48% of IT decision makers plan to implement composable infrastructure by the end of 2018.*
A new frontier has begun to emerge in the world of enterprise data center technology: composable infrastructure. This cutting-edge model is changing the game by simplifying infrastructure provisioning, allowing IT to respond to the demands of the business faster than ever before. Composable infrastructure empowers organizations to build extremely flexible pools of compute, storage and fabric resources that can support virtually any type of workload. Additionally, it allows these resources to be allocated directly by development teams, or even through applications, themselves. Consider it a framework that gives IT the ultimate platform for provisioning infrastructure at the speed of business.
Beyond the technological breakthrough, composable infrastructure also enables the alignment of companies’ staff by preparing them for, as well as supporting, the shift to a fully optimized DevOps environment. This means faster, more nimble workflows and greater productivity. While this will require some changes to the way IT professionals currently think and operate, the payoffs are well worth it. With composable infrastructure, companies will be better positioned to stay ahead of the competitive curve, streamline data center operations and take the next rational step forward into the future of software-driven IT.
In this tech brief, we’ve compiled our insights to help companies get ready to take full advantage of the many benefits of composable infrastructure.
1. UNDERSTAND IT’S A JOURNEY
While both operations and development are eager to get started with composable infrastructure, many are hesitant to make drastic changes to the way they work on day one. But with many vendors adding composable capabilities within the next refresh cycle or two, equipment that isn’t composable-ready soon will be. The good news is that they don’t need to take the leap all at once.
Composable was built to seamlessly integrate into companies’ infrastructure upgrade plans, and replace out-of-date systems over time. To get off on the right foot, companies should take inventory of their existing infrastructure, and make a plan to adopt composable-ready platforms that align with their refresh cycles and budget goals. This allows operations to continue in a “business as usual” mode until they are ready for the next step of the journey. Soon they can start provisioning infrastructure with software to take advantage of the speed and flexibility that composable infrastructure offers.
When they’re ready, operations can then open up the infrastructure to development through the use of templated provisioning, allowing development the opportunity to selfprovision resources on an as-needed basis. This can free the operations team up to focus on fortifying the performance and security of the data center, while planning more strategically for growth. Finally, once the right processes, templates and roles are in place, full API support can be offered to allow infrastructure to be provisioned directly via code as part of the development process. In the end, the journey leads to a fully composable architecture, but again, it doesn’t have to happen overnight.
2. EMBRACE THE CLOUD STATE OF MIND
The public cloud is a great place for rapid application development. But there are risks, expenses and issues that come with using it exclusively. Security is not guaranteed, costs are often high and compliance can be difficult to prove. Composable infrastructure solves many of these public cloud pitfalls, while at the same time leveraging its many benefits. The cloud is no longer just about technology – it is a methodology, a way of provisioning infrastructure without massive hardware hurdles. And with composable, this way of operating can be put to work within the walls of the on-premises data center.
Composable infrastructure mimics the cloud model, but it does so within a safe, cost-controlled environment where protection, security and governance can be strictly monitored and assessed.
3. CONSIDER GOING HYBRID
To truly maximize the advantages composable has to offer, companies can leverage both a public and private cloud component within their overall application support environment. Utilizing a hybrid approach, infrastructure teams can maintain control and security where it’s needed most, with the opportunity to mix in public cloud resources for select applications or when temporary capacity is needed.
Through its ability to handle multiple workload types and its extensive API support, composable infrastructure can make moving applications between the data center and public cloud very easy. With this ‘cloud to ground’ portability, organizations can adopt new, more productive development workflows. For example, on-prem resources can be used as a test bed for innovative, early-stage applications, which can then be migrated to the public cloud once they prove viable and are ready for use. In the ongoing quest for performance and efficiency, this hybrid approach has the potential to offer the best of both worlds.
4. PREPARE THE IT STAFF FOR GREAT THINGS
With the introduction of composable infrastructure, core IT jobs aren’t going away, but times are certainly changing. Operations teams should begin to prepare for job responsibilities that are about to become more predictive and proactive. They must think differently about the control they have over the infrastructure, moving their perspective from an application-level to an overarching view. Control isn’t fading, provisioning is just moving to the application realm, where templates will govern utilization and set limits on behalf of the operations team.
That means IT will become a lot more strategic, more essential than ever before. And learning new skills will become increasingly critical. Start preparing now by looking past traditional IT roles and brushing up on skills that transcend the entire infrastructure, and the application realm as well.
5. GET READY TO LIVE THE DEVOPS LIFESTYLE
The cumbersome siloes and inefficient disconnects between development and operations teams all but becomes a thing of the past with composable infrastructure. In fact, for many organizations this new infrastructure solution is a breakthrough in supporting a true DevOps model. Instead of toiling with constant provisioning demands from development teams, IT leaders can leverage composable infrastructure to meet many of those requests without the need for explicit approval or dedicating numerous ‘man hours’ to last-minute hardware provisioning.
This frees development to work more creatively and rapidly, and enables operations to leave the server farm and play a more active role in the development process. Along the way, new best practices will emerge, enabling organizations to move more quickly and be more responsive to market dynamics. Infrastructure teams will still control the infrastructure, making rules, projecting growth and actively managing the output of the data center. But now they’ll have a direct tie to business success, too.
CONCLUSION
The expedition into composable infrastructure can feel like a culture shock, but the benefits are well worth the journey—from ‘infrastructure as code’ to a fully DevOps driven environment, it’s the next generation of data center evolution, where flexible hardware meets powerful software. To make the most of it, preparation is the key. It takes forward thinking, intuitive planning and an ongoing commitment that spans departments and roles.
As companies evaluate their entry into the next level of infrastructure modernization with composable, an expert third party can be a tremendous help. By enlisting professionals who can assess current infrastructure and develop a future-looking path, organizations can more confidently deploy composable infrastructure in a way that considers their growth plans, operational requirements and business strategies. In short, as companies seek to achieve and maximize the many benefits of composable infrastructure, the most successful likely won’t go it alone.
