Submitted by Kelsey Kusterer Ziser, the Editor of Upskill U at Light Reading.

As service providers seek to implement virtualized services and operate them on commodity hardware, they face the challenge of planning for a service mix requiring more than the typical IT data center infrastructure. In the near future, operators may need a more distributed approach to data center infrastructure as many functions will be virtualized, but many will not. The rising demand for always-on content and greater need for high-speed pipes is resulting in rapid changes to content delivery networks -another factor requiring a shift in traditional telco data center strategies.

Starting July 20, Light Reading and Cisco are launching a Telco Data Center series at Upskill U, a free online university delivering must-have education on themes relating to the overall business transformation taking place in the communications industry. In this four-part learning module, speakers from EdgeConneX, Equinix, ON.Lab and Windstream will examine how telecom is restructuring its data center strategy to maintain service standards while quickly incorporating virtualization and provisioning for future services.

Tune in to Upskill U for these lectures in the Telco Data Center series:

• Telco Data Center 101 (Wednesday, July 20, 1:00 p.m. ET): Jeff Brown, Director, Product Management & Marketing, Windstream, explains how telcos are evolving data center strategies to support virtualization while maintaining service standards and supporting future services. This course prepares students for subsequent courses on the telco data center.
• The Future of the Metro Data Center Interconnect (Friday, July 22, 1:00 p.m. ET): Phill Lawson-Shanks, Chief Architect & Vice President, Innovation, EdgeConneX, explores the future of metro data center interconnect and covers lessons learned from web-scale service providers.
• The Changing Face of the Data Center World (Wednesday, July 27, 1:00 p.m. ET): Rodney M. Elder, Senior Solutions Architect, Equinix, examines the changing face of competition in the interconnection world and who can capitalize on new opportunities.
• The Central Office Re-Architected as a Data Center (Wednesday, Aug. 3, 1:00 p.m. ET): Guru Parulkar, Executive Director, Open Networking Research Center, Open Networking Lab, explains how telco central offices are being re-architected to look like data centers, why the transition needs to happen now and what the new central office will look like.

The convergence of virtualization with traditional service functions challenges operators to rapidly rethink their business models. Upskill U is here to help service providers and enterprise decision makers navigate these changes in 45-minute online sessions delivered by industry experts. Students can ask questions, interact with other students with similar business and technological challenges and expertise and download a wealth of additional learning materials. Secure your seat for the upcoming Telco Data Center series at http://www.lightreading.com/upskillu. I'll see you on the chat boards!