Cisco Systems announced a set of resources designed to help enterprise users build more-efficient data centers, a program that could also lead to more sales of Cisco equipment in the data-center market.
Called the Business Ready Data Center Initiative, the program offers enterprise users a wide range of best-practices information and planning services to help them construct data centers that make the best use of technology, Cisco said.
While billing the initiative as a something "customers were asking for," Cisco's Jonathan Gilad, solutions manager for data center networking, said such initiatives also help to "accelerate the sales cycle" for Cisco in the targeted technology area.
The initiative, Gilad said, was Cisco's way of responding to a change in the data center market, which he said has gotten more complex while also being targeted as a place where enterprises can streamline resources. Customers "want more of a systems approach" to designing data centers that integrate with their existing networks, Gilad said. "They want to know how this all works together."
To that end, Cisco has identified several functions specific to data-center design where the company is offering advice, services, technology, or a combination of all three, including: