* The new data center: The journey is as important as the destination

By Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Network World, 06/07/05

It is relatively easy to sell the vision of the next-generation data center: Service-oriented applications running over a virtualized, service-oriented infrastructure. The benefits of agility, lower operational costs, better utilization and rapid application deployment represent motherhood and apple-pie - all good. Unless you're allergic to apples, that is.

Translating this vision into a series of discreet, incremental steps - a roadmap - is not so easy. Furthermore, selling the roadmap to upper management is a lot harder than selling the end-vision. So, instead of focusing solely on the end-goal, we suggest that each step of the journey can be just as valuable. The next-generation data center is self-fulfilling; each incremental step brings benefits that make it worthwhile long before you reach the final destination.