Your IT has to process increasing amounts of data due to such things as applications, databases, document collections, archives, online stores, customer portals and sensors. The amount of data you deal with already is big − and we mean that in the most literal sense of the word. You have to collect, manage and provide information from a wide range of different sources. At the same time, however, relational databases do not do a good job of accommodating big data. New technologies such as Not-only-SQL (NoSQL) open new possibilities.

Your IT has to cope with fluctuating demands on capacity. From the outset, your infrastructure should be able to cope with a rapid increase and drop off in visitor figures. Agile developers require short-term test environments that they can set up and dismantle again at the push of a button. Automatic processes are the key to more elastic IT infrastructures.