Today I had the opportunity to listen to a discussion about cloud computing and virtualization of IT services: “The Future of Enterprise IT Architecture” with representatives from Cisco, VMware, and Barquin. Now most non-IT government workers, like myself, probably would think, “Why in the world would you subject yourself to something like that?” But fortunatelyRead… Read more »
“In these tough economic times, business decisions aren’t made in a vacuum. Plenty of outside considerations have an impact on the implementation of any technical solutions. Nowhere is this truer than in a government environment.“Richard Blum, Virtualization for Government, 2010 Understanding the “ins and outs” of server virtualization in a government environment can be difficultRead… Read more »
Executive orders and “green IT” directives have trickled steadily out of Washington, D.C. in the past few years, culminating most recently with Executive Order 13514. Signed by President Obama in October 2009, EO 13514 builds on earlier legislation such as the “Green the Capitol” initiative, and, according to the White House, “…expands the energy reductionRead… Read more »
Did you know that the average desktop computer uses almost as much power when idle as when it’s active? And the problem isn’t just restricted to the desktop. There are literally thousands of data centers across the globe stacked to capacity with inefficient, underutilized computer servers. In 2006, in the United States alone, datacenters consumedRead… Read more »
For 40 years, Earth Day has helped us all realize that simple acts can make a big difference in using our resources more wisely! Saving energy is something we can all do, and it doesn’t require a lot of effort to make a difference. Which got us thinking… We all know that the federal governmentRead… Read more »
Virtualization is very much on the minds of IT managers this year. Some have the vision of a low power, smoothly running, optimized data center; thinly staffed but capable of provisioning new users almost instantaneously (AKA ‘Nirvana’). Others see the nightmare of single points of (hardware) failure bringing down an entire agency, virtual machines migratingRead… Read more »
Andrew Ridner, from Govplace, recently blogged about virtualization security. It’s an interesting post with tactical security recommendations. http://blog.govplace.com/2009/12/virtualization-security/
This newsletter focuses on Green IT and the growing awareness that governments, businesses, and nongovernmental organizations need to better manage their use of technology in an environmentally responsible manner. As large purchasers of electronic products and services, they have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to provide leadership through environmentally sound practices and cost-effective, life-cycle managementRead… Read more »
I find it very interesting to see how more and more government agencies are going virtual in today’s world. The DoD has hopped on board, NOAA is on Second Life, Centers for Disease Control has even joined MySpace, and many other SGL and Federal agencies are following suit. We are truly living a multi-media, WebRead… Read more »