Fast IT: The Next Big Game Changer
Fifty billion connected devices are heading your way over the next 5 years. That’s right, 50 billion. And they’ll need support,
lots of it. Some thought software-defined networking (SDN) held the answer. But now, more and more IT leaders are realizing
that a new model of IT is needed, one that lets you capture the value of today’s connections while freeing you to embrace a
broader focus of next-generation infrastructure that can drive business value. At Cisco, we found the answer. We call it fast
IT, the new model of IT you have been waiting for.
Did you know that over the next 5 years, the number of connected devices will increase to 50 billion? But, with the majority of
IT budgets tied up in manual processes, organizations are struggling to free up the resources needed to meet this challenge. If
public sector organizations are to succeed in their missions, they must innovate and adapt faster through a simple, smart, and
secure IT model. This model must be based upon greater application-centricity, automation, virtualization, and orchestration.
We’ve labeled these types of capabilities fast IT.
What does fast IT involve?
In addition to introducing application-centricity, automation, virtualization, and orchestration, the fast IT model combines existing
infrastructures to support current functions cost-effectively. A coherent approach to managing applications, middleware,
and infrastructure means it becomes easier to use what is already in place and to increase business value and agility. With
programmability, a key feature of a fast IT model, software upgrades can be made to existing infrastructure, retaining investment
protection. And automation means less manual tasks, freeing staff to focus on critical IT services elsewhere (see Evolved
Services Platform Automating a New Class of Carrier Cloud Services). With capabilities like these, your organization can gain
more value through its existing infrastructure, respond quickly and easily to customer demands, and enable end-consumers to
have richer experiences.
How should IT leaders approach this change?
To meet the growing demands of the age of convergence, it is critical that public sector organizations become more creative
in their thinking and in the types of infrastructure technologies they adopt. Public sector IT leaders must shift their focus solely
from programmability and embrace a broader vision of next-generation infrastructure. They should continue to adopt the
programmability of software-defined networking (SDN) but also expand their vision to include automation, virtualization, and
orchestration.
What are the first steps to take?
The transition to a fast-IT model requires careful planning and change management. The following abbreviated roadmap will get
you started (for more details, see fast IT Workshop #2 — Roadmap to fast IT):
1. Virtualize your computing and storage infrastructure: Treat your resources as a single, converged infrastructure pool.
This allows dynamic provisioning and faster time to deployment. Virtualization also enables greater IT scalability.
2. Get your feet wet with programmability: Programming network behavior is a valuable capability. It allows organizations to
dynamically modify infrastructure, making it easier to install and run applications.
Fast IT: The Next Big Game Changer
3. Develop increasingly sophisticated infrastructure policies: Through an application-aware approach, organizations
can optimize applications and experiences in real time by defining workflows and policies in advance and across the
infrastructure. To learn more, register here for the webinar on Cisco Application-Centric Infrastructure (ACI).
4. Implement a cloud strategy for the Intercloud – A combination of public cloud, private cloud, and dedicated servers
working together delivers the best results in performance, cost of ownership, investment protection, security, and
compliance. Learn more at Cloud and Systems Management.
After completing these four steps, your organization will be well on its way to providing simple, smart, and secure fast-IT
innovations. There’s never been a more important time than now for the public sector to prepare for the future of IT. Every IT
leader faces these challenges, but with fast IT, the new model for IT, your organization can manage complexity, increase security,
and drive innovation like never before.
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