In its worldwide State of the Data Center Research report, Symantec reveals that data center managers are implementing virtualization and server consolidation strategies to manage the growing complexities in today's data center. symantec's report suggests data center managers face onerous and complicated challenges resulting from rapidly rising Service Level Agreements (SLAs), staffing difficulties, increasing expenditures and data center growth. To this we say "duh."

That's not to downplay the importance of reports designed to help us understand what we're facing. In fact, the Symantec report is quite comprehensive and useful. But haven't we faced "onerous and complicated challenges" for years now? Still, the report indicates what data center managers are now concentrating their efforts on: 52 percent of respondents report their data centers are currently understaffed; 69 percent of respondents reveal their data centers are growing at least 5 percent per year, while 11 percent report 20 percent growth or more per year; and the average reported budget increase during the last two-year period is a modest 7 percent worldwide. There are more results, some surprising, revealed in the study, making it worth your while to read it.

Please check it out on the Symantec web site.