Almost half of organizations lack basic management information and processes to ensure efficient running of their data centers, according to a survey of 100 data center organizations across a range of industries, conducted by Aperture Research Institute.

As businesses began to increase their focus on having reliable and available data centers, data centers began to grow in size and complexity. No longer a single room housing a comparatively simple computer system, businesses now required very large Internet data centers.

Amid the hullabaloo around introduction of the iPhone last week, we were once more reminded of how porous data centers really have become.

Recent research results suggest the primary challenges for data center managers are stringent internal service-level agreements, ongoing data center growth, and staffing issues. This article summarizes those research results and then discusses how standardization can help master data center complexity and better utilize current resources.

This article explores a new approach to mastering data center complexity, one that is designed to help IT take proactive control of the data center, drive down costs, and increase service levels.

Fuel cells make the most sense in cities where diesel generators are not feasible, when run-time requirements would call for batteries that are too large or costly, or for environmental sustainability reasons, says APC product line manager Randy Wyatt.