Data Center Systems sponsors free Ray Johnston concert at Tech Museum, Apr 6, 2011

Data Center Systems is a Dallas based company and they have sponsored Dallas talent as the post event concert at Storage Network World conference on Apri 6, 2011.  If you did not attend the conference you can register to attend.

Other datacenter and IT professionals can attend the event by RSVPing to Data Center Systems’ Carol Barron at carol(dot)barron(at)datacentersys(dot)com or 214-239-2046.

Data Center Systems to Host Free Concert in Conjunction with Storage Network World Conference

Ray Johnston Band to Perform at Tech Museum in San Jose at Post-Conference Party on April 6

Dallas and San Jose (PRWEB) April 4, 2011

Data Center Systems (http://www.datacentersys.com) will host a free concert on April 6 at a post-conference party for Storage Network World (SNW) attendees and other datacenter and IT professionals. The event will be held at the Tech Museum in San Jose from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Attendees of Storage Network World can attend the event using their conference badges. Other datacenter and IT professionals can attend the event by RSVPing to Data Center Systems’ Carol Barron at carol(dot)barron(at)datacentersys(dot)com or 214-239-2046.

The concert will feature the Ray Johnston Band, led by former Dallas Maverick and inspirational Leukemia survivor Ray Johnston. The Ray Johnston Band, whose music is inspired by rock, blues and country music, released their first album Sweet Tooth in 2009 and is conducting a successful cross-country tour to promote the album and raise funds for cancer research and treatment. After achieving his lifelong goal of making it to the NBA, Ray Johnston was diagnosed with leukemia. Cancer cut his basketball career short, but started a new chapter in his life. After successfully beating the disease, not once but four times, Ray Johnston began a second career leading a band comprising some of the best musicians in Texas, including Cooper Appelt (bass), Bobby Sparks (organ, keyboard), Keith Anderson (sax), Jeff Randall (drums) and William Barnes (lead guitar). The band’s ongoing tour is not only raising awareness of the group’s talent, but also raising funds for The Ryan Gibson Foundation (http://www.trgf.org), a Dallas based non-profit organization that supports leukemia research. For more information about the Ray Johnston Band, visit http://www.rayjohnstonband.com. Their album Sweet Tooth is widely available through outlets including iTunes and Amazon.com.

Where is Chris Crosby? Sitting right next to me, President/CEO DCS

I saw Mike Manos last week and we talked about where Chris Crosby was going.

Best of Luck to a Great Guy…

February 14, 2011 by mmanos

I just read that Chris Crosby has announced his departure at Digital Realty Trust. As an alumni of that great firm I can definitely tell you that Chris’ hand-prints are all over that company.  I had the pleasure of interacting with him, before I joined,  heavily in my role there, and have maintained our relationship since leaving.

So, where is Chris?  Sitting right next to me at the SNW conference in Santa Clara.

What is Chris's new job?  President and CEO of DCS.

Here is the press release.

Chris Crosby Joins Data Center Systems

Esteemed Digital Realty Trust Executive Becomes President and CEO
of Innovative Provider of Structured Cabling Solutions and Infrastructure for Data Centers

Dallas – April 5, 2011 – Data Center Systems (www.datacentersys.com) today announced industry veteran Chris Crosby will join the company as President and CEO and will have a significant ownership stake in the company. Crosby joins Data Center Systems from Digital Realty Trust, the world’s largest provider of wholesale datacenters, where he was a senior executive who helped lead the company’s dramatic growth over the past several years. Data Center Systems founder and current CEO Kevin Ehringer will work alongside Crosby in the new role of Chief Technology Officer and Chairman.

“Chris is one of the most respected people in the datacenter industry not only because of what he has accomplished in his career but also because of his integrity, passion and intelligence. We are excited about Chris’ decision to join our team and his commitment to build our company into the world leader in structured cabling systems and datacenter infrastructure solutions,” said Kevin Ehringer. “This is a perfect situation for both Chris and me. I will be able to focus on things I am passionate about, determining our customers’ needs and using those insights to develop state-of-the-art solutions that exceed their expectations. In his role as President and CEO, Chris will put his business acumen and boundless energy to work driving the company’s growth. It’s a great fit, and it positions Data Center Systems for a very bright future.”

Four Potential Ways Lee Technologies + Schneider Electric are better together

I had a chance to talk to

Rob McKernan, President, Americas, Schneider Electric IT Business
John Lee, CEO and Chairman, Lee Technologies
Bob Woolley, Senior Vice President, Critical Environment Services, Lee Technologies

about the press release Schneider Electric released on the acquisition of Lee Technologies. 

