The data needs of today’s enterprises continue to evolve and to keep up, many IT organizations are turning to hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI). The benefits of HCI, which include rapid deployment, reduced physical space requirements, and streamlined infrastructure, match perfectly with the immediate priorities of IT organizations looking to modernize legacy systems to increase agility, improve the management experience, and simplify scalability.
That said, HCI is continuing to evolve as does the needs of the enterprise. As shared by IDC, it’s predicted that by 2023, 70 percent of enterprises will run varying levels of processing at the IoT edge, and the compound annual growth rate of edge infrastructure spending on compute and storage will grow to hit $21.2 billion in 2023.
As companies modernize their infrastructure and adopt HCI, they realize workloads at the edge are different from typical enterprise workloads. These workloads are creating and processing data at the edge, they are small and resilient, and they require friction-less deployment, connectivity and mobility. HCI must evolve to service the world we are living in, the world at the edge. Let’s take a look at the next steps needed for your organization to extend HCI to the edge, and the reasons why HPE SimpliVity just might be the right choice.
Achieving Edge-Optimized HCI
To optimize and bring HCI all the way to the edge, IDC specifies that enterprise requirements include:
- More efficient technologies for capturing and processing data
- Local resiliency and no-touch IT
- Built in security
- Automation to simplify management and automate day-to-day activities
- Simplified deployment, connectivity, and operations
- High availability (HA) in the smallest physical footprint possible
HCI at the Edge with HPE SimpliVity
HPE SimpliVity is edge-optimized HCI. This leading HCI solution offers enterprises the simplest and most efficient all-in-one appliance (including data protection) with HA in as little as two nodes, remote and multi-site management, and artificial intelligence (AI) and automation through HPE InfoSight.
Four differentiators of HPE SimpliVity:
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Easy to deploy – Low-entry price point and packaging for compact, highly available, all-in-one HCI with built-in data protection
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Efficient data movement – global dedupe, space efficient replication and rapid multi-site DR for fast recoveries in low bandwidth settings
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2-Node high availability – Achieve resiliency with 2 nodes in small footprint with built-in data protection and disaster recovery features to help keep data safe at the edge
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Simple to manage – Remote, multi-site infrastructure management with integrated data services and backup/recovery through VMware vCenter
Research by IDC shows that 75 percent of customers saw better storage utilization and 57 percent saw improved staff productivity when utilizing HPE SimpliVity.
Why are Enterprise Leaders Choosing HPE SimpliVity?
Businesses are moving to more data-centric business models; they are capturing and analyzing more data than ever before. This faster pace of business and the immense volume of data are forcing organizations to modernize IT infrastructure at a rapid rate. They require increased agility, improved manageability, and the ability to scale when needed. Turns out, HPE SimpliVity is solving the need.
A recent PeerPaper Report by IT CentralStation titled, Best Practices for Using an HCI Solution, captures real user reviews of HPE SimpliVity. Of the many factors these companies considered before deploying HCI, here are the top reasons they ultimately went with HPE SimpliVity:
- Simplicity
- Manageability
- Efficiency
- Faster, more highly available applications
- Fast backup and Restore
- Footprint consolidation
- More Cloud options
The other major factor is data intelligence and is part of what makes HPE SimpliVity different from competing HCI solutions. HPE SimpliVity comes with the benefit of AI-driven intelligence with HPE InfoSight—providing visibility and predictive analytics across your infrastructure. With VM-centric management and mobility, built-in backup and DR, and unparalleled data efficiency in an architecture that’s already optimized for the edge, HPE SimpliVity has truly evolved from the HCI solutions of the past.
It’s Good for Remote Workforce Initiatives, Too!
We would be remiss if we didn’t stop for a moment to call out HPE SimpliVity’s ability to support your remote workforce. In an article on HPE’s Community platform titled, HPE SimpliVity 325 doubles the number of virtual desktops while cutting costs in half, HPE reports that HPE SimpliVity is a proven architecture for VDI, with 26% of customers worldwide running virtual desktops on the platform (that was from May 2020, we estimate it to be significantly higher by now given the implications of the pandemic). HPE customers are already benefiting from the powerful, built-in data protection and single-click lifecycle management of HPE SimpliVity, but the solution goes further to support the evolving needs of a remote workforce. Here’s how:
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Easily scalable: Customers can start with a small, medium, or large configuration and easily add new nodes in small, powerful increments from pilot to production scale with no disruption.
Powerful capabilities in a compact form factor: Starting with the very first appliance, customers can take advantage of the full software capabilities of HPE SimpliVity including guaranteed data efficiency, built-in data protection, and global VM-centric management and mobility.
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Lower dollar per desktop cost: Doubling the virtual desktops per server provides businesses a 50% savings in cost per remote worker.
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Seamless integration into existing IT environment: Customers can mix HPE SimpliVity 325 with HPE SimpliVity 380 and 2600 models in the same federation across many sites, easily integrating the new HCI nodes into existing environments.
Highly dense HPE SimpliVity 325 is a powerful hyperconverged infrastructure for space-constrained IT. The 1 rack-unit model is ideal for remote sites, Edge, and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).
Are You Interested In Utilizing HCI At The Edge?
As a global, edge-to-cloud company, HPE is helping enterprises around the world upgrade from legacy systems and experience the benefits of a new generation of HCI. With a variety of use cases, and powered by the industry’s most advanced AI for infrastructure, HPE SimpliVity is offering the HCI experience at the edge, without compromising performance.
If you’re considering a move to hyperconverged infrastructure, rest assured that WEI can help you along the way. Ask us about our experience implementing HPE SimpliVity for mid-market to enterprise companies across several industries. We are there by your side to consult, design and architect a solution, as well as implement and support your organization beyond deployment. Contact us today to talk more about how HPE SimpliVity can fit in your environment.
NEXT STEPS: Modernizing your IT infrastructure? Sure, we all are! Dig into the differences between Converged and Hyperconverged Infrastructure and find out the key questions to ask before investing in an HCI solution in our white paper below. Read it today!
