Modernize the Data Center with Software Defined Infrastructure

Modernize the Data Center with Software. Defined Infrastructure Take a page from the cloud architecture playbook and develop an on-premise infrastructure that is elastic, agile, highly available, and ready for the hybrid future. Info-Tech Research Group, Inc. is a global leader in providing IT research and advice. Info-Tech’s products and services combine actionable insight and relevant advice with Info-Tech's products and services combine actionable insight and advice ready-to-use tools and templates that cover the fullrelevant spectrum of IT with concerns. and templates that cover the full spectrum©of 1997 -2016 IT concerns. © 1997 -Research 2016 Info-Tech Group. Research Inc. Info-Tech Research Group 1

ANALYST PERSPECTIVE Software-defined infrastructure gives you the cloud-like services users are demanding. The time to implement software-defined infrastructure in the data center is now! In an age where information is exponentially growing, and the needs of the user and business rapidly evolving, the data center must be able to react with agility and elasticity. Recent trends have seen more and more users move their applications to the public cloud. The data center must be able to deliver cloud-like products and services to be able to compete with the flexible and easy to use services delivered by cloud providers such as AWS and Azure. Software-defined infrastructure, made up of various enabling technologies, introduces the agility and elasticity the business and user demands into your data center infrastructure. By pooling and virtualizing infrastructure resources, software is able to align available resources with growing and changing needs. Suhaib Saleh, Consulting Analyst, Infrastructure Practice Info-Tech Research Group 2

Our understanding of the problem This Research is Is Designed For: This Research Will Help You: üData Center Directors üInfrastructure Directors üData Center Managers üInfrastructure Managers üUnderstand how software-defined infrastructure (SDI) will enable you to meet business objectives and user needs üCreate an agile and automated data center üIntroduce emerging and disruptive technologies that will improve the data center üAlign people and processes with the technology modernization üTransition from the current to the desired state This Research Will Also Assist: This Research Will Help You: Them: üCIOs üUnderstand the direction the data center must go to meet business and user needs üChampion IT’s initiative to streamline the processes that make a software-defined data center possible Info-Tech Research Group 3

Executive summary Situation Info-Tech Insight • The business is demanding agility, with elastic resources and faster 1. Start the migration to SDI now. The cloud has quickly become an alternative to traditional infrastructure. Deliver the agile products and services the business needs, or the cloud becomes a viable option. • • • “time to value. ” The public cloud is considered to be more responsive and efficient. Data center managers struggle with the cost and complexity of legacy infrastructure. Data centers are trending toward consolidation and convergence. Complication • Data center roles and processes are organized by tech domains (silos). • There are no greenfields. Legacy investments have yet to complete their • • lifecycle. No one solution will be ideal for all systems and architectures. IT is busy with responsibilities over availability, resilience, and uptime. 2. Modernize more than technology. People and process changes need to occur to get the most from new technologies. 3. Plan for hybrid infrastructure. Modernization does not happen all at once. Take advantage of SDI benefits and support minimal legacy platforms. Resolution • Use software-defined technologies to pool your resources; break down the physical barriers that prevent your compute, • • network, and storage resources from working together. Leverage the different SDI technologies to gain the benefit of what each technology offers. Start the modernization efforts with the technologies nearing the refresh cycle and those requiring immediate attention. Align the modernization of your data center technologies with the required changes in your people and processes. With hybrid infrastructure, you can determine which platforms will be migrated to SDI and which technologies will need to remain on legacy infrastructure. Info-Tech Research Group 4

