align the two technologies.
There is a growing need to have the two technologies under one authority to ensure they are closely aligned, with IT taking the overall authority for the development and support of the entire Data Centre including its mechanical and electrical infrastructure.
In many organisations, the Data Centre responsibilities are broken out piecemeal, but those embracing new technologies, such as blade servers, grid computing and virtualisation, will succeed by consolidating the management of all critical functions into a single role. Using these advanced technologies requires someone capable of bringing an integrated, holistic approach to Data Centre architecture and design.
There is so much complex equipment with specific security, space, power and cooling requirements that you need someone who can manage not only the equipment but the whole Data Centre environment.
Increasingly, organisations are appointing a Data Centre Architect to take on this challenge.
A Data Centre is not just about its infrastructure but its about treating the facility and the IT equipment as a single entity. You cannot have one without the other and both impact the performance of each. For a Data Centre to be secure, its architect must factor in facilities design and architecture. Likewise, to create a sturdy server and storage architecture, the architect must plan for manageability and operations.
By placing all such responsibilities under the remit of a single person, the organisation gains strength in long-range planning and short-range execution.
This has resulted in arms length discussions in trying to align the two technologies.
There is a growing need to have the two technologies under one authority to ensure they are closely aligned, with IT taking the overall authority for the development and support of the entire Data Centre including its mechanical and electrical infrastructure.
In many organisations, the Data Centre responsibilities are broken out piecemeal, but those embracing new technologies, such as blade servers, grid computing and virtualisation, will succeed by consolidating the management of all critical functions into a single role. Using these advanced technologies requires someone capable of bringing an integrated, holistic approach to Data Centre architecture and design.
There is so much complex equipment with specific security, space, power and cooling requirements that you need someone who can manage not only the equipment but the whole Data Centre environment.
Increasingly, organisations are appointing a Data Centre Architect to take on this challenge.
A Data Centre is not just about its infrastructure but its about treating the facility and the IT equipment as a single entity. You cannot have one without the other and both impact the performance of each. For a Data Centre to be secure, its architect must factor in facilities design and architecture. Likewise, to create a sturdy server and storage architecture, the architect must plan for manageability and operations.
By placing all such responsibilities under the remit of a single person, the organisation gains strength in long-range planning and short-range execution.