THE HYPER-CONVERGED DATA CENTER:

A Rolta AdvizeX eBook featuring Dell EMC VxRail

From Request to Reality in 30 Minutes

It wasn’t long ago that IT departments were the sole gatekeepers of technology. Not anymore. Today, line-of-business (LOB) leaders and application developers can (and do) purchase “instant infrastructure” from a variety of external cloud providers. And as more business apps move into the cloud, IT departments are feeling left out in the cold.

Wish as they might, IT departments can’t put the cloud genie back in the bottle. But they can bottle what the cloud has to offer, through hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI). HCI provides a pre-validated, pre-integrated IT infrastructure that can be quickly configured, deployed, scaled and managed in minutes—not days or weeks. Sound familiar? It should. HCI is the same underlying technology that the big cloud providers use to power their massive data centers.

How the Cloud Changed Everything

Building a virtual data center is a significant achievement, but it’s not the end of the journey. Machine virtualization is an important first step towards the real goal of a software-defined data center (SDDC). Virtual machines (VMs) reduce costs, improve flexibility and increase resource utilization. They won’t, however, make your data center as fast and simple to use as one of those big-name cloud providers. For that, you need automation and orchestration.

Re-Imagine Your Data CenterThink of your data center transformation as a continuum:

In phase one, infrastructure shifted from standalone hardware and software to pre-validated, best-of-breed solutions based on a specific vendor’s (or group of vendors’) reference architecture.

In phase two, converged infrastructure appeared. Led by companies like VCE, converged infrastructure delivered pre-validated and pre-integrated racks of compute, network and storage blocks. These blocks were faster to deploy and easier to scale, but they were still managed by separate compute, network and storage teams.

We’re now entering phase three, hyper-converged infrastructure. With HCI, compute and storage capacity is sold in bricks with a single toolset for complete management and administration. There’s no need to buy dedicated blocks anymore, and no need for individual teams to maintain them.

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When smartphones and tablets began to replace personal computers as the business tool of choice, the industry called it a mobile revolution. What enterprises need today is a mobile revelation. That is, they need to understand that mobility isn’t a trend or the latest iteration of IT; it’s a fundamental requirement for all communications and applications going forward. Your mobility strategy needs to think bigger than BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and the cloud. It needs to take into account how mobility can make employees more productive, build stronger customer relationships and differentiate your brand in the market.

The revelation can often start with the realization that your current mobility strategy falls short in some important way. At Rolta AdvizeX, we’ve worked with hundreds of enterprises to create forward-thinking mobility plans, and we often discover the same half-dozen or so pain points that indicate a mobility makeover is needed.

Want to Be a Cloud Killer? Do This. If you want to compete with the cloud, you have to beat it at its own game. That means you need an infrastructure that is fast, flexible, reliable and simple to use. Consider these six criteria for a competitive private cloud platform:

Simplicity. Even non-technical users can launch and manage apps in a public cloud—that’s a big part of its appeal. Your private cloud will need to offer the same self-management capabilities with a simple, web-based interface.

Fast Updates. Your cloud can’t afford to be down or outdated. Choose a cloud platform that supports seamless patches and allows you to upgrade to new features without taking your cloud offline.

Accountability. The most effective cloud providers stand behind their clouds with SLAs. You need to as well. Building your private cloud on a single-vendor platform will help you deliver high reliability and availability by improving troubleshooting and eliminating finger-pointing.

Speed. Like the title of this eBook says, you need to be able to turn out a new infrastructure quickly—in 30 minutes or less. Because if you can’t, their cloud will.

Flexibility. Public cloud options are attractive to LOB leaders and app developers because they don’t have to pre-commit to a certain capacity and stick to it. Your private cloud should offer the same ability to quickly scale up or down.

High Availability and Reliability. With cloud services, application owners receive a service level assurance. Private clouds need to deliver the same high levels of performance and back it up with a guarantee.

