A while back I wrote about the change beginning to take place within the IT infrastructure: the transition from independent silos to an interdependent supply-chain model. The supply-chain concept is a component of a number of infrastructure restructuring approaches, among them the service provider model, the service-oriented infrastructure and the real-time infrastructure. While each approach may emphasize different needs, the goal is the same: an IT infrastructure that's responsive to business needs and has improved agility, flexibility, quality and efficiency. Yet these lofty objectives need to be tempered with a dose of practicality.

However, a current of change is propelling us away from business-as-usual systems. Server virtualization and related technologies are causing organizations to reconsider not only IT infrastructure design and architecture, but the lines of demarcation between functional responsibilities and new/updated operational processes. For example, many of the benefits associated with server virtualization are dependent upon a storage infrastructure optimized to support it; without proper planning, however, an unintended consequence might be a substantial increase in storage consumption and a decrease in utilization.