15 Resolutions for the 2015 Revolution

Last year about this time, I outlined 14 resolutions to get your data protection strategy back on track. I called it a revolution because us IT folk typically have to fight to get what we want and bring change to an organization that fights change. That makes us revolutionaries. It’s time to check back in and see how the revolution did. First, a quick summary of what we resolved.

• Complete backups under 8 hours
• Create meaningful daily reports
• Empower end users with self service recovery
• Stop using agents just because
• Tier my data protection
• Set reasonable retention times
• Use archive
• Backup virtual servers like virtual servers
• Give DBA’s purpose built backup appliances as backup targets
• Smarter mail server backups
• Stagger backup start times
• Create chargeback reports
• Use the cloud
• Spend less time maintaining, and more time innovating

So how’d you do? Probably not as good as you would have liked and that’s OK. Resolutions should be more like goals any way. Knocking out a couple of the things on this list is impressive regardless. So what about 2015? What’s your datacenter going to look like next year? What’s your budget going to look like? All signs are pointing to recovery in the market, and that will translate to more jobs, more employees to support, more projects to roll out, and guess what. Probably the same measly IT budget. So this year, we are going to focus on maximizing that budget and moving IT from loss leader to profit center.

1. I resolve to understand where flash is going to fit into my infrastructure
2. I resolve to understand what hyperconverged platforms are, and more importantly what they aren’t
3. I resolve to secure my data
4. I resolve to stop thinking about virtualization as a hypervisor
5. I resolve to give virtual desktops a chance…again
6. I resolve to stop being afraid of BYOD and reach out and give this iPads a big hug
7. I resolve to properly classify and tier my applications
8. I resolve to sit down with the business unit leaders and understand what they want from IT so that I can provide it in an automated fashion
9. I resolve to stop being afraid that automation is going to take my job away and learn how to use it to make my life easier
10. I resolve to learn something new this year
11. I resolve to learn what a software defined network looks like and make a plan to get there
12. I resolve to develop reporting insights that allow me to show my boss what I really need to get my job done
13. I resolve to create a catalog of services that IT will deliver
14. I resolve to have fun at work
15. I resolve to send the business units a “bill” for the IT services they consumed since I am a cloud

Good topics to dive into through the coming months.