To maintain a competitive edge, critical infrastructure components must be easy to afford, deploy, and manage — all while eliminating the data and application silos that can prevent an organization from reaching its full potential. An IDC study found that reducing IT complexity resulted in annual cost savings of $3610 per user. Unfortunately, getting there has proved both complicated and costly as businesses continually pour money into solutions that only deliver lackluster results.
Many pundits believe the answer to taking the hassle out of data storage lies in convergence. The converged infrastructure concept is built around uniting different IT components to create one dynamic environment. This approach helps minimize compatibility issues by grouping storage devices, servers, and networking equipment into a single converged storage solution that reduces the cost of power, cabling, cooling, and floor space. Storage managers will be happy to know that a converged storage solution also offers enhanced simplicity, better performance, and seamless scalability.
The emergence of converged storage has led to its fair share of myths and misconceptions. This post will aim to set the record straight on converged storage and converged IT. There is a common belief that converged IT is incompatible with legacy systems. While it's true that no infrastructure supports every legacy application, this misconception couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, virtualization makes it possible to deploy whatever resources are necessary to support your infrastructure — legacy operating systems and applications included. The key to overcoming any potential interoperability issues is (1) recognizing that legacy systems require special attention, and (2) acknowledging their importance to the organization. Resource management takes on an all new level of importance when connecting individual systems to one integrated platform. At the same time, convergence doesn't automatically mean sacrificing the performance of one application for another. Many vendors offer converged management tools that allow you to monitor resources, see where they've been allocated, and make adjustments to optimize performance if necessary. With proper planning, each component can be fine-tuned in a way that makes it possible for converged storage systems to operate with seamless efficiency.