EDITOR ’ S QUESTION

CHARBEL KHNEISSER , REGIONAL DIRECTOR – TECHNICAL SALES , META AT RIVERBED

hroughout the data

Today , skills and knowledge are more readily available than ever before . IT professionals have near-instant access to the information they need with just a few clicks . So , what data centre managers need to direct their attention towards is putting the right processes in place .

This involves streamlining how their team collaborates , how they handle tickets , how they manage escalations and more . Clearly defining and then optimising these processes ensures that when issues arise , or when action is required , team members know exactly what to look at and how to address the situation .

At Riverbed , with our digital performance management framework , we help organisations implement best-ofbreed , unified network and application monitoring tools that empower their IT teams to pinpoint where issues arise . With their ability to provide a deep dive into domains , these solutions enable data centre teams to then understand why the issues arise . With this clear picture , they can then look for the specific knowledge they need .

The responsibility for ensuring that IT teams have the skillsets needed to successfully execute data centre transformation also lies with technology providers . With today ’ s rapid rate of digital advancement , the only means by which vendors can promote technology adoption is by working to enhance the understanding and capabilities that IT teams have on these new solutions . As an industry , we have seen incredible solutions fall by the wayside simply because they weren ’ t correctly understood and implemented .

To enable IT professionals to use the tools they provide , vendors need to offer a detailed knowledge base where customers can easily access all the data they need . In the last year in particular , this ‘ self-service ’ ability became increasingly important and online repositories , videos , interactive tutorials and similar resources have proven especially relevant and effective .

At Riverbed , we ’ ve found our support centre – which enables our customers to service for the specific details they need without having to sift through volumes of generic information – to be especially helpful . The specificity it delivers helps save precious time and reduces the need for support tickets to be raised .

Finally , trainings and certifications continue to play an important role . As vendors have started gearing their programmes towards enabling participants to enhance their understanding of the broader technology domain rather than focusing on the specifics of their solution , these trainings have become a quick and effective means of upskilling .

30 www . intelligentdatacentres . com