While the enterprise data centre isn't following the dodo bird into extinction, there is a need for change, modernising and "reimagination".

Companies are being hindered by outmoded network and security operations.

A rise in electricity usage, largely brought on by exponential data growth, remains a challenge for the data centre

The data centre is evolving to become a virtualised component of business.

Data centres are key to organisational IT strategies due to the increased demand of application and content access - anywhere, any time, says Lex van Wyk, MD of Teraco Data Environments.

Facilities and business, which were very separate in the past, are now bleeding together, says Eben Owen, E&S manager: SA at APC by Schneider Electric.

Redundancy challenges, rising power costs and rapid changes in technology cause CIOs to re-look their data centres.

The largest data centres in the world are built from open solutions, says Bala Pitchaikani, VP of product line management at Dell Force10 Networks. [Local rep: Net2Be]

Now that virtualisation has changed the game for smaller players, it's all down to management.

The data centre of the future will optimise energy and space, with a new focus on services.

The data centre is now the centre of the world. It needs to be lean, green and mean. And fabulous, efficient and wonderful...

Managing data centre energy costs calls for disparate departments to work together.