By Robert Daigneault, Fiberlink.

Today’s mobile workforce is changing the place where work is done – so doesn’t that mean your IT business needs a renovation?  Or perhaps an entirely new architecture?  Think of it this way – your company’s IT infrastructure is like a building.  Right now, it you’re working in a building designed by LAN architects.

Created in the 1960s and 1970s, the LAN is actually quite a lot like landmark buildings designed at the time – big, blocky, heavy on the concrete, and with few windows.  Take the National Air and Space Museum in DC or the Centre Square Building (fondly known as the “Clothespin Building”) in Philadelphia for example.  They make a pretty good analogy for the LAN.

Now consider modern architecture – soaring skyscrapers made of steel and glass, environmentally-friendly, and connected to pedestrians with cafes, shops, and public transportation.  What if you could design your IT network to look like that?  Well, that’s exactly what all IT departments around the world should be doing. 

Let me take the analogy slightly further.  Newly designed and constructed skyscrapers all have the following – and so should an IT infrastructure that supports mobile workers:

• Strong Foundation (Mobile IT Platform) – It needs to be reliable, but it also needs to be incredibly well-engineered to support the next generation mobility design.
• Lots of Windows (Visibility) – It’s really important to see what’s going on in the outside world, and today the most sophisticated building have the most glass and the most visibility.
• Tiered Roof (Security) – Unlike designs from the 1970s with flat roofs, today’s are designed to protect the content of the building at different levels throughout and make a dramatic statement at the top.
• Efficient Utilities (Data Services) – These need to brought into the building as-needed, but as the “green” movement become’s more popular, buildings are designed to use them more efficiently.
• Big Banks of Elevators (Connectivity) – Moving between floors is more important as the building climbs higher and higher and users demand more options, less outages and faster service.
• Waterless Toilets (Compliance with Regulations) – Being LEED certified matters; and the new building has to be compliant before it can open.

Want to create the most efficient and happiest mobile workforce you can?  Take a hint from modern skyscrapers and upgrade your IT architecture.