The rise of hyperconverged IT infrastructure

Schneider Electric - The quest for increased simplicity, efficiency, and agility, coupled with IT refresh cycles is driving enterprises to hyperconverged IT. Once seen as vital for virtual desktop applications, data centre consolidation and new use cases have resulted in a renewed surge of interest that is serving to bring it into the mainstream.

Known as HCI, hyperconverged infrastructure sees server, storage, and networking components integrated within a single enclosure, complete with hypervisors to run the virtual machines and management software to manage the entire deployment. And because each unit is self-contained, this means the HCI deployments are highly scalable.

Why hyperconverged is taking off

This simplification of infrastructure makes IT deployments a seamless process even as it helps organisations to reduce costs. Moreover, organisations gain the flexibility to quickly roll out a secure, modern infrastructure and establish the solid foundation they need to scale rapidly as their business grows.

Another contribution to hyperconverged undoubtedly stems from the rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT). According to IDC, there will be 55.7 billion connected devices worldwide by 2025, 75 per cent of which will be connected to an IoT platform. Data generated from connected IoT devices is estimated to top 73.1 ZB, with industrial IoT applications generating a significant portion of this data. Faced with a massive influx of data that must be processed, these same companies are turning to HCI.

The self-contained nature of HCI systems also makes them easy to transport. This can be critical in the wake of a natural disaster when on-site compute resources might be urgently required to facilitate relief work or provide basic digital services. And when it's time to move to a new facility, even a migration to a new data centre will be easier with HCI hardware.

Data centres at the edge

Finally, the rise of edge data centres is another factor contributing to the resurgence of interest in HCI. According to Gartner, more than 30 per cent of HCI systems will be deployed at edge locations by 2025, a substantial increase from fewer than 15 per cent in 2020.

The benefits of edge deployments are well established: from reducing latency to powering always-on, low-latency capabilities such as autonomous driving and Industry 4.0 applications - including supporting IoT deployments.

Of course, data centres will need to be more agile and cost-effective to keep pace with this migration to the edge. From enclosures, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), cooling, security, environmental monitoring, and remote management with diagnostics, a new breed of solutions is required to properly support hyperconverged IT deployments at the edge.

As noted by Pankaj Sharma of Schneider Electric, EcoStruxure Data Center solutions paired with the right HCI system can deliver a sound answer for organisations of almost any size, providing the sort of agility and effectiveness the IoT era demands. Designed in collaboration with leading hyperconverged IT partners, they provide the agility and effectiveness the IoT era demands.

You can learn more about Schneider Electric's converged and hyperconverged IT infrastructure solutions for data centres here.