Datalink Promotes Shawn O'Grady to Chief Operating Officer

11/26/2013

Will Lead Integration of Company’s Data Center Infrastructure & Advanced Services Businesses

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 26, 2013-- Datalink (Nasdaq:DTLK), a leading provider of data center infrastructure and services, today announced the promotion of Shawn O’Grady to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer (COO). O’Grady has served as Datalink’s Executive Vice President of Field Operations for the past four years, overseeing the company’s marketing, services, field engineering and sales initiatives. In his new role, he will be responsible for leading the integration of Datalink’s core infrastructure business with the company’s rapidly growing Advanced Services business.

This announcement reflects the continuing expansion of Datalink’s Advanced Services portfolio to complement the company’s broad range of storage, network, compute and related data center products as well as its implementation and support services. Integrating the product and services sides of the business will help customers take full advantage of Datalink’s offerings to reap the business benefits of data center modernization.

“Most Datalink customers who buy a storage array need data migration services. Many enterprises that purchase a unified compute platform will need strategy and plan development for deploying a private or hybrid cloud. It’s important for us to seamlessly link our product and services portfolios to be sure that our customers explore and understand the value of these kinds of opportunities,” said Datalink President and CEO Paul Lidsky. “Shawn is an ideal candidate to lead this effort because he has extensive experience in the data center field as well as in operating services businesses inside product companies. He will also play a pivotal role in expanding our product and services portfolios, including our Advanced Services, Managed Services and Customer Support offerings.”

“Over the past several quarters, Datalink’s investments in Advanced Services have yielded significant contracts to support customer initiatives ranging from data migration to cloud strategy and data center relocation. Clearly, being able to source these kinds of services from the same provider who designs and deploys your data center is a big advantage,” Shawn O’Grady said. “My job is to be sure that our sales force and our consultants work together to support the entire lifecycle – from strategy and design to deployment, support and managed services – so that we are educating customers about the optimal use of data center technology to achieve their business objectives.”

O’Grady’s 29-year technology industry background includes relevant experience at Siemens ITS, where he spent five years in senior operational positions in the global outsourcing and consulting business units focusing on IT services in the data center. He joined Datalink in 2009 following the company’s acquisition of Incentra LLC, a data center infrastructure solutions and services provider, where he served in roles including President, CEO and COO from 2005 to 2009.
 
About Datalink
A complete data center solutions and services provider for Fortune 500 and mid-tier enterprises, Datalink transforms data centers so they become more efficient, manageable and responsive to changing business needs. Datalink helps leverage and protect storage, server, and network investments with a focus on long-term value, offering a full lifecycle of services, from consulting and design to implementation, management and support. Datalink solutions span virtualization and consolidation, data storage and protection, advanced network infrastructures, business continuity, and cloud enablement. Each delivers measurable performance gains and maximizes the business value of IT. For more information, call 800.448.6314 or visit www.datalink.com


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Source: Datalink

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