CoreOS brings its Tectonic Kubernetes platform to Microsoft Azure

Application Storage, Data Storage

Article | July 12, 2023

Pacific Electric Wire & Cable Co. (PEWC) is a manufacturer in Taiwan with subsidiaries in China, Singapore, Thailand, and Australia. Like many companies, they had been facing the looming change over to SAP HANA. They were ready to switch over from their older SAP software and take advantage of SAP HANA apps and databases. They also had a goal of speeding up operational analytics and insights. But with the change to HANA, they needed all new infrastructure, certified by SAP, to support it.

Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Article | September 14, 2023

Without IaaS services, businesses face high upfront costs and slower time-to-market, hindering its growth. Embracing IaaS services with compliance to regulatory measures fosters digital transformation. Contents 1. Introduction 2. Regulatory Requirements 2.1 Adhering to Regulations Before Migration 2.2. Confirming to Standards During Migration 2.3. Complying with Requirements After Migration 3. Role of IaaS in Digital Transformation 3.1. Overview of Digital Transformation in Business 3.2. Benefits of IaaS for Digital Transformation Initiation 4. Key IaaS Services for Digital Transformation 4.1. Compute Services 4.2. Storage Services 4.3. Networking Services 4.4. Security Services 5. Use Cases of IaaS in Digital Transformation 5.1. Cloud Migration 5.2. DevOps and Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) 5.3. Big Data Analytics 5.4. Internet of Things 6. Leading Providers of IaaS 6.1. Deft 6.2. Virtuozzo 6.3. DigitalOcean 6.4. Vultr 6.5. Linode 7. Conclusion 1. Introduction The article highlights infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) services, which are crucial in driving digital transformation for businesses. By delivering scalable computing resources, reducing IT infrastructure costs, and enabling a greater focus on core competencies, IaaS is helping businesses innovate faster and stay competitive in the rapidly evolving digital landscape. Further, the article elaborates on the three significant regulations to be considered for regulatory requirements. As businesses continue to embrace digital transformation, IaaS has emerged as a key enabler for organizations looking to achieve their goals. IaaS allows businesses to quickly and easily scale their computing resources up or down while reducing their IT infrastructure costs. This, in turn, enables businesses to focus on their core competencies, innovate faster, and stay competitive in today's fast-paced digital landscape. In this article, we will explore the ways in which IaaS is driving digital transformation, as well as the various services offered by IaaS providers that are helping businesses achieve their objectives and the use cases that follow. 2. Regulatory Requirements During cloud adoption and migration to IaaS, organizations must comply with regulatory requirements before, during, and after migration to the cloud. 2.1 Adhering to Regulations Before Migration Organizations must identify the relevant regulations that apply to their industry and geographic location. This includes: 2.1.1. Data Protection Laws These laws define how personal and sensitive data should be handled and protected. Organizations must comply with these laws when collecting, storing, processing, and sharing private and sensitive data. Examples include the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States. 2.1.2. Industry-Specific Regulations These regulations apply to specific industries like healthcare, finance, and government. In addition, these regulations may define particular security and data protection requirements that organizations must comply with. Examples are the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the healthcare industry and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) in the finance industry. 2.1.3. International Laws These laws apply to organizations operating in multiple countries or transferring data across international borders. These laws may vary based on the countries involved and define specific data protection and privacy requirements. Examples include the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and the Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) in the Asia-Pacific region. 2.2. Confirming Standards During Migration Organizations must ensure that they meet regulatory requirements while transferring data and applications to the cloud. This involves: 2.2.1. Access Management This refers to controlling who can access data and applications in the cloud. Organizations must ensure only authorizedpersonnel can access sensitive data and specific applications during migration. This can be achieved by implementing access controls such as multi-factor authentication and role-based access control. 2.2.2. Data Encryption This refers to converting data into code to prevent unauthorized access. During migration, organizations must ensure that sensitive data is encrypted both in transit and at rest. This can be achieved by using encryption technologies, such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). 2.2.3. Data Residency This refers to the legal requirements around where data can be stored and processed. Organizations must comply with these requirements during migration to avoid potential legal and regulatory consequences. This may involve ensuring data is stored and processed within specific geographic locations or complies with industry-specific regulations. 2.3. Complying with Requirements After Migration Organizations must continue to meet regulatory requirements through ongoing monitoring and reporting. This includes: 2.3.1. Regular Review and Updation of Security Measures This refers to the ongoing process of reviewing and improving the security measures that are in place to protect data and assets from potential threats. This includes identifying vulnerabilities, updating software and hardware, implementing new security policies and procedures, and training employees on best practices. 2.3.2. Data Protection This refers to the measures taken to safeguard sensitive and confidential data from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. Proper data protection includes using encryption, access controls, firewalls, and other security technologies to prevent unauthorized access to the data center and implementing processes and procedures for securely handling and disposing of data. 2.3.3. Audit and Reporting This refers to businesses' legal and regulatory requirements to regularly audit and report on their security practices and data protection measures. This includes complying with industry-specific standards and regulations, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and conducting internal and external audits to ensure compliance with these standards and regulations. 