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Gartner Says Future of Data Center Is Software-Defined

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The software-defined data center (SDDC) is crucial to the long-term evolution of an agile digital business according to Gartner, Inc. It is not, however, the right choice for all IT organizations currently.

“Infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders need to understand the business case, best use cases and risks of an SDDC,” said Dave Russell, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “Due to its current immaturity, the SDDC is most appropriate for visionary organizations with advanced expertise in I&O engineering and architecture.”

An SDDC is a data center in which all the infrastructure is virtualized and delivered “as-a-service.” This enables increased levels of automation and flexibility that will underpin business agility through the increased adoption of cloud services and enable modern IT approaches such as DevOps. Today, most organizations are not ready to begin adoption and should proceed with caution.

By 2020, however, Gartner predicts the programmatic capabilities of an SDDC will be considered a requirement for 75 percent of Global 2000 enterprises that seek to implement a DevOps approach and a hybrid cloud model.

“I&O leaders can’t just buy a ready-made SDDC from a vendor,” said Mr. Russell. “First, they need to understand why they need it for the business. Second, they need to deploy, orchestrate and integrate numerous parts, probably from different vendors.”

Moreover, aside from a lot of deployment work – new skills and a cultural shift in the IT organization are needed to ensure this approach delivers results for the business.

Gartner recommends that I&O leaders take a realistic view of the risks and benefits, and make plans to mitigate the top risks of an SDDC project failure:

Assess skills and culture
Simply changing a legacy infrastructure for a set of software-defined products is unlikely to yield the desired benefits. Before an activity is automated and self-service is implemented, the process associated with the IT service needs to be completely rethought and optimized.

This may require new skills and a different culture to what is currently available within certain IT organizations. ”

A broken process is still a broken process no matter how well it is automated,” said Mr. Russell.

“Build the right skills in your organization by enabling top infrastructure architects to experiment with public cloud infrastructure in small projects, as well giving them the opportunity to get out and learn what their peers in other organizations and visionaries in this field are doing.” 

Know when the time is right
The right time to move to an SDDC may be years away for most organizations, but for many it will come sooner than their preparations allow for.

“The first step is understanding the core concepts of the SDDC,” said Mr. Russell. “Then, I&O leaders should examine the available solutions starting with one component, process or software-defined domain that can benefit. The final stage is to plan a roadmap to full deployment if and when SDDC solutions are appropriate.”

Moreover, I&O leaders must realize that the technology is still nascent. Even the more established software-defined areas like networking and storage are still gelling and are experiencing early stage adoption levels.

Implementing in phases is recommended, once it’s been established that the solutions in the market deliver enough functionality, interoperability and production-proven deployment history to be viable. “Storage can be a compelling starting point as the capabilities often stack up favorably against traditional solutions,” said Mr. Russell.

Beware of vendor lock-in
Open-source standards or a cloud management platform may help IT organizations to reduce vendor lock-in, but it cannot be eliminated altogether. There are also no universal standards in place for infrastructure APIs, so adopting and coding to a particular API results in a degree of lock-in. It’s vital to understand the trade-offs at work and the costs of migration or exit when choosing vendors and technologies.

“Recognize that adopting an SDDC means trading a hardware lock-in for a software lock-in,” said Mr. Russell. “Choose the most appropriate kind of lock-in consciously and with all the facts at hand.”


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E-Business

Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

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Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.

Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

 

China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.

The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.

“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.

The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.

It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.

Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.

Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.

Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.

A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.

“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.

Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.

Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.

It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.

Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.

 

 

 


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NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

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National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.

NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.

NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”

The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.


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NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

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National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), has convened a one-day workshop in Abuja to advance dialogue on the draft Online Harm Protection (OHP) Bill to confront harmful online content.

NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

The bill, a rights-based, locally rooted, and multi-stakeholder initiative, is aimed at addressing the challenges of the digital age.

The event, which held yesterday, brought together government officials, civil society, academics, digital platforms, and legal experts to shape a policy framework designed to combat online ills such as cyberbullying, disinformation, hate speech, digital exploitation, and gender-based violence, while safeguarding democratic freedoms and digital inclusion.

In his keynote remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, director general, NITDA urged a paradigm shift in the way society engages with digital technologies.

“For almost two decades, we have viewed digital technology through a consumer lens. But these technologies are not just products and services. They are transforming how we live, work, and interact. They shape our politics, our society, and our democracy,” he said.

Warning against unaccountable digital power in the hands of private corporations, the DG likened the digital journey to the tale of Alice in Wonderland, where initial fascination with innovation has given way to deeper concerns about privacy, autonomy, and manipulation by big tech platforms.

“We thought we were using Google, but now we realise Google is using us. Social media, once a tool of expression, has become a tool of surveillance and influence,” Inuwa noted.

He, therefore, emphasised the urgency of developing a democratic and accountable framework.  He explained that following the 2021 Twitter ban, NITDA facilitated dialogue between the government and platform operators, leading to a Code of Practice that stressed Nigeria’s sovereignty and legal standards.

According to him, the same process birthed the multi-stakeholder steering committee and the OHP White Paper in December 2024, laying the foundation for the current legislative push.

Earlier in her opening remarks,  Victoria Manya, co-founder, API, observed the moral and civic necessity of the bill.

Her words: “The internet did not break society, it merely revealed its unfiltered version. Every day, Nigerians are exposed to harassment, disinformation, exploitation, and even algorithmic violence. The OHP Bill is not a war on the Internet. It is a peace offering to its users, a social contract for a digital future that is safe, inclusive, and democratic.

“We cannot answer the question of algorithmic power with unchecked state control. We must answer it with shared, rights-based governance. This bill must not be written for the people, but with them.”


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