On the other hand, the move to cloud computing provided Intel with the ability to capture data center growth.

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"Cloud computing has brought a sea change to the data center--dramatically altering the economics of compute by changing the workload and optimal characteristics of a server, " said Andrew Feldman, SeaMicro CEO, who will become general manager of AMD's newly created Data Center Server Solutions business.

ENGADGET: AMD absorbs server startup SeaMicro for $330 million, says it's no impulse buy

Additionally, data center infrastructures need to enable shifts towards cloud computing and enhanced mobility, and applications will need to follow suit.

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Two recent events reminded us this spring that cloud computing infrastructures are vulnerable to the same genetic IT flaw that plagues traditional data center operations: everything fails, sooner or later.

FORBES: The Good News About Cloud Architecture: Everything Fails

IaaS covers most things that exist in a data center these days, but are delivered as a service from a cloud computing provider.

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