Current State of Converged Infrastructure
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Now, their are many companies that offer business the ability to create a public cloud just like a regular consumer can. The public cloud is relatively cheap and some businesses have done so. However, the public cloud, since it is public, is not especially secure, it is subject to overloading, and it cannot be tailored very easily. Thus many companies have opted out of the public cloud. However, these companies are still incredibly interested in having cloud computing capabilities. This is where converged infrastructure comes into play.
Converged infrastructure was created primarily as an alternative to the public cloud. Converged infrastructure applies the benefits of the public cloud such as accessing multiple programs across a multitude of devices while providing the security and flexibility that businesses require. However, it is important to not that converged infrastructure is not cloud computing in and of itself. Additional steps are required to make converged infrastructure cloud computing capable. However, converged infrastructure is the backbone of cloud computing or private cloud computing as this combination of cloud computing is called in business.Converged infrastructure sytems are becoming increasingly popular in business. In fact, according to (Bernard, 2013), spending on converged infrastructure systems by organizations is growing by 50% per year. Furthermore, 75% of IT managers say that when they consider what to use for applications, virtualization is first on the list (Villars, Scaramella, and Perry (2012). One reason for this phenomenon is the nature of converged infrastructure.
Converged infrastructure allows IT to do a lot more with less. According to Villars, Scaramella, and Perry (2012), converged infrastructure allows increased automation and support a wide variety of applications. This helps with everything from maintenance to disaster recovery. Simply it makes IT's job easier and more effective. Converged infrastructure also allows for huge cost savings.
It is surprising how much IT spends on maintaining the IT infrastructure. According to Mastaj (2012), "Today, in IT 70 percent of every doll goes into maintaining, configuring, updating and supporting the current infrastructure." However, after implementing a converged infrastructure system, the saving can be tremendous. Villars, Scaramella, and Perry (2012) point out that data center savings with a converged infrastructure system can be as much as 68 percent per year per 100 users. Lastly, the return on investment (ROI)for converged infrastructure systems is realized fairly quickly.
In business, ROI is extremely important. As Villars, Scaramella, and Perry (2012) show an investment in converged infrastructure will break even at a little over a year. This quick return on investment is helping drive the growth rate and popularity of converged infrastructure systems because it is relatively inexpensive in the long run.