“How do you put an elephant in the fridge?” No, this is not a rhetorical question or a joke. Candidates who applied to work for Gemalto, a digital security company, were asked for a response to this seemingly irrelevant question during a job interview.
Still thinking about how you’d respond?
This would be my answer: Open the fridge, put the elephant in and close the fridge! Puzzled? This is the same type of mentality applied to daily customer challenges across the data center industry. The answer may not seem straight forward but with lateral thinking, deductive reasoning and smart management tools, we make things happen.
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Don’t overthink it
As countries like China, Japan, South Korea and the United States test 5G, they are expanding investments in next-generation networks. This includes designing data centers to meet the requirements of the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR), blockchain, and artificial intelligence (AI), among other emerging applications.
During this quest for digital transformation, many companies have posed similar questions to the elephant one. For example, "How do we extend the life of an aging data center which is capable of processing information nearly as fast as receiving it, at 400G speeds?"
This may seem like a daunting task but it’s a no brainer. Partner with a technology provider who has customer experience, gets service delivery and is open to new investment models.
Helping the enterprise to manage data centers effectively
I’m lucky to be surrounded by technology companies in China who are eager to build world-class energy efficient facilities. For example, Tencent is recycling cold air, using renewables and may access the large local supply of hydropower.
Did you know that with the right cabling system, data centers are more efficient in managing energy needs? Join us at DCD Shanghai on June 25 to continue the conversation. And don’t worry, we won’t ask you to take the complete animal IQ test.
About the Author
Laura Chen
Laura Chen is Vice President, Enterprise Sales of Greater China for CommScope, a global leader in infrastructure solutions for communications networks. Ms. Chen is responsible for all aspects of sales and customer relationships for the SYSTIMAX® Solutions business in Greater China. In this position, she executes the sales strategy and deals with key verticals and geographical expansion in the region.
A veteran in the industry, Ms. Chen first joined AT&T in 1995, having worked in the telecommunication and CATV industry. In 2000, she assumed the position of sub- region sales manager in charge of the East China SYSTIMAX Solutions business, which she maintained from the company’s transition from Avaya to CommScope. In 2007, she took on the position of national sales manager in charge of Greater China sales, where she achieved a revenue growth of 22 per cent from 2007 to 2008. In 2010, Ms. Chen assumed the position of regional sales director of Greater China. In 2015, Laura is promoted as VP, Enterprise Sales of Greater China. An outstanding team player, Ms. Chen has been awarded the AP Coach of the Year award in 2007 and the Strategic Sales Initiative Person of the Year in 2009.
In 2015, Laura earned a master’s degree in business administration from The University of Hong Kong. In 1990, she graduated from Shanghai University, receiving a bachelor’s degree in telecommunication. She also holds an e-business program certification from CEIBS, a China executive marketing program diploma from Shanghai Jiaotong University and a strategic leadership program diploma from INM (International Negotiation & Management Co.) in the United States.
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