Issue link: http://hub-fr.insight.com/i/532074
28 operations management, backup, storage, and the network. You'll see how they work – and how they work together – to create a modern, fully optimized IT environment that's ready for whatever a cloud-based business can throw at it. We'll reference specific VMware products from this point forward, so you get both a micro and macro view of Virtualization 2.0 and its role in a state-of-the-art data center. Operations Management for Virtualized Environments If your employees and customers are happy and productive, thank IT ops. IT operations management plays a central role in how – and how well – knowledge workers do their jobs. It's no exaggeration to say that customers and employees rely on IT applications and infrastructure every minute of every day. Nothing has a greater impact on their ability to do their jobs. Yet many data centers lack the monitoring tools they need to keep the data center humming. Many use legacy monitoring tools – in some cases, spreadsheets – for troubleshooting and provisioning. Most legacy monitoring tools were not designed to keep up with a modern, virtualized environ- ment. They force businesses to be reactive instead of proactive: all too often, IT admins get hit with alert storms and false alarms – or worse, no warning at all – when the perfor- mance of the net-work or an application drifts out of spec or begins to bottle-neck. For IT, it often means fire drills and late nights. Since most IT departments are stretched thin, they can't afford to spend more time, budget and resources manually