What Is a Converged System? Why Do You Need It?

With a sprawling array of storage, networking, security and other appliances crowding the racks, data center infrastructures seem to be getting more and more complex, and companies of all sizes are having trouble managing their equipment. Approaching your data center with a DIY mindset used to be manageable, but it is increasingly costly and time consuming to make it work. The new trend in data center strategy is to implement a converged infrastructure, hyper-converged infrastructure or on-demand IT strategy. The only problem is that many business decision makers struggle to determine which approach is best for their specific needs. Let’s take a look at your different options and see why you need to move to a converged strategy. Converged infrastructure 101 Converged infrastructures aim to consolidate the sprawling racks of IT devices into a single computing package. The goal is to provide a purpose-built system that combines storage and servers so that companies don’t have to deal with so many service providers. It simplifies management and also makes troubleshooting easier by eliminating increasing amounts of silos. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Converged Infrastructures arrive on the scene fully virtualized, capable of managing all of your computing from a single, centralized interface. Here are some of the other benefits you can achieve with HPE ConvergedSystems : • Fast track to 100G network speeds • Speedier provisioning cycles • Greater scalability and flexibility than traditional infrastructures • Simplified path to private cloud solutions The market for converged infrastructures is expected to grow at an annual rate of 31.3% between 2014 and 2019. Your competitors are realizing the benefits of this new data center strategy and it’s becoming clear that upgrading from silo approaches will soon become a necessity. Hyper-convergence takes converged infrastructure to the next level Converged infrastructures can help a company simplify their IT management and streamline the implementation process with automation, but where does desktop virtualization fit in? Hyper-converged infrastructures takes one step past converged infrastructures, which are attached directly to physical servers, and go virtual. Why go with a hyper-converged approach instead of standard convergence? There are benefits to HPE hyper-convergence because of the added support for virtualization: • Focus on virtual machines and support for virtual storage, backup, replication and more. • Applications in these environments are better equipped to support shared resources. • Built-in backup and disaster recovery makes data protection easier • Lower cost of entry due to fewer hardware requirements. Companies are increasingly focused on software and virtualization, making HPE hyper-convergence an attractive option. However, converged infrastructures are just as easy to manage for companies that aren’t interested in fully embracing virtualization—whether it be for security reasons or any others. The future: on-demand IT Applications are becoming increasingly power-hungry, forcing organizations to boost their computing power to new heights. With HPE Converged Infrastructures and Hyper-converged Infrastructures, companies must understand their own computing needs and purchase the systems best suited to support them. That is where Netsync comes in as the on-demand IT, go-to approach to avoid the challenge of fluctuating demands and helping you determine which Convergence Infrastructure is best suited for your business. With on-demand IT, we are able to provide users with computing resources as necessary. There are different approaches to on-demand IT offerings, but metered services are a popular option. With a usage-based payment structure, companies can stop worrying about traffic spikes throughout the year. For industries like retail that see far more traffic right before the holidays than just after, metered services can enable organizations to focus on meeting customer needs as opposed to constantly managing traffic patterns. Navigating through the sea of converged options When it comes to converged, hyper-converged or on-demand IT finding the right solution is just as important as choosing the right data center strategy. As an HPE Gold Partner, Netsync can guide you through this process to ensure your data center solution is customized to your needs. Are you ready for the new world of data center infrastructures? Get a closer look into Netsync’s deep Converged Infrastructure expertise by downloading our free solutions brief.