By leveraging HCI in your data center, your organization can reduce cost and complexity and deliver new services to users. HCI is a great example where IT leaders have an opportunity to foster innovation through technology. Here are some examples of how organizations are using HCI to improve their business:

What Can You Do with an HCI-Driven Data Center?

Virtual Desktop Initiatives (VDI) Schools, hospitals and corporations with remote workforces all have an interest in creating a standardized user experience across different devices. A virtual desktop environment requires rapid data access, load balancing, high performance, scalability and centralized policy management—features where HCI naturally excels.

Healthcare Organizations Hospitals and other healthcare organizations rely on real-time communications and collaboration in life-or-death situations. HCI gives them a rapid, responsive infrastructure for new apps and critical communications while supporting the highest levels of security and integrated disaster recovery.

Enterprise Consolidation A merger, acquisition or some other inciting incident will often reveal siloed data and server sprawl. HCI is the perfect platform for consolidation and gives you better visibility into your applications and data.

Cloud Competition Maybe LOB leaders are thinking about moving their apps into the public cloud. Maybe they’re thinking of moving them back on premise. With HCI, your private cloud can compete with the public cloud in terms of performance, flexibility and scalability—and deliver a better price point over the long haul.

For over 40 years, Rolta AdvizeX has helped organizations plan, build and manage their data centers for a true competitive advantage. Now, more than ever, organizations need a trusted partner to help them navigate through the changes of big data, cloud computing and a mobile workforce. As a technology-agnostic partner, we ensure that organizations get the best solution for their business, from world-leading vendors that include Dell EMC and many others.

At the heart of our service model is the Data Center Advisory Service, which provides in-depth assessments, measurements and recommendations to ensure you invest in technology that delivers the maximum ROI quickly. We also offer tailored advisory services around big data, cloud computing, data storage, mobile solutions and more. With a deep technical team of IT experts around the world, Rolta AdvizeX helps your organization connect the dots between what you have today and what you need to succeed tomorrow, while delivering the highest levels of customer service along the way.

Trust Your Transformation to Rolta AdvizeX

At the heart of our service model is the Data Center Advisory Service, which provides in-depth assessments, measurements and recommendations to ensure you invest in technology that delivers the maximum ROI quickly.

Build on Your Strengths with Dell EMC VxRailBuilding a software-defined data center is a big step. Choosing the wrong HCI vendor can lead to a series of missteps, from lengthy integration times to poor performance.

Best-in-class hardware processors, including All-Flash/Hybrid Flash storage options

A full suite of management and security tools including vCenter, vRealize and RecoverPoint

The ability to run everything through a best-in-class hypervisor (vSphere)

Automated, non-disruptive patches and upgrades throughout the product’s lifecycle

“Evergreen” clusters that allow you to refresh technology simply and easily over time

Virtual SAN to simplify storage administration/allocation and automatically re-balance storage according to VM-level policies

Integrated business continuity and disaster recovery with continuous data protection or point-in-time backups to protect Tier 1 workloads

CloudArray integration to extend high performance storage capacity with cost-effective cloud storage

VxRail systems are currently available in purpose-built configurations as the G Series (general-purpose, high-performance computing), E Series (smaller footprint for remote office or midsize environments), V Series (VDI optimized), P Series (high-performance optimized) and S Series (storage-intensive applications).

Dell EMC VxRail is a proven, world-class HCI platform that delivers enhanced features in a simple, flexible, scalable solution. Key features and benefits of VxRail include:

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About Rolta AdvizeXSince 1975, Rolta AdvizeX has been a provider of advanced information technology solutions that enable optimal business performance. By partnering with the best strategic businesses in the industry we deliver innovative technology solutions that create a measurable impact for your organization.

Adhering to our ”clients for life” philosophy, Rolta AdvizeX is focused on creating long-term customer relationships supported by our highly skilled teams based around the world.

To learn more about software-defined data centers, hyper-converged infrastructure and Dell EMC VxRail, visit us online or schedule an on-site technology review with your local Rolta AdvizeX representative.