Move IT from curator of the past to enabler of the future CORE IT SERVICE DELIVERY Dissatisfied Satisfied Curators focus on stable maintenance of what is Business stakeholders see IT as better at maintaining existing core applications and services. Even here satisfaction is just over 50% -simply managing to keep the wheels on the wagon. Enablers focus on helping to build what is to come 54% 46% The same stakeholders are telling Info-Tech Research Group that they are dissatisfied with the ability of IT to deliver solutions that meet business needs. IT leadership is failing to enable innovation Understanding the capability needs of business partners and enabling innovation to help business stakeholders capitalize on technology ABILITY TO MEET NEW opportunities are major areas of frustration. BUSINESS NEEDS Stakeholders are looking to the cloud for enablement Dissatisfied Satisfied Almost three quarters (74%) of business stakeholders “somewhat consistently” look externally to purchase IT services. Source: Info-Tech CIO Business Vision Diagnostic; N=2, 369 40% 60% IT is migrating to software-defined infrastructures to become more agile. The new business driver for IT is agility to deliver products, services and customer experiences faster in a competitive digital world. This means IT must operate in a state of continuous change at the speed of business. - Paula Phipps, Senior Manager, Hitachi Data Systems Info-Tech Research Group 5

Infrastructure complexity and inflexibility are key barriers IT cannot become an enabler if foundational infrastructure is rigid and brittle. On-premise infrastructure must become more cloud-like. Business and user needs continue to evolve. As the user’s needs begin to change, the cloud becomes a convenient platform that delivers the reliable and agile services that your data center is not capable of delivering. A change in the data center must be made to avoid the transition from your data center to the public cloud. Legacy infrastructure is not easy to service and maintain. IT is struggling with the costs and complexity of keeping the legacy infrastructure running. To minimize capital expense and to maximize resource utilization, data centers are trending toward infrastructure consolidation and resource convergence. The business is demanding IT agility. The business now expects drastic reduction in “time to value” and product delivery. Elastic resources are expected to deliver on the business needs. The Future Is Hybrid Types of clouds being used by enterprises Source: Right. Scale 2016 State of the Cloud Report Software-defined infrastructure enables IT to view the data center as an integrated set of resources rather than as discrete compute, networking and storage systems. That perspective has led to a more cloudlike management model that deemphasizes specialization in individual systems. - Brian Cohen, CEO, Strata. Cloud Info-Tech Research Group 6

Make a fully software-defined infrastructure a priority data center modernization goal on your infrastructure roadmap A software-defined data center (SDDC) alone is not a private cloud, but it is a foundation for any cloud infrastructure (internal/external, public or private). Virtualization and Convergence to Software Defined Server/storage consolidation and server virtualization has been a trend over the past 10 years. For many IT shops, 90% of industry standard servers are now virtual. For a fully software-defined infrastructure (SDI), network and storage need to be as virtualized as compute. Fearing commoditization, storage and switch vendors have traditionally resisted this level of abstraction. Cloud architectures are also typically “share nothing, ” displacing the shared storage arrays on which converged virtual stacks are built. Info-Tech Research Group 7

A software-defined data center is the infrastructure that can help IT move from a curator-only to an enabler role Better utilize infrastructure resources SDI allows you to efficiently use the infrastructure resources. By consolidating and grouping content onto less physical resources, more of the infrastructure is utilized by the content it carries. Simplify and optimize data center tasks Resource Pooling Reliability and Availability Automation and orchestration tools in a software-defined data center can be used to automate simple and time consuming tasks, all while optimizing these processes to get the most out the data center infrastructure. Gain a better understanding of your infrastructure A variety of monitoring and management tools are available for softwaredefined data centers that allow you to better understand how your data center is performing, and provide you with the tools that help you control and understand what is happening in your data center. Automation Software. Defined Infrastructure Advanced Monitoring / Management Cost Reduction Agility Grow the data center when needed Vertical integration in software-defined data centers allows you to add new infrastructure resources to the existing data center infrastructure easily. The abstraction of the software from the hardware simplifies the process of expanding your data center capabilities. Deliver solutions faster (decrease time to value) Decreasing the time to spin up machines, the time to develop and deliver applications, and the time to configure new and existing systems, all contribute to providing the best opportunity to deliver products and services as quickly as possible. Space and Power Requirements Capital Expenses Total Cost of Ownership Reduce the space and power requirements by up to 80% Reduce capital expenses by up to 58% Cut the total cost of ownership (TCO) by 40 -60% Source: VMware and Nutanix Info-Tech Research Group 8

