This blog, originally was authored by  Phillip Privett vice president, Converged and Data Solutions, Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas, and was originally featured on The VAR Guy. 

Technology is in a constant state of evolution, and at the forefront of the channel’s attention is finding solutions to bandwidth demands, increasing operational efficiency, and moving toward server and client virtualization – all while reducing IT complexity. Data center consolidation through converged infrastructure solutions is gaining momentum as businesses embrace a centralized computing model that ensures predictable application delivery, easy management, cost efficiency and comprehensive security. But as with any seemingly new technology, potential complexities also accompany the deployment of converged solutions.

In a previous blog post, you had the opportunity to watch a complete FlexPod solution be built in 3 minutes at the Avnet Global Solution Center located in Chandler, Arizona. Now take a deeper dive into the planning and construction of the FlexPod at the Avnet Solution Center in Tongeren, Belgium. One of the few places in Europe where complete FlexPod solutions can be built and validated.

Today, server and client virtualization has become the industry standard, putting data growth, business continuity and cost pressures in the forefront of customers' attention. While all of this is placing more demand on IT networks, data center consolidation is gaining momentum as businesses embrace a centralized computing model that ensures predictable application delivery, easy management, cost efficiency and comprehensive security. Organizations are quickly discovering the benefits of flexible, consolidated management – management of the server, network, storage and application resources as a single unit, one that positively impacts each person in the IT process.

Ever wonder what a complex process, such as building a NetApp and Cisco FlexPod converged system looks like? In this time lapse video, we show how Avnet's global integration services saves partners the time, cost and risk of assembling the 140+ individual pieces on their own.