News facts:
* Research released today from Oracle reveals many businesses are lagging behind in their use of innovative technology in data centres, which means they are unable to meet industry demands and respond to change quickly.
* The research forms the basis of the Oracle Next Generation Data Centre Index, a figure on a scale from 0-10, which provides a snapshot of the progress of organisations in evolving their data centres through the adoption of today's sophisticated technologies.
* On average, organisations scored 5.28 on a scale of 0 to 10 (where 10 would be the most sophisticated data centre strategy possible), that maps organisations' performance across three sub-categories - flexibility, sustainability and supportability. This figure underlines that many businesses are failing to gain business value from their IT.
* The research also highlights the significant issues with complex inefficient infrastructures leading to 50% of businesses requiring a new data centre within the next two years.
* The research, conducted by Quorcirca, surveyed 919 managers in large organisations in nine regions across the world.
* For more details on the research findings, please see the Media Fact Sheet on http://bit.ly/iQOFbZ.
Index highlights:
* DCH (Germany and Switzerland) led the table with a Next Generation Data Centre Index (NGDI) of 6.09, followed by Nordics (5.95), and Benelux (5.64).
* Lagging behind the average of 5.28 were Iberia (4.73), Italy (4.50) and the Middle East (4.41).
* Europe lags behind USA (scores of 5.32 and 5.79 respectively).
* The sub-indices show that Flexibility is preferred to Sustainability - the Flexibility sub-Index was 5.34, the Sustainability sub-Index just 5.15.
* In addition to gaining the top two spots in the NGDI, DCH and the Nordics also led the board in the Sustainability and Supportability Index.
* Telecommunications, utilities and financial services companies had the highest overall Index figures (6.55, 5.91 and 5.80 respectively), while media, public sector and, perhaps surprisingly, retail organisations had the lowest (4.78, 4.44 and 4.43).
Other findings from the research
Nearly a quarter (22%) of Europe and the USA's organisations have still made no progress towards consolidation.
Virtualisation is still in its early stages, with only 15% having more than 70% of their runtime estate virtualised.
More than 50% of respondents stated that they will need a new data centre within the next two years, and approximately one in 14 (7%) already need a new data centre.
A fifth (20%) of respondents have very little formal mechanism of systems management in place, 20% manage on a per application basis, and nearly a quarter (24%) manage on a per operating system basis.
Worryingly, only 11% actively monitor the data centre's usage to fully understand how energy is being used.
Lip service is being paid to Sustainability: nearly half (44%) of the businesses questioned have a sustainability statement, but no plans to support it.
Supporting quotes:
“While there are clear leaders, innovators and evidence of an understanding of technology benefits, overall organisations are still missing tricks and failing to return proper business value from their IT,” said Dermot O'Kelly, Senior Vice-President, EMEA Hardware Sales, Oracle. “Most enterprises have an IT architecture that is hugely complex, expensive to manage and difficult and costly to scale, all of which can prevent IT from returning value to the business. Without change, many organisations will continue to lack the agility to enable them to respond quickly to business need. Our research shows that there is still much work to be done.”
“The research shows that over half of respondents will be putting in place new data centre facilities in the next two years - as an internal facility, through private external facilities such as co-location, or through the use of cloud-based services,” said Clive Longbottom, Research Director at Quocirca. “The stated primary reason is around IT estate consolidation - but business support comes a strong second. Data centre investments tend to be large, and need to be viewed long-term from a business viewpoint. It is essential that these organisations make sure that their next generation of data centres is fit not only for immediate purpose, but have the flexibility to provide long-term support for the business dependent on the IT platform.”
Supporting resources:
Media Fact Sheet - some extra analysis of the research
The Oracle Next Generation Data Centre Index - full report brochure
The Next Generation Data Centre on oracle.com
Data Center Solutions for Enabling the Eco-Enterprise on oracle.com
Strategies for Solving the Datacenter Space, Power, and Cooling Crunch
Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center: Datacenter Lifecycle Management
Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center on oracle.com
Server Consolidation with Oracle x86 and SPARC Servers
Oracle and Virtualization
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Quocirca
Quocirca is a primary research and analysis company specialising in the business impact of information technology and communications (ITC). With worldwide, native language reach, Quocirca provides in-depth insights into the views of buyers and influencers in large, mid-sized and small organisations. Its analyst team is made up of real-world practitioners with first-hand experience of ITC delivery who continuously research and track the industry and its real usage in the markets. Details of Quocirca's work and the services it offers can be found at http://www.quocirca.com.
Note to editors:
In March 2011, Quocirca surveyed 919 managers in large organisations, in nine countries/regions around the world; Austria, Benelux, France, Germany, Italy, Middle East, Nordics, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, UK and USA. The questions were designed such that each answer could be represented by a number between zero and 10, giving the ability to create the overall Oracle Next Generation Data Centre Index figure. Separate sections of the research were dedicated to flexibility, supportability and sustainability, enabling the extraction of sub-indices in these three important areas.
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