Energy Efficient Data Centres: The Consultant's Perspective

In the "arms race" of security, new defensive tactics are always needed. One significant approach is Confidential Computing: a technology that can isolate data and execution in a secure space on a system, which takes the concept of security to new levels. This SNIA Cloud Storage Technologies Initiative (CSTI) webcast will provide an introduction and explanation of Confidential Computing and will feature a panel of industry architects responsible for defining Confidential Compute. It will be a lively conversation on topics including:

• The basics of hardware-based Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) and how they work to enable confidential computing
• How to architect solutions based around TEEs
• How this foundation fits with other security technologies
• Adjacencies to storage technologies

Many are wondering how will 5G enter the enterprise? will it become the new WAN circuit or will it kill the enterprise network by connecting all endpoint to the internet directly. Incidentally, 5G represent more than just connectivity, It brings convergence of telecommunication, network, and security. Besides the derived efficiency, 5G will empower organization to create new experiences and connect in inventive ways. Including better position, the enterprise for covid19-inspired remote work and collaborations.
 
The immediate driver for 5G adoption will emerge for the re-architect of security, its edge, new technology (O-RAN), new tools, and techniques. This will for the first time allow the enterprise to operate securely in an open architecture and better address some of the emerging usage, connectivity, and security challenges. “The internet of everyone”
 
In this session we will discuss this transformation.
a) the faces of the new 5G empowered enterprise
b) The OpenRAN integration and the transition path
c) the early wins for the bold

Key Takeaways:

At the end of session, you will:
- Understand the special significance of 5G applications, pivots by the top players during the pandemic
- Understand theboardiQ model
- Understand the importance of sustainable goals

The humanitization of business - building the emotional connect with the workforce, workplace and marketplace.

With 5G and all the hype surrounding edge, the power considerations cannot be ignored. The various data centers have pros and cons at the edge but one common thread is that there will need to be attention paid to this this distributed power model. Not only will power become a factor, but the protocols supported must be addressed. Not all communications are suitable to edge applications.

We will look at some edge applications, smart city and smart community considerations of IoT. The possibilities are endless, but there are some significant applications for IoT that can prove to be profitable today.

When looking to find ways to continue to drive Digital Transformation at the Edge, a key component of that is the compute needed to accomplish the tasks. In many cases, and we will show several, the space allowed does not always meet the needs, nor does the Power, or processing. With the addition of Computational Storage solutions, you can add distributed compute with each storage device, NVMe SSD, that you add to the system. This talk will showcase three unique working models – Azure IoT Edge, CDN traffic Routing, and eDiscovery (paperless computing).

A revolution is underway in manufacturing. Commonly known as Industry 4.0, the forces of AI and IoT are converging to transform how manufacturers optimize business operations, drive growth, and improve resiliency. In this presentation we will explore the drivers of change and the impact on the future of manufacturing and the importance of Small and Medium Manufacturers in this digital transformation. This includes detailing how Industry 4.0 is driving culture change behind new interactions between operational technology and information technology groups — integrations that will lead to profound opportunities. Along the way we will define key principles that will help us lead in this time of accelerating change.

Recent advancements in edge-computing hardware, software, and networking capabilities serve as strong enablers for speeding digital transformation in healthcare — a sector that often lags behind others in adoption and implementation of breakthrough technologies.
In this webinar, Health2047 Managing Director Judy Barkal leverages her expertise in medical informatics and clinical IoT data and device operability to highlight specific edge innovations and detail their potential impact for creating healthcare value. Barkal will be joined in a panel discussion with two physician thought leaders driving digital transformation in healthcare: Dr. Mira Irons, Chief Health and Science Officer at the American Medical Association; and Dr. Robert Wah, Chair of the Board of Directors at The Commons Project Foundation.
Our panelists will share their unique experiences, discuss challenges, and make the case for how edge technologies can improve healthcare safety, quality, and equity. Practical aspects of technological transformation at the system-level within the U.S. healthcare ecosystem will be addressed, as will examples of specific solutions, the organizations behind them, and valuable lessons learned in formulating effective approaches to stimulating healthcare’s digital evolution.

