Virtualization’s perfect storm: VMware and HPE

Although virtualization has been around for a few years now, there’s just as much buzz about this impactful strategy now as there was when it first hit the scene. In fact, Gartner has proclaimed that the global server virtualization market is currently reaching its peak, signaling the important role this approach plays in every sector that relies on IT assets.

Virtualization can offer a laundry list of advantages for enterprises in every industry. However, now that there are more than a few options when it comes to virtualization solutions, it can be difficult for businesses to choose the right one.

Virtualization: A mature market

The virtualization market has seen steady growth over the past few years thanks to increased adoption across the board. Gartner noted in May 2016 that the worldwide x86 server virtualization market is poised to achieve a value of $5.6 billion this year. This is a more than 5 percent increase compared with the 2015 market.

Virtualization is now a mature IT strategy, and there are more than a few solutions available for enterprises to choose from.

“The market has matured rapidly over the last few years, with many organizations having server virtualization rates that exceed 75 percent, illustrating the high level of penetration,” noted Gartner research director Michael Warrilow.

Who dominates the market?

Gartner pointed out that there are several market leaders currently in this sector, including VMware and Citrix. Computerworld contributor Jorge Maestre noted that this environment has also bred an interesting partner/competitor scenario when it comes to industry heavyweights VMware and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, or HPE, particularly when one considers the combined offerings of these two companies.

“Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and VMware have enjoyed a long, successful history together,” Maestre wrote. “It’s often been suggested that HPE is VMware’s biggest partner, biggest reseller, biggest integrator, etc. Think about it: What industry benefits most from virtualization if not servers? And who holds the #1 market share for servers?”

As Maestre pointed out, despite the partnership that clearly exists between these two organizations, they do, in fact, compete with one another. Because of VMware’s wide-reaching portfolio, though, the same could be said for almost any other vendor in the IT industry.

“Owned by EMC or not, VMware has always been an independent company and run[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=” border_size=” border_color=” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=” id=” animation_type=” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][s] independently,” Maestre wrote. “At the end of the day, VMware competes with almost EVERYBODY. That makes them frenemies with the whole industry, and that’s okay.”

What does HPE have to offer?

Although VMware leads the pack, this doesn’t mean that HPE’s virtualization solutions are any less beneficial. In fact, HPE’s StoreVirtual, leveraged within the HPE Composable Infrastructure, Hyper Converged solutions and Composable Data Fabric, has really helped HPE make a name for itself in an increasingly mature market. What’s more, HPE’s StoreVirtual technology does provide certain unique advantages, including:

• Increased flexibility, particularly when it comes to integration with other solutions.
• Boosted resiliency, stemming from the fact that HPE’s system is more mature than most others available today.
• Unlimited replication targets, an increasingly beneficial capability as more businesses leverage software-defined and hyper converged solutions.

HPE StoreVirtual Technology

What is StoreVirtual and who relies on it for simple, scalable, highly available storage? 

• Think You Know HPE StoreVirtual Technology?

• What is StoreVirtual and who relies on it for simple, scalable, highly available storage? Watch this 2-minute video and see how much you know about this HPE software-defined storage technology.

• www.youtube.com

• Virtual Store Architecture

• This white paper describes the key features of StoreVirtual technology and the advantages of a simple, scalable, efficient storage architecture that keeps data highly available and protected. Additional information and recommendations for storage deployments are available in the technical papers and best practice guides listed in the reference section at the end of this white paper.

• Hpe Sds

• HPE SDS technology delivers simple, open platform solutions, no special training required. Make local IT staff more efficient by managing data storage from a central location. Start with the storage you need at each site, and scale out as business requirements change. You keep branches up and running, keep critical data available, and protect your data across the enterprise.

• Software Defined Storage Wp

• The power of software-defined storage (SDS) lies in separating hardware and data services from management to optimize costs for midsize businesses, remote sites, and cloud service providers. Learn the meaning of SDS and how this new technology can help you build a flexible architecture that offers opportunities for simplified management across your data center.

• Store Virtual White Paper

• HPE StoreVirtual VSA is a cost optimized solution for virtual environments that delivers flexible, easily scalable shared storage without the expense of dedicated storage hardware. With a comprehensive enterprise-class feature set, built-in high availability and disaster recovery capabilities, StoreVirtual VSA delivers business continuity within a converged infrastructure and is ideal for businesses with limited floor space, no local IT resources or those looking for hybrid IT efficiencies.

What should my business use?

With VMware and HPE – as well as Cisco, Citrix and other leading names in the IT industry – now providing powerful, efficient and user-friendly virtualization systems, it can be difficult for enterprises to select the right one.

Converged Infrastructure suggested utilizing a solution that can easily integrate with other virtualization platforms, as well as one that can flexibly automate certain processes to boost performance. In addition, it’s also beneficial to select a system that has integrated tools for overall management, backup and recovery.

Many of the leading solutions available today provide these advantages, and then some. For this reason, it’s important to consult with an expert that can assist your company in finding the best solution for its needs. And who better to help you than an industry leader that has strong partnerships with VMware, HPE, EMC, Cisco, Citrix and more?

iT1 Source is the only technology provider that can boast this type of partner ecosystem. This puts us in a unique position to weigh the specific needs of your company in order to find the best possible virtualization solution. To find out more, contact one of our expert iT1 Source consultants today.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]