Although trends point to industry-wide consolidation of data centers, many businesses find themselves with more then they used to have due to mergers and acquisitions, various business initiatives and growth, regulations, and need for more capacity, space and  

A typical enterprise performs occasional data center consolidation projects to deal with whatever changes it has undergone the previous few years, said analysts Donna Scott and Paul McGuckin during a keynote address on data center planning. But enterprises should instead treat data center planning as a continuous process, regularly reviewing a policy and applying it to business events as they occur, they said.

"The right number of data centers and strategy should be your decision," Scott said. "It shouldn't be something that just happens over time."

Forty-two percent of the several hundred IT users at the session operate three or more data centers in North America, according to an instant poll conducted by Gartner. Forty-five percent are expanding or planning to expand data centers in the next two years, while 43% are consolidating or planning to consolidate in the next two years. (Twelve percent didn't know their companies' plans).

In another instant poll, Gartner found that 11% of attendees do not have a