Hyper-Converged Infrastructure
Article | September 14, 2023
With infrastructure as code (IaC), you write declarative instructions about compute, storage and network requirements for the infra and execute it. How does this compare to platform as code (PaC) and what did these two concepts develop in response to? In its simplest form, the tech stack of any application has three layers — the infra layer containing bare metal instances, virtual machines, networking, firewall, security etc.; the platform layer with the OS, runtime environment, development tools etc.; and the application layer which, of course, contains your application code and data. A typical operations team works on the provisioning, monitoring and management of the infra and platform layers, in addition to enabling the deployment of code.
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Application Storage, Data Storage
Article | July 12, 2023
The pandemic has had a seismic impact on the telecom sector. This is perhaps most notably because where and how the world goes to work has been re-defined, with nearly every business deepening its commitment to mobility. Our homes suddenly became our offices, and workforces went from being centrally managed to widely distributed. This has called for a heightened need for widespread, secure and high-speed connectivity around the clock.
5G has answered the call, and 5G location intelligence and big data can provide service providers with the information they need to optimize their investments.
Case in point: Juniper Research reported in its 5G Monetization study that global revenue from 5G services will reach $73 billion by the end of 2021, rising from just $20 billion last year.
5G flexes as connected devices surge
Market insights firm IoT Analytics estimates there will be more than 30 billion IoT connections by 2025. That's an average of nearly four IoT devices per person. To help meet the pressure this growth in connectivity is putting on telecom providers, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is taking action to make additional spectrum available for 5G services and promoting the digital opportunities it provides to Americans. The FCC is urging that investments in 5G infrastructure be prioritized given the "widespread mobility opportunity" it presents, as stated by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.
While that's a good thing, we must also acknowledge that launching a 5G network presents high financial risk, among other challenges. The competitive pressures are significant, and network performance matters greatly when it comes to new business acquisition and retention. It's imperative to make wise decisions on network build-out to ensure investments yield the anticipated returns.
Thus, telcos need not – and should not – go it blindly when considering where to invest. You don't know what you don't know, which is why 5G location intelligence and big data can provide an incredible amount of clarity (and peace of mind) when it comes to optimizing investments, increasing marketing effectiveness and improving customer satisfaction.
Removing the blindfold
Location data and analytics provide telcos and Communications Service Providers (CSPs) with highly-specific insights to make informed decisions on where to invest in 5G. With this information, companies can not only map strategic expansion, but also better manage assets, operations, customers and products.
For example, with this intelligence, carriers can gain insight into the most desired locations of specific populations and how they want to use bandwidth. They can use this data to arm themselves with a clear understanding of customer location and mobility, mapping existing infrastructure and competitive coverage against market requirements to pinpoint new opportunities. By creating complex customer profiles rich with demographic information like age, income and lifestyle preferences, the guesswork is eliminated for where the telco should or shouldn’t deploy new 5G towers.
Further, by mapping a population of consumers and businesses within a specific region and then aggregating that information by age, income or business type, for example, a vivid picture comes to life of the market opportunity for that area.
This type of granular location intelligence adds important context to existing data and is a key pillar to data integrity, which describes the overall quality and completeness of a dataset. When telcos can clearly understand factors such as boundaries, movement and the customers’ surroundings, predictive insights can be made regarding demographic changes and future telecom requirements within a certain location. This then serves as the basis for a data-backed 5G expansion strategy. Without it, businesses are burdened by the trial-and-error losses that are all too common with 5G build-outs.
Location precision's myriad benefits
Improved location precision has many benefits for telcos looking to pinpoint where to build, market and provision 5G. Among them are:
Better data: Broadening insights on commercial, residential and mixed-use locations through easy-to-consume, scalable datasets provide highly accurate in-depth analyses for marketing and meeting customer demand.
Better serviceability insights: Complete and accurate location insights allow for a comprehensive view of serviceable addresses where products and services can be delivered to current and new customers causing ROI to improve and customers to be adequately served.
Better subscriber returns: Companies that deploy fixed wireless services often experience plan cancellations due to inconsistencies of signal performance, which typically result from the misalignment of sites with network assets. Location-based data provides operators with the ability to adapt their networks for signal consistency and serviceability as sites and structures change.
The 5G future
The role of location intelligence in accelerating development of new broadband services and driving ROI in a 5G world cannot be overstated. It adds a critical element of data integrity that informs network optimization, customer targeting and service provisioning so telecom service providers can ensure their investments are not made with blind hope.
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Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, IT Systems Management
Article | September 14, 2023
The expertise of leading HCI firms shape the future of IT operations. This Hyperconverged Infrastructure companies list, will provide Hyperconverged solutions for growth and better services.
