Hyperconverged infrastructure benefits are clear, as is the trend toward mainstream enterprise adoption. However, not all companies are on board with this new type of software-driven data center innovation. Because of technical and licensing challenges, larger companies are quicker to make the adoption than smaller businesses. The three main organizational groups that can really benefit from this technology are:
The digital transformation of our economy today has paved the way for multiple disruptors that are altering entire industries and markets. The induction of disruptive organizations such as Uber and Airbnb are introducing new paradigms that are threatening traditional business models and longtime industry leaders. There is one thing in common with disruptors such as these. They leverage assets. Whether it be a car or an extra bedroom, these two mentioned disruptors harvest additional value from these assets which in turn adds revenue streams. Suddenly a car is no longer an expense—it becomes a profit generating machine.
Writer's note: Every Thursday in November and December, this blog will highlight the SDN solution, Cisco ACI. As market acceptance and adoption increases for SDN, IT professionals can count on WEI to fairly evaluate the market leading SDN solutions available today.
There is always a lot of buzz around the ‘next’ big IT infrastructure technology, but how much have you heard about hyperconverged infrastructure? It can be hard to sift through the articles and expert opinions for what is the next best solution for your IT environment, and we have seen this through the years, but hyperconverged is worth the look.
The Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) is more so a reality for IT leaders now than ever before. Evolving from a buzzword, many IT leaders have a roadmap that includes SDDC. According a research poll conducted by IDG, 42% of IT Decision Makers plan to move to an SDDC. [click to tweet] As the hardware-driven data center proves itself insufficient to complete business processes and manage increasingly large and complex workloads for enterprises, the need illuminates itself further.
The concept of “software-defined” is not new, in fact we’ve been replacing hardware with software for a long time. Think about the alarm clock you used in the 90’s. If you wanted to set your alarm clock for 30 minutes earlier than usual you had to rotate through 23 and a half hours to set your new time. But that was normal. Fast-forward to now and your alarm can be turned on, off, or adjusted with a click of a button – right on your mobile device – replacing hardware with a software enabled device.
The IT data center finds itself at a decisive nexus in its life cycle and is about to undergo a similar transformation to that of the Google self-driving car. Just as a computer-driven car doesn’t have to listen to the needs of a human driver, a software orchestrator drives all of the IT decision making, providing automated judgments for the organization based on the immediate conditions at hand. A Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) completes this transition.
“Software Defined Data Center is where…all the complexity in configuring and changing all the individual elements is abstracted to a single control level where you can make those changes with the single press of a button.”
IDC Chief Analyst Frank Gens has hailed the adoption of “3rd Platform” technologies of cloud, mobile, big data, and the Internet of Things (IoT) as the key trends shaping the future of IT. IDC predicts one-third of all IT spending and 100% of IT growth in 2015 will be based on these tent poles.
Getting your team up to speed in your ITaaS transition can seem daunting with all of the major changes that look and feel different from original protocol, but ultimately the process boils down to careful planning and thorough communication. While change always starts at the top, an effective transformation will depend on the enthusiasm of your workforce, and their willingness to embrace new ways of doing things. For a step-by-step guide that will lead you through all of the important steps of this process, check out our whitepaper, Making the Transition to ITaaS. But for starters, the following tips should position your organization for a successful transition to ITaaS.