The open source model of open collaboration and innovation is now the dominant paradigm in the software industry. In parallel, software is now the key driver of innovation in all sectors of society. This means that digital transformation, and specifically IoT and Edge Computing, are primarily driven through software innovations. Consequently, those who will master the art of using, contributing, participating, and leading open source projects and communities will greatly increase the effectiveness of their digital transformation initiatives

In this presentation, you will understand how an open source is integral to digital transformation by exploring how it is leveraged in specific verticals and use cases. You will also explore specific business models focused on open source technologies and learn about leading open source ecosystems related to IoT and Edge Computing.

Key Takeaways:
1 - Strategy. People. Process. Customers. Technology is not the Panacea when it comes to Digital Transformation.
2 - You need Incremental change for Transformative Growth. It is not an "All Or Nothing" Scenario. Shoot for Small Wins to Get the Big Prize!
3 - Be Transparent. Let ALL Stakeholders know how you are transforming including your Purpose/Mission, Vision and Values.

Most organizations are going through a digital transformation journey, be it a planned one ore one that was forced upon them due to circumstances. But how many organizations are making sure that this journey also includes security transformation? Most organizations use the same security tools and techniques as the ones we have been using for over a decade, but our infrastructure as well as the threats targeting them have changed and evolved. They are bringing a knife to a gun fight! End point AV? Sandboxes? Siloed threat intel feeds? Threat actors today have proven over and over they can bypass these strategies.
In this session we will review how today’s threats evade security detection and what dive into specific case studies. We will also discuss the strategic security transformation (which MUST be included in any digital transformation project) as well several of the tactical, practical techniques to help detect and mitigate today’s threats. A cloud environment cannot be protected with the tools and techniques of the “on-prem” days, a cloud native environment requires a cloud native security strategy!

One of the keys to successful digital transformation is the delivery of high-value services to the enterprise at the cloud edge. And a foundational element of this is security, what many are now calling the Secure Access Service Edge, or SASE, a term first coined by Gartner in 2019. It defines an architecture where a suite of previously siloed security services are delivered via the cloud, and in doing so, aligns more closely to the cloud consumption model that has taken center-stage over the last decade, but even more-so over the past year. But SASE doesn’t stand alone, and is one cog in an edge architecture that offers the enterprise the transport, multi-cloud connectivity, and application performance guarantees that are key to ensuring employee productivity, both on-premises as well as when remote.

In this presentation, you will learn how to effectively deploy cloud edge-based security, SASE, including best practices and pitfalls, and how it relates to other capabilities deployed as part of a digital transformation initiative. An important element of this is the adoption of managed services, an approach that will de-risk any digital transformation effort and aligns closely with the scalability, flexibility, simplicity, and TCO advantages of the cloud consumption model.

Customer experience is king. The goal is to provide more benefits and a better experience
In this session, we’ll explore ways in which Edge computing facilitates digital transformation and helps to differentiate the customer experience

Novel customer experience and service delivery models
Better user experience
Cost containment in an application anywhere environment
Visibility and responsiveness in real time
Intelligent processes and predictive maintenance
Securing distributed assets

What can Digital Transformation achieve?
Digital technology and transformation processes have been in existence for a long long time. To understand it, the session will first review the business and technology roots as well as the profession to culminate with the value of Digital Transformation.
With the value understood, the next challenge is to identify and understand the digital transformation initiatives to identify why 70% of Digital Transformation Initiatives fail!
The interactive session will conclude with an understanding of the approach to help the participants work with their partners for delivering such a strategy with success.

This webinar will examine Edge Computing across a variety of environments and discuss how to build a stable, secure and manageable Edge environment that can form the foundation for transformational change within organisations. Edge is not a new idea but exploiting the Edge effectively does require some new thinking some of which is counter-intuitive in the modern cloud centric world in which we operate. 5G is going to unleash a whole new wave of possibilities around remote devices and as IT functions we are going to be under more and more pressure to deliver on the promise so we need to get our houses in order and build a platform that will act as a springboard and not pitch us flat on our faces.