In IT infrastructure, organizations constantly seek ways to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and enhance user experience. HCI is a game-changing solution combining storage, computing, and networking into a single, integrated system. To leverage the full potential of HCI and ensure enhanced user experience, leading HCI system integrators and consultants have become invaluable partners for businesses across various sectors. In this listicle, delve into the role of leading HCI system integrators and consultants in enhancing user experience, the key contributions, and the significance of the services of the top hyperconverged infrastructure companies.
1. Precision Computer Services
Precision Computer Services (PCS) is a trusted provider of practical and proven technology solutions for businesses. With over 30 years of experience, PCS helps clients overcome complex IT challenges and achieve their strategic goals. It offers expertise in data center upgrades when businesses struggle to manage workloads, need automation and orchestration for virtual infrastructure, aims to reduce physical data center footprint or require guidance on RPO and RTO strategies. PCS differentiates itself by automating processes, ensuring information accessibility and security, specializing in hybrid cloud models, and allowing client teams to focus on business growth while PCS handles complex IT work. It offers converged and hyperconverged infrastructure, reliable servers, data storage and protection, public and private cloud services, data classification, and backup and disaster recovery solutions.
2. IPDS
IPDS empowers businesses to modernize their IT infrastructure, facilitate efficient cloud operations, and capitalize on the capabilities of the modern workforce, by combining cutting-edge technologies with highly skilled engineering talent. The company's website serves to showcase its expertise and offerings. It specializes in Hyper-Converged Infrastructure and Converged Infrastructure solutions. These innovative technologies have become the standard in the IT landscape, enabling organizations to benefit from the advancements in the software-defined data center realm. With seamless connectivity to cloud providers, HCI allows businesses to establish hybrid cloud environments. By leveraging industry-leading technologies and harnessing the potential of a modern workforce, IPDS enables clients to stay at the forefront of innovation and achieve their strategic objectives.
3. Climb Channel Solutions
Climb Channel Solutions, a subsidiary of Climb Global Solutions, Inc, is a leading global specialty technology distributor specializing in emerging and business-critical technologies. One of the critical solutions offered by Climb is Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, which combines computing resources, storage, and networking to minimize compatibility issues and reduce the total cost of ownership for businesses. Its HCI solution vendors provide software-defined storage, networking, virtualization, and disaster recovery solutions, enabling organizations to optimize their infrastructure and achieve high availability. With a global presence and a customer base that spans thousands of partners worldwide, Climb Channel Solutions has established itself as a trusted distribution partner.
4. Nexenta by DDN
DDN provides optimized high-performance computing (HPC) storage solutions for research and innovation. By offering scalable and efficient HPC storage solutions, DDN empowers businesses to streamline their data pipelines and achieve enhanced performance at scale. DDN's extensive experience in supporting advanced computing environments enables them to accelerate application performance, reduce operational costs, accommodate data growth, and deliver services through centralized data management. Their solutions, such as EXAScaler, provide efficient building blocks that match storage performance and scalability requirements while reducing administration overhead and complexity. With features like data placement optimization, encryption, and secure multi-tenancy, DDN ensures rock-solid security and efficient storage management. With real-time partnership and Lustre open-source support, DDN enables organizations to access subject matter expertise and effectively manage their entire HPC data lifecycle.
5. StorMagic
SvSAN is a highly efficient and cost-effective hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solution designed specifically for manufacturing. To ensure maximum uptime and eliminate single points of failure, SvSAN enables manufacturers of all sizes to run applications smoothly and maintain productivity. By deploying just two x86 servers at each location, manufacturers can leverage SvSAN's virtual SAN capabilities to minimize planned and unplanned downtime. This solution provides 100% uptime, making it an ideal choice for factories and offices where operational continuity is critical. Converging compute and storage into a lightweight commodity server footprint eliminates physical SANs, resulting in significant cost savings. StorMagic, as a company, is committed to solving edge data challenges. Their storage and HCI security products, including SvSAN and SvKMS (encryption key manager), cater to organizations with diverse site requirements.
6. Fabulix
Fabulix, a Hyperconverged Infrastructure Platform, offers a comprehensive solution for autonomous infrastructure, empowering organizations to break free from the complexities of legacy IT and monolithic data centers. It is an easily deployable and infinitely scalable hyperconverged infrastructure platform that combines compute, storage, network, and virtualization resources into a single, streamlined system. By integrating software and hardware, Fabulix creates or extends private cloud and hybrid environments within local data centers, providing organizations with the benefits of autonomous infrastructure and facilitating the transition from legacy operations to cloud outcomes. Its networking capabilities automate workload deployments without requiring configuration changes on physical networks. Fabulix is designed to be an affordable alternative for infrastructure requirements. It provides integrated protection for data and applications through features like shielded VMs, network micro-segmentation, and native encryption.