Make sure your roadmap addresses the risks and challenges that are sure to arise along the way 1 The business is not ready to heavily invest in SDI after already investing in current data center technologies. Reinvesting in SDI right now would leave the investment in the current infrastructure a waste. 2 The people and the processes in the data center are not ready for SDI. The technology will not be effectively utilized so that all the benefits can be seen. 3 Moving to SDI will not work for the platforms that are proprietary nonstandard infrastructure. These platforms will continue alongside SDI until they are end of life. 4 Modernizing is a big commitment. The people in the data center are already busy with normal data center responsibilities. Legacy Infrastructure 1 2 3 4 Software-Defined Infrastructure Info-Tech Research Group 9

Info-Tech’s three phase software-defined infrastructure project will enable you to set the modernization agenda Phase 1 Establish a Modernization Vision and Assess Readiness for SDI Establish a vision and goals for the data center modernization to SDI Assess the current state of your infrastructure, and identify the gaps to data center modernization Phase 2 Phase 3 Investigate Options, Assess Gaps, Identify Projects Plan and Communicate the Roadmap to SDI Explore and discuss the various SDI-enabling technologies, and prioritize your technology modernization efforts Plan out the data center modernization and prioritize the modernization projects Communicate your modernization efforts with the right tools Identify the projects and the plan for your skills and process modernization projects Tools and Deliverables Current IT Assessment, Technical Debt Analysis, IT Platform Assessment, Current Skills Matrix, Current Process Assessment Server Virtualization Development, Platform Prioritization, SDI Skills Matrix, Process Comparison Project Timeline, Sunshine Diagram, Communications Report Info-Tech Research Group 10

Andover Minerals* goes software defined with Nutanix CASE STUDY Industry Mining/Minerals Source Client Workshop After an initial freeze on hardware and software purchases, Andover Minerals acquired hyperconverged infrastructure to build a software-defined data center. Challenge • For a brief period of time, Andover froze all hardware and software acquisitions. • As assets reached end-oflife, third-party warranties were acquired to keep the aging infrastructure healthy. • When required to modernize the data center after the freeze, Andover Minerals looked to hyperconverged infrastructure in order to create a software-defined data center. Solution • Nutanix was brought in to modernize data-center hardware and build the software-defined data center. • Storage engineers, server engineers, and network engineers were transitioned into broader roles, such as virtualization engineers, through training and mentoring. Results • Storage costs were reduced through defensive deletion, deduplication, and archiving. Storage was no longer purchased to support growth. • Nutanix is the default system for everything, including dev, test, and production. A single mega cluster built in VMware acts as the parent location for all workloads. * Andover Minerals is the fictional name for an actual mining and minerals processing company that adopted Nutanix nodes for its data center refresh. Info-Tech Research Group 11

Modernize the Data Center with Software-Defined Infrastructure – project overview 1. Know what you have Best-Practice Toolkit 2. Find what you need 3. Get there 1. 1 Current IT Assessment 2. 1 Virtualization Maturity 3. 1 Project Timeline 1. 2 Notional Tech Debt 2. 2 Platform Prioritization 3. 2 Sunshine Diagram 1. 3 IT Platform Assessment 2. 3 SDI Skills Matrix 3. 3 Communication Report 1. 4 Current Skills Matrix 2. 4 Process Comparison 1. 5 Process Assessment Call 1 – Establish a vision for the modern data center Call 1 – Assess virtualization maturity Call 2 – Current IT assessment Call 2 – Explore SDI-enabling technologies Call 3 – Current people, process, and technology assessment Call 3 – People, process, and technology project creation Call 1 – Plan, prioritize, and pilot the modernization projects Call 2 – Communicate the data center modernization Guided Implementations Module 1: Establish Vision, Goals, and Measures Module 2: Assess the Current State of IT and Identify Gaps Module 3: Analyze Current and Emerging Technology Options Module 5: Complete and Communicate the Plan Module 4: Plan to Modernize Skills and Processes for SDI Onsite Workshop Phase 1 Deliverables: • Charter, Technical Debt Analysis, Prioritized Goal List, Priority Upgrade Matrix Phase 2 Deliverables: • Vision Statements, Technology Briefs, Initiatives Summaries, Timeline Phase 3 Deliverables: • Project Timeline, Sunshine Diagram, Communication Report Info-Tech Research Group 12

