ABSTRACT
Many companies seem to be making a mad dash to do away with the mainframe, and the data center, at all costs as a way to reduce expenses. Even though the data center structure may be changing, its role, and that of the data center manager, may be growing rather than diminishing. The data center cannot operate in isolation, either from the rest of the information systems (IS) organization or the company. There were some constants in the environment and some degree of predictability regarding what was expected of the data center and its manager. The rapid deployment and implementation of local area networks has affected the operation and role of the data center. These networks initially allowed the users to break away from the data center and develop their own computing environments. The continued proliferation of microcomputer networks and the introduction of client/server architecture have opened up the data center more than at any time in the past.
