“Transform to Better Perform” initiative focuses on data centres and the Cloud

The BPI Network’s new “Transform to Better Perform” campaign incorporates a multiplicity of open channels of insight and conversation for change-oriented business and technology leaders, as well as data centre and IT professionals. The Transform programme includes a global advisory board of senior business and IT leaders. It features a content-rich portal, www.reinventdatacentres.com, where visitors can contribute ideas, access original and aggregated content, participate in ongoing conversations, take part in important surveys and polls, download new reports and whitepapers, view videos on TransformTech TV, and join a vibrant new innovation community. The initiative will also include regional executive roundtable discussions, webinars, and appearances and interactions at IT and business events worldwide.

The Transform to Better Perform programme is made possible through a sponsorship by Dimension Data, a global leader in the planning, provisioning and management of next-generation IT infrastructures and services. Dimension Data is also contributing thought leadership and commentary to help fuel this global conversation about business-responsive IT transformation. Other contributions will come from DatacenterDynamics, a global expert on data centre trends, operational improvement and professional skills development, as well as other partners.

The programme’s introductory report, “Accelerate How You Innovate: Data Centre Evolution in the Era of the Cloud,” is available for complimentary download on the Transform to Better Perform web site. The report is based on interviews with executives and technology experts around the world and finds organisations are moving steadily toward a new hybrid model for data centres and networks that embraces the cloud.

“Organisations around the world are in the midst of rethinking their data centre and IT strategies to make information and technology more responsive to the needs of business and more efficient in the face of growing requirements,” said Kevin Leahy, group general manager of Data Centre Solutions at Dimension Data said. “Enterprises are testing and adopting new hybrid cloud operating models, software-defined processes, managed services, virtualisation technologies and more to get much more from their infrastructure, people and processes. We look forward to joining with the BPI Network, DatacenterDynamics, technology partners and enterprise innovators everywhere in having this important conversation.”

“We want to invite executives and IT professionals worldwide to come to reinventdatacentres.com and join in meaningful peer-to-peer and cross-functional conversations on the future of the data centre and the new model for business-responsive IT,” said Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the BPI Network. “Our goal is create a global dialogue that helps define a new model for the data centre and IT as a ‘Response-Able Business Asset.’

The Transformation Imperative
The Transform to Better Perform initiative is focused on creating a global conversation about what the BPI Network believes is a new Transformation Imperative for businesses, governments and other organisations worldwide. Global adoption of mobile technologies, the internet, cloud computing, social networks, and other developing technologies has led to explosive growth in new applications and data, creating major market disruptions and opportunities in its wake. Old data centre and IT operating models are in need of transformational changes to keep pace and compete in this new technology driven marketplace.

Demonstrating the scope of the transformation challenge and imperative:
· Some 90 percent of the world’s data has been created in just the past two years.
· Global data center traffic will triple between 2012 and 2017, from 2.6 zettabytes to 7.7 zettabytes.
· Global technology spending is expected to exceed $3.8 trillion in 2015.
· Spending on data centers is expected to reach US $185 billion globally in 2015 and $203 billion in 2016.
· By 2017, two-thirds of all workloads will be processed in cloud data centers, growing at 5x the rate of traditional workloads within the same period.
· By 2018, three out of four data center workloads will be processed in the cloud.

The BPI Network is engaging with IT and business executives around the world to understand where they are in the journey. While many organisations are early in this transformation, those who are moving ahead are often reaping significant benefits. “We’re still at the beginning of the transformation, but the benefits we’ve reaped already on what we can do with our team, and how we can respond, are exactly what we were hoping to see,” says Cary Sylvester, VP for Technology, Innovation and Communication at Keller Williams, the world’s largest real estate franchise by agent count, with 700 offices and 112,000 associates in more than a dozen countries around the world. “The business owners are working a lot closer with our product team… We’re able to work a lot closer with them to look at the long-term and figure out a solution rather than just trying to keep up.”

Global Programme Elements
The Transform to Better Perform programme will integrate a wide range of content, interaction and dialogue over the coming months. Some key elements include:
ReinventDataCentres.com is the primary destination for accessing content and information from the Transform to Better Perform programme. Immediately available on the site is a wide range or original and aggregated content, including interviews with leading business and IT executives around the world, special reports, executive surveys and polls, and a new video channel called TransformTechTV. The site will be continuously expanded and refreshed with new content and features relevant to topic of data centre and IT transformation.

Global Reports, Strategic Briefs and Other Content The BPI Network is engaging with business and IT executives, technology providers and innovators, analysts, authors and academics around the world to develop fresh perspectives and valued content through the programme. Its first strategic brief, entitled, Accelerate How You Innovate: Data Centre Evolution in the Era of the Cloud, is available here.

Global Surveys are being fielded to gather input and perspectives from both senior business executives and IT organisations. Accessible from the homepage of reinventdatacentres.org, the business leader survey, “Where Can IT Innovation Accelerate Business Transformation,” looks at new IT priorities from a strategic business perspective and how well executives rate the innovation levels of their IT organisations. An IT organisation survey, Bringing Dexterity to IT Complexity, examines the transformation priorities, obstacles and opportunities from the perspective of IT.

The Frontline Feedback Forum is a new community to be launched this summer designed to enable a new conversation among frontline IT and data centre professionals. The Forum will enable an ongoing peer-to-peer dialogue amongst data centre and IT professionals, ensuring that frontline professionals have a major voice in the Transform programme.

Training, Certification and Job Banks
In partnership with Datacenter Dynamics, Transform to Better Perform is offering training and certification programs and a new data centre professional job banks accessible from ReinventDataCentres.com. The training programme is designed to help both executives and professionals keep pace with the changing skills and knowledge requirements for today’s data centre and hybrid IT operations.

Executive Roundtables Events and Web Interactions
Transform to Better Perform will hold CIO roundtable discussions in leading cities around the world, including New York, London, Singapore and other locations, and will conduct presentations and interactions at other leading data centre and IT events worldwide. In addition, the campaign will be conducting a series of webinars aimed at both executive and IT professionals. Dates and locations will be announced throughout the campaign.