If you're planning to do a data center project next year, than I have some very bad news for you: if you have not started it, than you're summer vacation is going to be a short one indeed. You need to have your budget ready by autumn to be able to do some serious shopping during the holiday period. That is hardly a relaxing thing to do, especially if it is actually the first large project in ages.

As Network World points out, now is the time to get some idea on what offerings you can expect from the different vendors. Most of them use the summer period to get their portfolio updated and ready.

How does cloud/virtualization fit in? What are the effects on operational costs and support? How significant is real-time communications within the data center? How compatible is the data center with a multi-vendor environment? Those, according to Network World, are the most important questions you should get answered by the time you even dream about sandy beaches and Pina Coladas.

Any upgrade plans yet?