3. Role of IaaS in Digital Transformation The role of IaaS in businesses is to configure, deploy, and manage cloud infrastructure environments or applications through cross-technology administration (virtual networks, operating systems, databases), scripting, monitoring automation execution, and managing incidents with a focus on service restoration. 3.1. Overview of Digital Transformation in Business IaaS provides a flexible, scalable, and customizable infrastructure that can easily be managed and optimized, allowing organizations to focus on their core business objectives and maximize their productivity and efficiency. IaaS provides businesses access to virtualized computing resources, such as virtual machines, storage, and networking, which can be provisioned and managed through a web-based interface or API. This allows businesses to quickly deploy and scale their infrastructure without worrying about the underlying hardware and infrastructure. IaaS enables businesses to focus more on their core competencies. By outsourcing IT infrastructure management to IaaS providers, businesses can focus more on their core business functions and leave control of their IT systems to the experts. In addition, by leveraging the cloud, businesses can reduce their capital investment in buying, deploying, and managing physical servers and storage devices. A report found that companies that have embraced digital transformation are 23 times more likely to acquire new customers, 6 times more likely to retain existing customers, and 19 times more likely to be profitable. (Source: McKinsey & Company) According to a study, the top benefits of digital transformation for businesses include increased efficiency (43%), better customer satisfaction (41%), and increased profitability (36%). (Source: Accenture) 3.2. Benefits of IaaS for Digital Transformation Initiation Apart from the benefits like improved agility, robust security, quick scalability, better flexibility, and cost savings, IaaS has the following benefits: Predictable Costs: IaaS providers typically offer transparent pricing models, which enable businesses to predict their IT costs more accurately and avoid unexpected expenses. Enhanced Compliance: IaaS providers often have compliance certifications, such as SOC 2, HIPAA, and PCI DSS, which can help businesses meet their regulatory compliance requirements more efficiently. Geographic Flexibility: IaaS enables businesses to deploy their IT infrastructure across different geographic regions, allowing the customer experience to soar in other markets with low latency and high availability. Disaster Recovery: IaaS providers typically have built-in disaster recovery capabilities, allowing businesses to quickly recover from data loss or infrastructure failures without significant downtime or data loss. Increased Innovation: By outsourcing their infrastructure management to IaaS providers, businesses can focus on innovation and new product development rather than infrastructure maintenance and management. 4. Key IaaS Services for Digital Transformation 4.1. Compute Services Compute services provide the processing power and resources needed to run applications in the cloud. This includes virtual machines, containers, and serverless computing. Compute services are essential for digital transformation, allowing organizations to scale their applications and infrastructure to meet changing demands. According to a report, the global cloud computing market size is expected to grow from USD 371.4 billion in 2020 to USD 832.1 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 17.5% during the forecast period (2020-25). The growth of the market is driven by factors such as the increasing adoption of multi-cloud strategies and the growing demand for scalable and cost-effective computing. (Source: MarketsandMarkets) 4.2. Storage Services Storage services provide the capacity and durability needed to store and manage data in the cloud. This includes object storage, block storage, and file storage. Solutions such as cloud storage services are essential for digital transformation, as they allow organizations to store and manage large amounts of data and make it easily accessible to users. According to a report, the global data sphere is expected to grow from 33 zettabytes (ZB) in 2018 to 175 ZB by 2025, at a CAGR of 61%. The growth of the data sphere is driven by factors such as the increasing use of digital technologies and the growing amount of data generated by connected devices. (Source: IDC) 4.3. Networking Services Networking services provide the connectivity and performance needed to access and use cloud resources. This includes virtual networks, load balancers, and content delivery networks. Networking services are essential for digital transformation, allowing organizations to connect their applications and infrastructure across different regions and providers. According to a research report, the global multi-cloud networking market will grow from USD 2.7 billion in 2022 to USD 7.6 billion by 2027 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.5% during the forecast period (2022-27). (Source: MarketsandMarkets) 4.4. Security Services Cloud security services provide the protection and compliance needed to secure cloud resources and data. This includes identity and access management (IAM), encryption, and threat detection and response. Security services are essential for digital transformation, as they allow organizations to secure their applications and data from cyber threats and comply with regulatory requirements. The Global Cloud Access Security Broker Market size is expected to reach $18 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth of 17.8% CAGR during the forecast period (2022-28). (Source: ReportLinker ) 5. Use Cases of IaaS in Digital Transformation 5.1. Cloud Migration Cloud Migration: One of the primary use cases for IaaS is cloud migration, where organizations move their existing applications and infrastructure to the cloud platform. This can help organizations reduce their IT costs, improve scalability, and increase flexibility. IaaS providers offer tools and cloud services to make the migration process