Data Center

Why a Modernized Data Center Is Key to Innovation

Every industry has accelerated digital transformation. Not much is possible, however, without a solid foundation.

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Ryan has been a magazine and newspaper editor for 21 years, with the last 15 covering a variety of bases for CDW’s family of tech magazines. As Editor in Chief, he works on developing editorial strategy and is always on the lookout for new writing talent and sharing great stories with the IT world. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys spending time with his family, biking and obsessively following Iowa Hawkeye sports and Cubs baseball.

If the past 12 months have taught businesses anything, it’s that digital transformation can’t wait another moment. In a range of industries, the pandemic we’re still enduring hasn’t just prompted an unexpected diversion from normal operations. It’s led to fundamental changes to business models.

Retailers, for example, are now unified in their understanding of the industry as a digital-first enterprise. According to a global survey by software company SAP released in January during NRF 2021: Retail’s Big Show, most consumers will continue the online shopping behaviors they’ve picked up even after restrictions ease. As a result, brands are working feverishly to unify online and offline shopping experiences, to plumb their data for deeper insights and to convert underutilized stores into last-mile distribution centers.

It’s a similar story in other businesses. The decentralized finance trend is empowering fintechs to eat into their banks’ market share, forcing incumbents to find ways to deliver nimble, mobile-friendly financial services.

Virtually every industry is in the midst of dramatic change, and while many of those changes were accelerated by the global health crisis, few of them were actually caused by it — and fewer still will vanish when the crisis passes. More than ever, business leaders know that long-term success demands digital transformation.

How Data Centers Power Transformation

When it comes to transformation, however, companies can’t achieve much without a modern infrastructure. Data storage, management and security are prerequisites to digital success.

Businesses of all types are responding to this imperative. When the law firm of Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst and Doukas switched to hyperconverged infrastructure, it experienced the performance benefits it was seeking — and was better prepared to move employees off site and onboard new ones during the pandemic. United Supermarkets achieved the improved agility it needed with its cloud-heavy hybrid approach.

The right data center technology also powers downstream innovation. The auto parts supplier Genuine Parts is a leader in using analytics to drive quick decisions, for example, but that’s only possible with the right infrastructure.

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