Tom Heiser has been named as President of RSA, the security division of EMC. [ + ]

New Zealand’s largest privately owned call centre Telnet is the first call centre in New Zealand to achieve accreditation by the Australian Teleservices Association (ATA). [ + ]

Since 2000, the number of internet users has grown fivefold from 361 million to 2 billion in 2011. We’ve also seen explosive growth in services and products available online. Today, almost any activity - from personal banking to shopping and social networking - can be carried out over the internet. As such, it has become a treasure trove of money and information that cybercriminals can exploit for their personal gain.

After the global final crisis, 2011 is looking brighter on the economic front and companies are still looking for smarter ways to streamline their internal IT structure - unified communications is one of those areas.

Virtualisation technology is a growing trend that is supporting a shift in business priorities which requires data centres to deploy new applications quickly and efficiently, provide fast and reliable ‘round-the-clock’ access to information, meet or exceed stringent service levels with zero downtime, and all be done while driving down costs by maximising investments. Graham Schultz builds the business case for virtualisation of the data centre and the importance of the data centre network.

As the debate about the NBN rages, there is growing public awareness that the future of voice communication is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and not traditional lines. As a result, the VoIP for business market will hot up substantially in 2011. And, due to persisting global economic uncertainty, companies will look for quick return on investment in case the economy was to rapidly shift back into a downturn, predicts Marc Englaro, Fonality Australia’s Managing Director.

Overseeing the green data centre program in Digital Realty Trust facilities around the world has given Jim Smith the opportunity to speak at numerous data centre conferences, share case studies about energy-efficiency initiatives in facilities, and offer advice about best practices for making data centres greener and more sustainable. Smith has gained valuable insights from attendees in the best practices for greener data centres, which he shares with Voice&Data.

With a long career in IT spanning years at vendors such as Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and Tandem as well as working at the helm of IT operations for large corporations such as Corning, Ziad Sukkar*, CIO of SIRVA in Asia-Pacific, is most excited about virtualisation technology.

NetApp's John Martin points out the best practice for storage utilisation. With continued pressure on IT departments to prove their worth to the business, a key area to examine is storage utilisation. Implementing storage best practices will allow IT professionals to drive value back into the business and demonstrate return on investment. With this in mind, here are 10 best practice areas to consider when reviewing data storage.

Storage. For those organisations struggling to manage and protect the explosive growth in data, it is a huge issue. Indeed, many companies require 40% more storage each year. However, it is possible to reduce your storage footprint. Reducing your storage impact is a smart step forward in 2011 for any business, regardless of size.

In business, as in life, we regularly learn that the unexpected is a reality. For IT leaders, the cyclone season serves as a reminder to review disaster recovery processes, policies and procedures to prepare their critical technology infrastructure in the face of a natural or human-induced disaster.

Collaborative technologies are changing the way we work and meet, in many cases due to the time and cost benefits. Premiere Global’s (PGi) Paul Crighton* outlines the evolution of these technologies and how the road warrior is an endangered species.

Cloud, mobile and convergence are three security trends for 2011.

The Experts Conference survey predicts cloud computing, virtualisation and identity federation will be key issues for 2011.

The ease of use and accessibility have made cloud computing a popular concept. Now, with the onset of the cloud computing era, it will be up to law enforcement officials, particularly in computer crime forensics, to keep cloud safe for all users.