In modern IT environments, data centres, networks and cloud services can no longer be considered in isolation. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular, face the challenge of integrating existing infrastructure with new cloud services, growing security requirements and the need for greater flexibility. Ahead of the Data Center Roadshow on 4 November in Frankfurt, Ralf Sperner, Director of the IT Business Unit at ITENOS, explains how hybrid infrastructures can remain manageable and what role data centres will play in the future.
ITENOS has its roots in connectivity and data centre operations but now takes a holistic approach to IT infrastructure. Why is the traditional separation of data centres, networks and cloud services becoming increasingly impractical, particularly for SMEs?
Today, applications need to work together across data centres, networks and cloud environments. Hybrid IT is becoming the standard for many companies: they combine on-premises systems, external data centres and public and private cloud services. To ensure that applications run reliably, company sites, data centres and cloud environments must also be connected securely and through high-performance networks. ITENOS brings together connectivity, data centre services, cloud services and managed services in its portfolio. Its DataLogistIX platform connects company sites, data centres and cloud services.
Many IT environments have evolved over the years, encompassing different locations, applications, networks and cloud services. When you encounter such an infrastructure, how do you identify where action is genuinely needed and develop a sustainable overall strategy?
Together with the customer's IT specialists, we analyse which applications are business-critical, how company sites, data centres and cloud services are interconnected, and where bottlenecks, risks or unnecessary complexity exist. Based on this analysis, we prioritise the areas requiring action and define a target architecture. From there, we gradually develop a tailored, integrated strategy covering everything from connectivity and data centres to cloud and managed services.
Today, SMEs need to meet the same demanding requirements for availability, security and scalability as much larger IT organisations. What should they pay particular attention to when planning their infrastructure? And which strategic decisions are often made too late?
First, determine which applications must be available at all times, what level of downtime is acceptable and which data and applications require special protection. Align your security measures, network connectivity, capacity planning and recovery procedures with these requirements. Design your infrastructure so that it can grow with your business over the coming years, and consider connectivity between your sites and cloud services from the outset.
You should also address the migration of business-critical systems to a professionally operated data centre at an early stage. This helps avoid compromises in security, power supply, cooling and network connectivity at your own premises. Plan for backups, clearly defined recovery procedures, and redundant systems and connections from the beginning. Test regularly to ensure that recovery procedures work when an incident occurs.
Hyperscalers and public cloud services have long been part of many IT strategies. At the same time, on-premises or managed infrastructure and high-performance network connections remain important. How can these elements be combined into an architecture that remains flexible without becoming unnecessarily complex?
Working closely with the customer's IT specialists, our experts at ITENOS develop an architecture tailored to their requirements. The aim is to connect the selected environments through secure, high-performance networks with redundancy where needed. Standardised interfaces, security policies and clearly defined responsibilities help keep operations manageable. This allows each service to run in the most suitable environment without requiring separate processes and connections for every platform.
Hyperscalers can be one option. Looking ahead, we want to work with our customers to develop sovereign European solutions that align with their digitalisation strategies and IT infrastructure requirements.
IT infrastructures are increasingly distributed across multiple locations and platforms. What role will regional data centres play in these architectures in the future, and what capabilities will they need to effectively connect data centres, connectivity services and cloud environments?
DataLogistIX plays a central role at ITENOS. The platform now connects data centres throughout Germany and links them with company sites, carriers, Internet Exchanges and cloud services. This transforms regional data centres into high-performance hubs that connect local infrastructure with cloud environments and other data centre locations. Companies can run workloads closer to their own sites while also accessing resources in other regions.
For this to work effectively, reliable and redundant network connections, direct cloud connections and professionally managed operations are essential. DataLogistIX provides a unified connectivity layer that allows company sites, data centres and cloud services to be integrated through a single platform and expanded as needed.
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