Why your hybrid cloud needs application-centric orchestration

In an era of transformation, speed and agility of application infrastructure is key. Unfortunately, it can take IT weeks to deliver new application stacks when requested because of manual hand-offs across a fragmented set of ‘software-definable’ technologies on-premises. This inefficiency leads teams to bypass IT in favor of public cloud application services which raises cloud costs and opens security holes.

But it’s hard to radically improve velocity in an always changing hybrid IT landscape. For example:

• On-premises stacks from VMware, Nutanix, Red Hat, or Microsoft by themselves do not enable elastic and self-service private clouds.
• VM automation isn’t enough. Developers have embraced Kubernetes and cloud-native PaaS services for next-gen applications.
• Infrastructure-as-Code and Configuration Management can help, but stitching together disconnected technologies is too complex.
• The variety of public cloud platforms and application architectures compounds the challenge and highlights major skills gaps.

A new type of platform is required to bridge hybrid clouds and applications

Morpheus quickly enables private clouds and centralizes public cloud access so teams can provision bare metal, VM, containerized, and cloud-native applications on-demand while also controlling cost and security.

A leader in the Gartner 2020 Magic Quadrant for Cloud Management Platforms (CMP), Morpheus' hybrid cloud management solution has the highest capability scores for provisioning, brokerage, and governance as well as the best customer feedback in the field.

Self-Service is a defining attribute of Cloud Computing and DevOps maturity

Morpheus was created by digital transformation leaders for their own use but is now available to enterprises everywhere to provide:

• Customizable self-service provisioning access via GUI, full-fidelity API and CLI, or ITSM tools like ServiceNow.
• Flexible catalog builder with items ranging from a basic operating system, individual application service, or full multi-tier stack.
• Workflow and Job engine to simplify day-2 operations; mix different task types, pass variables, and leverage secure keys.
• Built-in CNCF-certified Morpheus Kubernetes Service plus integration to popular external Kubernetes options like EKS, AKS, etc.
• Native blueprints and infrastructure-as-code plus the ability to enhance tools like Ansible, Terraform, CloudFormation, ARM, etc.

Why have most CMP and automation tools failed to deliver on their promise?

Many tools have come and gone over the last decade but almost all of them had the same fatal flaw...they treated everybody the same.

But we all have different needs. Developers love to code but hate being forced into a GUI. Finance teams love when everything is accounted for. Security teams will look under every rock to protect the organization.

Look at it this way, if IT selects a platform for automation that doesn’t work for Developers then it’s not going to get used. It’s just as bad if Developers hand-code a tool chain that ignores chargeback and CMDB management.

Persona-based cloud management is a different way to approach self-service

It means Developers, IT Operators, Security Professionals, and Business Users each get their unique needs addressed, when and how they want, without any compromise.

Morpheus goes beyond role-based access to provide a tailored experience designed to make sure everyone can do their job quickly and not negatively impact other users.

How exactly does Morpheus work?

Morpheus is an application-centric automation and orchestration framework which means it can present a self-service catalog to provision applications made up of bare-metal servers, VMs, containers, and public cloud services. It also provides full lifecycle management for day-2 operations and maintenance.

The software has all the discovery, governance, reporting, and automation hooks to quickly create and consume on-premises private clouds from existing hypervisors like VMware and Nutanix while also managing access to Public Clouds from AWS, Azure, GCP, etc.

It’s a secure Linux install package that runs on popular OS flavors both on-premises or in public clouds. It’s also extremely scalable with all-in-one or distributed scale-out options.

Morpheus is a unified platform for the full server build process

Why is Morpheus the application-centric orchestration choice for hundreds of enterprises worldwide?

Hybrid cloud management is rapidly evolving as new cloud players with innovative tools enter the IT landscape. With more built-in integrations and native functionality than any other platform, Morpheus can be up and running in under an hour including hooks to ITSM, ID Management, Infrastructure, IPAM, DNS, Backup, Logging, Monitoring, Load Balancers, and more.

More importantly, Morpheus brings those integrations together into a logical and intuitive framework for automating and managing the full application lifecycle. This includes provisioning, CMDB updating, code deployment, ongoing maintenance, console access, and even teardown. It’s a cloud-aware and cradle to grave approach to modernize and manage all types of applications.

Simply put, here are three reasons why enterprises utilize Morpheus:

1. UNIFIED: Because simple always wins.

Bridge the gap between teams and technology plus assure transparency and visibility of resource utilization. Get more value from IT investments by linking tools in a single converged framework.

2. AGNOSTIC: Because who likes lock-in?

Provide consistent operation and automation across on-premises hypervisors, container platforms, and cloud services with freedom to mix-and-match or swap technologies at any time.

3. RESPONSIVE: Because things change

Utilize a built-in library of nearly 100 codeless integrations or embrace whatever comes next via an extensible plug-in framework and virtually limitless task automation and workflow engine.

NEXT STEPS: What challenges are you facing with your cloud management platform? Are you in the search for a new CMP? Contact the cloud experts at WEI to learn more about how Morpheus can help you manage your clouds while accelerating DevOps.

You might also be interested in our FREE hybrid cloud checklist. Get your copy today!