The data center is at the heart of promoting IT transformation. Mobility initiatives have created a need for increased connections; power initiatives have created a need for greater efficiency; and the increased need for real-time workload processing are driving that change. I see these as "signature" trends in 2013 and also highlighted these in my earlier post this year. Conventional IT security approaches often add complexity and usually impede efficiency gains. What's needed is an approach that does not introduce latency or require the data center to be reconfigured to accommodate security. Neither should it introduce a myriad of new of tools, new reports, and new processes.

Very few vendors can claim to provide an end-to-end architecture where security is a key programmable element of the underlying data center fabric. This capability not only accelerates the adoption of virtualization and cloud technologies but also mitigates the complexity associated with disparate and siloed security technologies. The benefits are increased business agility backed by assured security posture, strong alignment of business function to security and reduced operational costs. In this paradigm, data center and IT executives will no longer be forced into making tradeoffs between business function and security to ensure newer and more capable services.

We've just authored a white paper on three must-have security measures that focuses on pivotal tactics and controls required for safe data center innovation. We've focused on controls that will enable security to be adaptive and responsive, enable users to securely access applications they need, and secure boundaries while demarcating between physical, virtual and cloud services. The goal of this white paper is to highlight three simple measures needed to take full advantage of security as a programmable element of the data center fabric. These measures leverage a design architecture that Cisco uniquely provides and that allows security to be easily built in at the design phase rather than being bolted on post implementation.

To learn more, download the white paper:

Three Must-Have Security Measures to Empower Data Center Transformation