easier and more efficient. For example, Accenture helped global manufacturing companies migrate its IT infrastructure to the Microsoft Azure IaaS platform. One of the migrations involved moving more than 1,200 virtual machines and 150 TB of data to the cloud. As a result, the company was able to reduce its IT infrastructure costs by 40% and improve scalability and flexibility. (Source: Accenture) 5.2. DevOps and Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) IaaS provides the infrastructure needed to support DevOps and CI/CD processes, allowing organizations to deliver software faster and more reliably. IaaS providers offer tools and services to automate deployment, testing, and monitoring, as well as to manage infrastructure as code. For example, GE Digital used the Amazon Web Services (AWS) IaaS platform to implement DevOps and CI/CD processes for its Predix Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platform. As a result, GE Digital reduced its mean acknowledgment time from one day to less than one hour and its mean remediation time from three days to 80 minutes. It moved from zero to a 100 percent real-time visibility. (Source: Amazon) 5.3. Big Data Analytics IaaS provides the processing power and storage needed to support big data analytics, allowing organizations to extract insights from large amounts of data. IaaS providers offer tools and services to manage and process data, as well as to enable real-time analytics and machine learning. For example, Netflix uses the AWS IaaS platform to support its big data analytics needs. Netflix processes over one billion events daily using AWS services such as Amazon Kinesis, Amazon S3, and Amazon EMR. As a result, Netflix is able to rapidly scale, operate securely, and meet capacity needs worldwide thanks to AWS's provision of computation, storage, and infrastructure. (Source: Amazon) 5.4. The Internet of Things IaaS provides the infrastructure needed to support IoT devices and applications, allowing organizations to collect and analyze data from connected devices. IaaS providers offer tools and cloud services to manage and secure IoT devices, as well as enable real-time data processing and analysis. For example, Siemens uses the Microsoft Azure IaaS platform to support its IoT initiatives. Siemens uses Azure services such as Azure IoT Hub, Azure Stream Analytics, and Azure Cosmos DB to collect and process data from over one million IoT devices. This allows Siemens to optimize its industrial processes and improve efficiency and productivity. (Source: Siemens) 6. Leading Providers of IaaS 6.1.Deft Deft is a trusted provider of managed IT services for SMBs and the Fortune 500. Deft's cloud services offer flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solutions for organizations looking to move their IT infrastructure to the cloud. Customers can choose from a range of cloud options, including public, private, and hybrid clouds, all hosted in Deft's secure data centers worldwide. Deft's cloud experts can also help customers design and implement custom solutions that meet their business requirements. 6.2. Virtuozzo Virtuozzo is a leading provider of hyperconverged cloud software and services for cloud service providers (CSPs). Virtuozzo makes cloud computing easy, accessible, and affordable for all. The company's offerings include infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) with its production-ready OpenStack cloud platform, a key component of its IaaS offerings. The platform is designed to reduce costs and improve margins for CSPs by providing them with a highly efficient and scalable cloud infrastructure. 6.3. DigitalOcean DigitalOcean is a cloud computing provider offering a range of solutions to simplify infrastructure management for developers and businesses. One of the key benefits of working with DigitalOcean is its simplicity. The company's solutions are designed to be easy to use and accessible to developers of all skill levels, with an intuitive user interface and straightforward pricing plans. This allows businesses to focus on building innovative applications rather than spending time managing their infrastructure. 6.4. Vultr Vultr is a leading provider of cloud computing solutions designed to simplify infrastructure deployment for developers and businesses. The company's infrastructure is built on the latest technology, with state-of-the-art data centers and advanced networking capabilities. Vultr's cloud platform is designed to provide frictionless provisioning of public cloud, storage, and single-tenant bare metal services. This allows businesses to quickly and easily deploy infrastructure wherever needed, with fast network speeds and low latency. 6.5. Linode Linode is a leading cloud computing solution provider that makes it easy, accessible, and affordable for individuals and businesses of all sizes to innovate and grow. Linode's cloud infrastructure is open-source, making it highly flexible and adaptable. They are designed to be simple and easy to use. The company offers various services, including virtual private servers (VPS), object storage, load balancing, managed Kubernetes, and more. In addition, these solutions are fully scalable and can be customized to meet each customer's specific needs. 7. Conclusion IaaS services are expected to continue to play a critical role in driving the digital transformation of businesses. IaaS services are expected to see significant growth in the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning. With the rise of big data and the increasing importance of data-driven decision-making, IaaS providers are expected to be critical in supporting these initiatives, providing the scalable computing power required to support advanced analytics and machine learning workloads. IaaS services are also expected to support the increasing demand for edge computing. With the proliferation of IoT devices and the rise of real-time applications, IaaS providers are expected to provide the necessary infrastructure and tools to support these initiatives, enabling organizations to process data and perform analysis. As a result, many organizations have turned to IaaS to support their digital transformation efforts, leveraging cloud computing services to implement new technologies and services that enable them to serve customers better, improve operational efficiency, and drive revenue growth. The future of IaaS services looks promising and will continue to be a critical enabler of digital transformation for businesses of all sizes and industries.

Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Article | October 3, 2023

We’re all hoping that 2022 will finally end the unprecedented challenges brought by the global pandemic and things will return to a new normalcy. For IT infrastructure and operations organizations, the rising trends that we are seeing today will likely continue, but there are still a few areas that will need special attention from IT leaders over the next 12 to 18 months. In no particular order, they include: The New Edge Edge computing is now at the forefront. Two primary factors that make it business-critical are the increased prevalence of remote and hybrid workplace models where employees will continue working remotely, either from home or a branch office, resulting in an increased adoption of cloud-based businesses and communications services. With the rising focus on remote and hybrid workplace cultures, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet have continued to expand their solutions and add new features. As people start moving back to office, they are likely to want the same experience they had from home. In a typical enterprise setup, branch office traffic is usually backhauled all the way to the data center. This architecture severely impacts the user experience, so enterprises will have to review their network architectures and come up with a roadmap to accommodate local egress between branch offices and headquarters. That’s where the edge can help, bringing it closer to the workforce. This also brings an opportunity to optimize costs by migrating from some of the expensive multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) or private circuits to relatively low-cost direct internet circuits, which is being addressed by the new secure access service edge (SASE) architecture that is being offered by many established vendors. I anticipate some components of SASE, specifically those related to software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN), local egress, and virtual private network (VPN), will drive a lot of conversation this year. Holistic Cloud Strategy Cloud adoption will continue to grow, and along with software as a service (SaaS), there will be renewed interest in infrastructure as a service (IaaS), albeit for specific workloads. For a medium-to-large-sized enterprise with a substantial development environment, it will still be cost-prohibitive to move everything to the cloud, so any cloud strategy would need to be holistic and forward-looking to maximize its business value. Another pandemic-induced shift is from using virtual machines (VMs) as a consumption unit of compute to containers as a consumption unit of software. For on-premises or private cloud deployment architectures that require sustainable management, organizations will have to orchestrate containers and deploy efficient container security and management tools. Automation Now that cloud adoption, migration, and edge computing architectures are becoming more prevalent, the legacy methods of infrastructure provisioning and management will not be scalable. By increasing infrastructure automation, enterprises can optimize costs and be more flexible and efficient—but only if they are successful at developing new skills. To achieve the goal of “infrastructure as a code” will require a shift in the perspective on infrastructure automation to one that focuses on developing and sustaining skills and roles that improve efficiency and agility across on-premises, cloud, and edge infrastructures. Defining the roles of designers and architects to support automation is essential to ensure that automation works as expected, avoids significant errors, and complements other technologies. AIOps (Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations) Alongside complementing automation trends, the implementation of AIOps to effectively automate IT operations processes such as event correlation, anomaly detection, and causality determination will also be important. AIOps will eliminate the data silos in IT by bringing all types of data under one roof so it can be used to execute machine learning (ML)-based methods to develop insights for responsive enhancements and corrections. AIOps can also help with probable cause analytics by focusing on the most likely source of a problem. The concept of site reliability engineering (SRE) is being increasingly adopted by SaaS providers and will gain importance in enterprise IT environments due to the trends listed above. AIOps is a key component that will enable site reliability engineers (SREs) to respond more quickly—and even proactively—by resolving issues without manual intervention. These focus areas are by no means an exhaustive list. There are a variety of trends that will be more prevalent in specific industry areas, but a common theme in the post-pandemic era is going to be superior delivery of IT services. That’s also at the heart of the Autonomous Digital Enterprise, a forward-focused business framework designed to help companies make technology investments for the future.

Article | May 3, 2021

What Is IT Infrastructure Security? If you are reading this blog, we would like to assume that you are either an aspiring cybersecurity professional or a business owner looking for ways to improve their network security. A business IT infrastructure includes networks, software, hardware, equipment, and other facilities that make up an IT network. These networks are applied to establish, monitor, test, manage, deliver, and support IT services. So, IT infrastructure security describes the process of safeguarding the core networking infrastructure, and it is typically applied to enterprise IT environments. You can improve IT infrastructure security by installing protective solutions to block unauthorized access, theft, deletion, and data modification.