Scrooge CIO: A "Hyper-Converged" Christmas Carol

Any resemblance to real CIOs is purely coincidental! Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays Everyone! ??

?“IT modernisation? Bah! Humbug!”

Scrooge is the IT Director that no company would want to have! So stingy as to neglect modernising his infrastructure and jeopardise the future of his organisation, he is visited by three ghosts who give him a chance to change tack and take his information system in a new, more efficient and resilient direction!

·??????The ghost of IT past

Scrooge’s IT is silo-based. Infrastructures are segmented, operations are complex and teams are isolated from one another. Scrooge barely allows his administrators a single day off for Christmas. The rest of the time, they work near-constantly on time-consuming and repetitive tasks that in no way make the most of their very valuable skills!

The ghost of IT past shows Scrooge just how much hyperconverged infrastructures can simplify the daily life of IT engineers. Microsoft’s Azure Stack HCI operating system features all the virtualisation- and administration-based software layers that allow an HCI (Hyperconverged Infrastructure) platform to be operated on-premises. Pricing is based on a monthly subscription, priced according to the number of physical processor cores in the cluster, which includes the licence and maintenance and support services.

And with the integrated Azure Arc, the Azure Stack HCI communicates natively with the Azure public cloud in order to implement a data back-up strategy to the cloud or a disaster recovery plan in just a few clicks. Dell EMC Integrated System for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI appliances are pre-installed, tested and approved jointly by the Microsoft and Dell Technologies teams. Administrators therefore enjoy “full stack” management capacity, which allows them to update the software (cumulative updates, security, feature pack, etc.) and material layers (firmware, drivers, etc.) at the same time using the OpenManage console, thus saving a considerable amount of time. And time is money, isn’t that right, Scrooge?

·??????The ghost of IT present

Scrooge is a solitary person and a bit of a grump! He shuts himself away in his datacenter and categorically refuses to open his IS and applications to the outside world. The ghost of IT present appears to make him aware of new digital uses. Be it at points of sale, on production sites or even in smart cities, the digital world is everywhere, in all processes, and these days organisations need to deploy computing power everywhere in order to process data where it is created. Peripheral IT meets new requirements for latency, security or compliance for which central datacenters or the cloud are unsuitable.

The latest release in the Dell VxRail range, VD-4000, allows a hyperconverged infrastructure to be deployed on sites that were previously inaccessible due to a lack of connectivity, overly difficult conditions or simply a lack of space. Based on PowerEdge XR4000, VxRail VD-4000 is extremely compact, at just 14 inches deep, yet also extremely resistant.?It can function at temperatures from -5°C to 55°C and withstand the majority of impacts and vibrations. It can also accommodate a front equipped with a smart anti-dust filter, which sends an alert to the iDRAC controller when it needs to be changed. In summary, VD-4000 is a VMware mini-cluster the size of a shoebox, which can be installed wherever the digital transformation requires it. And, as another bonus of the Edge, its local computing capacity avoids the costs of transferring data to a datacenter or to the cloud. The perfect present to put under Scrooge’s tree!

The ghost of IT future

Scrooge is starting to reconsider his choices. But the reason he has always chosen to avoid investing is because he doesn’t know what tomorrow will bring! Nevertheless, the ghost of IT future can give him a little glimpse at the consequences. At a time when the entire economy is turning digital, missing the digital transformation train is a major business risk for the future of all companies, whether large or small.

The good news for Scrooge is that there are technologies that allow him to plan for the future with the guarantee of capitalising on his investments. Hyperconverged systems such as VxRail or Azure Stack HCI are highly upgradeable by nature. Companies can add nodes extremely easily to meet new needs, or use native connections with the cloud to seek additional or occasional resources from hyperscalers. This ability to supply resources closely tailored to business needs is important in supporting business developments, but it’s also a good way to limit spending without curbing activity. An appealing advantage indeed.

Because, let’s face it, there’s a little bit of a Scrooge in all of us!