The first thing we covered is the introductions.  I've had the pleasure of having lengthy conversations with John Lee and Bob Woolley.  Rob McKernan and  I had not met and one of the first things we started discussing is my custom house project and my new Woodstone pizza oven.  My oven is the Chuckanut 4' diameter, 2,500 lbs, 115,000 btu.

Where the first thing I was cooked was a roast chicken.

Some things can be done much better when you get the right technology with a good process. For fun I like to cook (process), and my pizza oven is my new tool.

Lee Technologies has been able to upgrade its data center capabilities now that it has access to the tools Schneider Electric brings.  And, Schneider Electric has picked up a bunch of skilled data center chefs who know how to operate data centers.  What are the potential results?

1. Top of the list is reducing the energy used in data centers.  As the Google guys have shared the initial commissioning starts the process to optimize the performance and as load is accumulated, the process continues to improve energy efficiency.  Reducing energy beyond the simple things of hot/cold aisle containment, requires more resources and sharing information across teams.  Schneider Electric and Lee Technologies are one example of a team who can support more complex energy saving projects.
2. Products with processes. Processes aligned with products.  Lee Technologies has the operations process expertise.  Schneider Electric has the products.  As one data center executive shared with me, you can talk about any of the products I have in the data center, but you can't talk about how we integrate the products.  The integration is our intellectual property and how we are better than most.
3. Condition Based Management (CBM) is becoming a standard in some industries, but is rarely discussed in data centers.  Taking the maintenance information (Lee Tech) and creating a feedback loop to products (Schneider Electric) is part of a CBM solution.
1. It is Department of Defense policy that condition-based maintenance (CBM) be "implemented to improve maintenance agility and responsiveness, increase operational availability, and reduce life cycle total ownership costs"
4. Take all these ideas and expand into emerging markets - South America, APAC, Africa, and Middle East.

BTW, John Lee is on my list of visitors to see my new pizza oven.  It's great when we can talk food, wine, and data centers.  And, best of all be at home.

Google's $900 mil bid for Nortel patents shows how important networking is

Google posted on its bid for Nortel Patent portfolio.

So after a lot of thought, we’ve decided to bid for Nortel’s patent portfolio in the company’s bankruptcy auction. Today, Nortel selected our bid as the “stalking-horse bid," which is the starting point against which others will bid prior to the auction. If successful, we hope this portfolio will not only create a disincentive for others to sue Google, but also help us, our partners and the open source community—which is integrally involved in projects like Android and Chrome—continue to innovate. In the absence of meaningful reform, we believe it's the best long-term solution for Google, our users and our partners.

The bid is reported to be $900 Mil.

Google bids $900M for Nortel patent portfolio

By Juan Carlos Perez

April 4, 2011 12:13 PM ET

IDG News Service - Google is bidding $900 million in cash for thousands of patents that Nortel will auction off as part of its bankruptcy proceedings, the companies said Monday.

As much as Google has its own patents, it is interesting they are the stalking-horse bid for 4,000-6,000 Nortel patents which you would believe are mostly networking base.  But, as their legal department explains they felt this is the best defense.

The tech world has recently seen an explosion in patent litigation, often involving low-quality software patents, which threatens to stifle innovation. Some of these lawsuits have been filed by people or companies that have never actually created anything; others are motivated by a desire to block competing products or profit from the success of a rival’s new technology. The patent system should reward those who create the most useful innovations for society, not those who stake bogus claims or file dubious lawsuits. It's for these reasons that Google has long argued in favor of real patent reform, which we believe will benefit users and the U.S. economy as a whole.

Is this the last of Great Steven Manos LV parties, now that Lee Tech is part of Schneider Electric?

Steven Manos asked me if I had any pictures from the party at Pure Nightclub in Las Vegas at AFCOM/Data Center World 2011

Steven Manos and Katie O'Hara (no relation to me Dave Ohara)

If you are having fun at a LV party the last thing you want is a blogger taking pictures, so I don't bring a camera.

Even though I have no pictures I do want to write a blog entry about the organizers Steven Manos (Lee Technologies) and Jim Grice (Ewing Industrial Park).  Great people are going to change the data center industry, and getting together outside a data center industry typical venue allows people to get to know each other which then sets up better discussions later.  For those who have attended the events, we have all made business and personal friendships at the event that were not possible at other events.

Steve and Jim who get the business value of providing a party where people can just have fun and not worry about being sold. 

I posted about the last party at Data Center World in Oct 2010.

One question I have is whether this will be the last of Steven Manos parties now that he is a Schneider Electric employee with the acquisition of Lee Technologies.

I did take one picture to share with those who wanted to be there.  Recognize anyone.