How to modernise your legacy applications through rapid service enablement.

Server virtualisation and blade servers may be driving data centre consolidation and changing the way networks are built; they tend to result in more complex network designs. While these technologies are delivering impressive efficiencies on the server side, their impact on rising numbers of network tiers in the data centre is significant.

In the last few years, the data centre industry has been under increasing financial pressure driven by new IT technologies and rising energy costs. Christian Bertolini, APC by Schneider Electric, Chief Technology Officer, Pacific, sets out ways to alleviate these pressures and costs.

The challenge for Steve Maddocks, AARNet’s Director of Operations, is to keep AARNet’s vital network in an optimal state, which means high performance and high availability that meet the service level agreement of 99.999%. Achieving this gives him an immense sense of satisfaction. Maddocks explains to Voice&Data’s Merri Mack that the key to success is a strong emphasis on measurement.

A metamorphosis underway with government data centres is set to accelerate later this year especially in the federal government sphere. This has been set in train by the Gershon review, an independent review of the Australian government’s use and management of information and communication technology. Merri Mack reports on the evolution of government data centres.

Canberra data centre manufacturer Datapod has won an Australian International Design Award for excellence in innovation and design in the Business and Technology category. It is the first time in the event’s history that a data centre design has received this award. [ + ]

Mobile broadband take-up is expanding rapidly but there are steps to be taken that will make the user's experience worthwhile. Tellabs' Mike O'Malley outlines these steps.

Andrew Collins takes a quick look at the pros and cons of cloud-based hosted security solutions.

As the Managing Director of GlobalConnect, Pushkar Taneja has one abiding aim for the company and that is customer satisfaction. He even goes as far as saying that’s why they are there. Voice&Data’s Merri Mack spent an engrossing hour with Taneja to find out what his challenges are.

Protecting an IT environment now consumes more resources than actually managing the network. There are more devices connected, more people collaborating, more dispersal of access points and an enormous increase in the amount of traffic and type of traffic on the network. Juniper Networks’ Matt Miller looks at the following issues and provides some remedies. Even if you can secure all entry points, the biggest issue is scale. How do you ensure only the right people can see the right data at the right time when network capacity is already strained?

Today, you have several options if you want someone else to take care of your IT security. Andrew Collins explores the pros and cons of each.

Join storage-focused IT leaders at Australia’s premier data storage conference, to be held in Melbourne on 12 May. Learn the latest tips and tricks from local and international experts. Subjects covered include: cloud storage, next-gen backup, dedupe, data reduction and more. [ + ]

A day in the life of a virtual data recovery expert outlines the recovery of data when three days of client data is lost.

Small to medium businesses (SMBs) are coming to realise - many with painful consequences - the crucial need to focus their information security strategies on being able to recover data as part of their backup process. StorageCraft’s Greg Wyman explains why SMBs must change their focus.

Curtin University of Technology’s students and colleagues benefit from its CIO Peter Nikoletatos’s fascination with technology and its potential. These lucky people get to use and experience the most innovative technology. Merri Mack speaks to Nikoletatos about what drives him.