The primary mission of the infrastructure professional is to deploy and maintain platforms that enable applications and services. Evaluate how these hot developments can boost achievement in that critical role. This research will:

• Help infrastructure managers evaluate these hot developments in the context of advancing core goals in infrastructure.
• Highlight tangible benefits such as overall cost reduction, mitigation of performance bottlenecks, and enablement of new applications and services.
• Establish what the value proposition is for each of these developments and what should be communicated to senior managers, vendors, and fellow infrastructure professionals.

These hot developments should not be pursued simply because everybody else is doing it. Investigate the reality versus the hype and determine if they will provide appropriate value for your organization.