AFCOM Southern California Chapter Meeting Goes Virtual
Not a group to let the COVID-19 pandemic slow them down, AFCOM So Cal’s Quarter 2 Educational Series was held online on May 14th. In typical AFCOM So Cal fashion, the online event was both excellent and informative.
There was a lively discussion between multiple guest speakers about the current state of the Data Center world, with executives sharing thoughts and experiences about how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting IT and Data Center operations.
Cloud providers are seeing aggressive growth in the pandemic, with first quarter spending up 37% from the same period last year. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (Paas) are the bulk of the cloud market and each grew by 39% in that period.
Executives shared helpful strategies and tactics on how their teams are dealing with the pandemic to meet existing and increased needs to deliver services and maintain uptime. In particular, how to do so while dealing with the unique challenges the pandemic brings to operators of mission critical digital infrastructure. Challenges like remote working, unavailability of staff through illness or quarantine, and events like lockdowns or contamination of facilities, just to name a few.
To maintain continuous availability of IT services and protect the business, Data Center and other critical facilities operators must plan and implement a staged, multi-level response. This includes protecting the site itself as well as creating strategies and policies to protect employees and visitors.
While we wish someone did have one, there is no crystal ball for how things will change in the critical IT services industry going forward. The industry has dealt with hybrid models of IT operations, and now is creating and coping with hybrid models of working. No one quite knows what’s next for the industry. But we do know many in the industry are poised and ready to respond.
Panelists Included:
• Tim Crawford, CIO Strategic Advisor, AVOA
• Phillip Lyle, AVP, Enterprise & Research Infrastructure, Chapman University
• Kelly Sullivan, Vice President, Global Data Centers, Cyxtera
• Mark Thiele, CEO, Edgevana
Visit AFCOM So Cal‘s website for industry insights and best practices. And visit DSI If you’re looking for new Data Center options, or have a current facility that could benefit from a retrofit, or are looking for modular solutions to scale up your critical IT infrastructure.
