All 2025 Conference Sessions

The Future of Data Centers: What’s Next for 2025 and Beyond

Speakers:

• Tony Harvey, VP Analyst, Gartner

Key takeaways

• “The synergy of four fundamental areas — cloud, AI, edge computing and automation — forms the foundation of both modern and future data centers.”
  
  
• “Sustainability is one of the most important aspects of how data centers are being transformed today due to their energy requirements.”
  
  
• Key principles of future data centers include:
  - Scalability and flexibility
  - Resilient architectures and advanced security
  - Modularity and efficiency
  
  
• “Power is the number one factor driving most emerging technologies in the data center industry today.”
  
  
• “Liquid cooling is an emerging technology in data centers increasingly implemented in large facilities due to AI and higher energy density requirements.”

Act Now to Fortify Your Weakest Link: Enhancing Cybersecurity for Data and Storage

Speakers:

• Julia Palmer, VP Analyst, Gartner 

Key take-aways

• “Data storage and backup systems fall short in safeguarding against malicious activities, such as data downloads, exfiltration, manipulation, deletion, destruction or encryption.”
  
  
• “Cyberstorage solutions offer robust active defense against, and recovery from, cyberattacks targeting data storage systems and their data.”
  
  
• “Don’t rely solely on cyberstorage for cyber protection. Instead, focus on a multilayer data security approach, integrating with SIEM, XDR and SOAR tools.”
  
  
• “Prioritize active defense and security of unstructured and structured data storage systems. Identifying and blocking an attack is just as important as recovering from one.”
  
  
• “Avoid relying solely on data backups and snapshot methods to address cyber resilience concerns. These should serve as a last resort for disaster recovery rather than a proactive defense for your data.”

Top Generative AI Use Cases That Benefit I&O

Speakers:

• Cameron Haight, VP Analyst, Gartner

Key take-aways

• “There are five categories of ready to deploy GenAI use cases for I&O: code generation, document generation, virtual support agents, ticket support and content analysis and summarization.”
  
  
• “One way to identify a GenAI use case involves identifying use cases within an organization. This can be achieved by working with cloud architects, key experts and other knowledgeable individuals within the organization to pull out a list of areas that could benefit from AI improvements.”
  
  
• “The other approach is to be open to what vendors have to offer. Many vendors have developed innovative use cases that I&O leaders did not invent with their team.”
  
  
• “While I&O leaders progress with their AI ambition, they will discover that in many use cases, GenAI will just be a ‘supporting AI’ ensuring a natural language communication between human and machine. Most of the value will be provided by other AI.”
  
  
• “I&O doesn’t want to focus on ‘GenAI only’ or use only GenAI. Rather focus on the value the use case will bring to the organization, the ROI and the balance between risks and benefits.”

AI Will Be the Foundation of Next Generation IT Operations

Speakers:

• Cameron Haight, VP Analyst, Gartner

Key take-aways

• “The future of IT operations is AI everywhere and anytime (AIEA). It will become embedded within every function or task across its various lifecycle stages or phases, from planning to content creation for analysis and automation.”
   

• “IT operations organizations need to focus on building out an AIEA culture that incents agile learning experimentation, while ensuring the need for collaboration with other enterprise groups to enhance their AIEA journey.”
   

• “A potential evolutionary, if not revolutionary, outcome for IT operations from AI is tooling. Instead of static, monolithic technology, it becomes collections of LLMs that can be tasked for specific functions and collaborate with one another to achieve desired directives.”
   

• “GenAI potentially has a greater value not limited to tactical outcomes. It may allow for the hiring of fewer specialists and more versatilists, providing some relief to a currently constrained I&O skills pipeline.” 
   

• “Continue driving towards an AI-infused future knowing there will be bumps on the road. Persevere as there’s no likely future scenario for IT operations that doesn’t have AI as a critical element in it.”

Leadership Vision for 2025 Infrastructure and Operations

Speakers:

• Mark Margevicius, VP Analyst, Gartner 

Key take-aways

• “The three biggest trends influencing I&O leaders’ priorities this year include the arrival of business-led IT after years of digital transformation; the displacement of IT talent rapidly accelerating; and widespread diversification of technology in infrastructure.”
  
  
• “Over 200 I&O leaders told Gartner their top goals over the next 12 months are improving infrastructure resilience and quality, while reducing costs and risks.”
  
  
• “Most I&O leaders are weighed down by problematic levels of technical debt in their systems, with the rise of business-led IT making it spiral out of control. They must leverage I&O’s technology visibility to encourage those outside IT to tackle their risky technical debt.”
  
  
• “Talent and technology roadmaps need to be more closely aligned. Stop just asking what skills are needed to support technical requirements, and look beyond technology to understand shifting skill requirements and what keeps people engaged with these changes.”
  
  
•  “Avoid piling more and more demands on your workforce to keep pace with ever-shifting business and technology landscapes. Start improving the flexibility and ability of your function to meet unexpected demands."

Avoiding the Top Mistakes in Your Cloud Strategy

Speakers:

• Adrian Wong, Director Analyst, Gartner

Key take-aways

• “The most common mistake is assuming a cloud strategy concerns only IT. It’s about producing new business outcomes resulting from the availability of new services and models.”
  
  
• “Many organizations don’t believe they need an exit strategy, yet it’s vital to the success of any cloud strategy. It’s like having an insurance policy that you’ll hopefully never need to use.”
  
  
• “A cloud strategy is often confused with an implementation plan. It’s important to keep them separate so the strategy sets the foundations and direction, while the implementation plan puts that strategy into effect.”
  
  
• “Many believe it’s too late to devise a cloud strategy as they’ve been using the cloud for years. Driving adoption without it will cause resistance from those not aligned on key drivers and principles, which will slow down adoption and potentially jeopardize the entire project.”
  
  
• “Outsourcing a cloud strategy may sound attractive, but avoid doing so as outsourcers don’t know as much about your business strategy as you do.”