Page 159 - How Cloud Computing Is Transforming Business and Why You Cant Afford to Be Left Behind

IT REORG ANIZES

badgered to produce a succession of variations as end users
try to satisfy every need with a unique model, and allowing
them to do so will reimpose the bizarre complexity that char-
acterized the traditional data center. Only through disciplined
definition and commissioning of virtual servers can the varia-
tions in servers be limited and administrative headaches min-

imized, while still serving end user needs. By keeping “golden
images,” or well-defined, known clean copies of the virtual
machine, on a secure physical server, a small IT staff will be
able to spin up any number of needed virtual machines with-
out creating a configuration challenge each time.
In fact, without user self-provisioning, the company may
never reach the new era of operating with cloud-style re-

sources. IT is going to need allies among business users who
can demonstrate why the new paradigm for computing is vital
to the organization. End users who experience a sudden need
for server computing power can get it much more quickly by
self-provisioning a virtual server than they can by setting re-
quirements for a physical server, having IT order a model
through procurement, and awaiting its building and deliv-
ery. Even after the server has been unloaded onto the load-
ing dock, the business user is still going to have to wait for

IT staffers to get to it, configure it, and load it with the right
software.
Producing a virtual machine, in contrast, can be accom-
plished in minutes and can lead to more rapid business re-
sponses and initiatives when the situation demands it. Business
users will show a marked preference for the option of self-
provisioning, given the chance.

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