7. VZURE Solutions
VZURE Solutions empowers organizations to efficiently integrate and manage their converged or hyperconverged infrastructures. By leveraging their services, businesses can experience a range of benefits, including lower operating costs by consolidating storage and network management infrastructure teams, reduced labor costs through automated data center management, increased utilization, streamlined cabling, and fewer network connections to drive costs down, and enhanced agility through virtualized storage networking and centralized management. As a Cisco Preferred Solution Partner, VZURE offers a comprehensive suite of consultation, training, and support services for various aspects of cloud computing, networking, storage, and more. They provide the necessary expertise and resources to help businesses build, support, and manage efficient converged or hyperconverged infrastructures.
Final thoughts
The significance of leading Hyperconverged Infrastructure system integrators and consultants in enhancing user experience cannot be overstated in today's technology-driven world. With their expertise in designing and implementing optimized HCI solutions, these companies enable businesses to leverage the power of integrated storage, computing, and networking, resulting in streamlined operations, improved performance, and enhanced user satisfaction.
Their deep understanding of HCI technologies and ability to align solutions with specific business requirements helps organizations achieve seamless and efficient IT infrastructure, ultimately leading to enhanced user experiences. As the demand for scalable and flexible infrastructure solutions continues to grow, the expertise of HCI platforms, leading HCI system integrators and consultants will play a crucial role in shaping the future of IT operations and ensuring that user experience remains at the forefront of technological advancements.
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Application Infrastructure
Article | August 3, 2022
Flexible data access, enhanced disaster recovery, and reduced infrastructure staff burden are some of the biggest reasons businesses migrate to innovative and reliable cloud technologies. Infrastructure-as-a-service or Iaas, is one such cloud computing model that has simplified the lives of enterprises and developers by reducing their infrastructure burden. Iaas gives you access to servers, networking, storage, and virtualization features.
IaaS is fast becoming one of the biggest trends in cloud computing. According to Technavio's latest report, the IaaS market projects a growth of USD 141.77 billion, registering a CAGR of 28.2% from 2021 to 2026.
“So many systems end up as a big dreaded ball of mud (which is totally preventable) when designing an enforceable architecture model.”
Alexander von Zitzewitz, CEO, hello2morrow Inc.
But, how can IaaS technology help you grow and advance your business? Here are some key advantages of switching to IaaS:
Better Performance
One of the more well-known benefits of IaaS is achieving a higher performance level from your infrastructure. Rather than worrying about the latest hardware for your infrastructure, with IaaS in place, your in-house IT team will be able to focus more on working on your business goals and objectives through technology.
Because the SLA (Service Level Agreement) with your IaaS cloud service provider can ensure that you are getting the best performance from your cloud provider's infrastructure. An SLA will ensure that your cloud provider is accountable for continuous upgrades and the best possible service for your business.
Decreased CapEx
With IaaS technology, you can choose the IaaS cloud service provider of your choice. Typically, a cloud provider has a more reliable, robust, and redundant infrastructure setup than what would be feasible and financially realistic in an office environment. This means you can save on maintenance, purchase, and operating hardware-related business expenditures. Additionally, it also decreases your overall IT-related capital expenditure (CapEx).
Increased Flexibility
IaaS increases your scalability and flexibility exponentially. Your business can scale up and down as needed and on-demand.
For example, say your business is hosting a short-term campaign to drive more traffic to your website. IaaS will automatically provision resources to ensure your business infrastructure is well equipped to handle the sudden incoming traffic boost.
Scale- Up Your Business
Additionally, IaaS gives your growing business the flexibility it needs from its IT infrastructure.
For example, if you’re considering opening a new office in a different location, you don’t need to spend extra on new hardware; instead, you can directly connect to your infrastructure virtually. This means you don’t need to invest in additional infrastructure for business expansion continually.
Managed-Task Virtualization
As IaaS supports the virtualization of management tasks, your IT is free to concentrate on other, more thought-intensive work. This will not only drive more efficiency but also help boost ROI.
Disaster Recovery
During disasters like an earthquake or floods, IaaS ensures smooth business operations. Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) stores and replicates data in multiple data centers in different geographical locations.
So even if a disaster or mishap causes significant damage to the data center, your IaaS providers can quickly restore the data from another data center.
Conclusion
IaaS allows your businesses to utilize the cloud to achieve your IT goals. It is flexible, scalable, reliable, cost-effective and provides seamless access to maximize business continuity. Therefore, you should choose a reliable IaaS cloud provider who can deliver a variety of cloud infrastructure solutions.
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