Info-Tech delivers Current State Assessment People, process, and technology projects list Detailed project planning tool Comprehensive strategy communications document Informative sunshine diagram Info-Tech Research Group 13

Measured value for Guided Implementations (GIs) Engaging in GIs doesn’t just offer valuable project advice, it also results in significant cost savings. GI Measured Value Phase 1: Address the current state • Time, value, and resources saved by using Info-Tech’s methodology to define the scope of your implementation. • For example, 2 FTEs * 5 days * $80, 000/year = $3, 200 Phase 2: Identify the target state • Time, value, and resources saved by using Info-Tech’s tools and analysis to evaluate technologies, consolidate initiatives, and estimate requirements. • For example, 4 FTEs * 5 days * $80, 000/year = $6, 400 Phase 3: Plan and communicate • Time, value, and resources saved by following Info-Tech’s tools and methodology to build modernization communication documents and planning tools • For example, 4 FTEs * 5 days * $80, 000/year = $6, 400 Total savings $16, 000 Info-Tech Research Group 14

Workshop overview Contact your account representative or email Workshops@Info. Tech. com for more information. Workshop Day 1 Workshop Day 2 Morning: 1. 1 Review alignment • Kick-off data. • 1. 2 Business and Determine gaps. stakeholder 1. 3 Identify paingoal points. 1. 4 review Clarify goals. • Identify goals of modernization and measure of success Morning: 2. 1 Insert activity here. • 2. 2 Assess the current Insert activity here. virtualization 2. 3 Insert activitymaturity here. • 2. 4 Review and examine Insert activity here. tech trends Afternoon: • Overview of current IT • Current IT assessment Afternoon: • Identify future state of the data center • Create projects to fill people, process, and 1. Insert deliverable here technology gaps here 2. Insert deliverable 3. Insert deliverable here Deliverables Activities WHERE TO TRAVEL Task – e. g. Enhance CIO -CEO Alignment 1. Defined IT mandate 2. IT and Business Leadership Alignment Report 3. Business Leadership 1. Current IT Communication and Assessment Reporting Plan 2. Technical Debt Analysis 3. Skills Matrix 4. IT Platform Assessment HOW TO GET THERE Task – e. g. Identify Stakeholders 5. Virtualization Maturity Assessment 6. SDI Skills Matrix 7. Process Comparison 8. Platform Prioritization Workshop Day 3 WHAT STOPS TO MAKE Task – e. g. Assess IT Process Effectiveness Morning: 3. 1 Insert activity here. • 3. 2 Continue the creation Insert activity here. of projects to fill 3. 3 Insert activity here. process, and 3. 4 people, Insert activity here. technology gaps Afternoon: • Identify and select appropriate pilot projectdeliverable here 1. Insert • 2. Insert Prioritize the deliverable here modernization projects 3. Insert deliverable here and complete timeline 9. Project Timeline Workshop Day 4 WHO TO TELL Task – e. g. Develop a Data-Driven IT Strategy Morning: 4. 1 Insert activity here. • 4. 2 Complete the here. Insert activity Executive Briefhere. 4. 3 Insert activity • 4. 4 Compile the Insert activity here. communications report Offsite Day 5 Workshop Day 5 DOCUMENT AND PACKAGE Task DELIVERABLES – e. g. Create an IT Communication Plan 5. 1 Insert activity here. 5. 2 Insert activity here. 5. 3 Insert activity here. Consolidate deliverables 5. 4 Insert activity here into final package. Afternoon: • Complete the communications report 1. Insert deliverable here 2. Insert deliverable here 3. Insert deliverable here 10. Executive Brief 11. Sunshine Diagram 12. Final Communication Report Info-Tech Research Group 15

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