Enterprise Architecture for Digital Business

Chapter 2. An Infrastructure Renaissance

Joel Moses, F5 CTO of Systems and distinguished engineer

For three centuries, the Renaissance drove renewed interest in classical philosophy, literature, and art. It was not the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1439 that caused the Renaissance to flourish; the press was just the basic infrastructure needed for the full expression of ideas across the surface of the culture of the time. Without this infrastructure, we likely wouldn’t have seen the widespread acceptance of the Copernican sciences, the austere impact of the “Ninety-five Theses” of Martin Luther, or perhaps even expeditions to the Americas. These events took place in the public consciousness born from the communication medium that Gutenberg pioneered.

The technologies of digital transformation are driving a similar rediscovery of some of the classical infrastructure elements underpinning digital businesses. Just as the advent of Gutenberg’s press created new possibilities for communication for people, the emergence of newly capable infrastructure components on the internet creates new possibilities for business. As the third wave of the internet washes over the technical foundations of digital business,¹ there is renewed interest in the location, type, and capabilities of the systems that deliver compute to applications and networking.

This chapter explores the technology and standards that will impact the future of infrastructure in service of the digital ...