Nik Rouda

Unstoppable Forces and Immovable Objects Conflict is a fact of life in IT. Each year, a number of conflicting trends emerge, and weighing up the value of each "next big thing" can be a full-time job (as if IT managers didn't have enough to worry about as they try to keep the status quo of having IT running smoothly). This article will explore a few examples of conflicting pressures. Current best practices lean heavily toward the centralization of IT resources, which means moving applications, servers, and storage from distributed branch offices to a very small number of data center locations. The advantages of consolidation include increased utilization, easier hands-on administration, and better physical security. Contrary to this goal is the widespread increase in remote and branch office workers who rely on the access and performance of these same IT resources to ... (more)