IT - Be the Cloud

Oh no, not another kind of Cloud!

Not to worry, it's not.  So what do Cloud and Hyper-converged Systems have in common?  They are both technologies trying to solve the same problem. Deliver business value faster and hopefully at a better cost. 

Why do they deliver business value faster?  As the old saying goes, time is money. Each of these technologies cuts down the time required for an infrastructure to be ready for a new business Application. Cloud based SaaS of course does it the fastest because the application is already there ready to go but that is not the focus of this post.  This is about having a place to put a new application that you still want to own or manage. 

So IT, how long does it take to deliver an infrastructure for a new application?  Of course it depends, that’s the point.  Your ability to deliver infrastructure is largely dependent on the number of infrastructure touches required and their respective lead times - all based on the application infrastructure requirements.  It’s fair to say that in most cases it won’t be too soon.

So once you have the application specs, you have some choices.  You can start working with your vendors and procurement to buy more CPU, Storage, Backup capacity, Software Licensing, D/R space, etc.  I counted at least 5 vendors there. Alternatively, you can dial 1-800-Cloud-aaS and start renting some infrastructure, don’t forget to pick up some network bandwidth while you are out shopping!  Last, if you had built your own cloud in house with Hyper-converged technology, you could provision up the requirements and let App/Dev get started.  

Think about it.  Why is IT losing ground to the Cloud?  Speed.  (I won’t say Cost because very few IT shops track what it really costs to deliver infrastructure – at the Application level.) Regardless, for most business needs, speed is what is needed anyway to either start capturing new revenue or reduce business costs in some way.  The business wants "IT" to mean - Information TODAY.

So Cloud delivers speed.  If you click the right options while cloud shopping, you get CPU, Memory, Storage, Backup, Maintenance, Monitoring, Management, and Disaster Recovery.  The infrastructure is ready to go.  You just have to get the data and users there but you are ready quickly.

You know what Hyper-convergence gives you?  All of the same things but in your own data center. It also completely integrates with your VMware vCenter world.  The data and users have a much shorter trip too.

Hyper-convergence is not about orchestrating all the pieces and parts of your existing technology.  What we are talking about is installing a purpose built system with software (a building block if you will) which has everything already built in, including the orchestration, and can scale as you need it to.  It really can be your own internal cloud and ready just as fast.

Ah, but aren't we starting yet another technology island?  Well, if you are running VMware today, you aren't. What you are doing is consolidating your IT islands such as external storage, external backup, external monitoring, and many other resource extensions. VMware is a great application enablement technology so why handcuff it by having so much dependence on external resources - when today's x86 technology can handle most application workloads within the server?  Easily.

The main stumbling block with hyper-convergence?  Organizational structure.  Who "owns it" in IT?  You have a box that has everything built in.  Storage is there.  Performance management is there. Monitoring is there.  Backup is there.  Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity are there. Data Management is there.  It’s all in there and the guy sitting at the vCenter console can manage all of it if you like. Yeah, it’s not an easy answer about who owns it.  So don’t dwell on it.  Deploy and adjust!  That’s what your business wants doesn't it?

Hyper-convergence is a beautiful thing.  Cloud is too.  Which one still keeps you involved in the business? 

It’s Time to rethink how you want to deliver IT.