The HPE Corner

For many enthusiasts sailing is far more than a hobby. It’s more than just a pleasurable way to spend the afternoon even as it’s an opportunity to leave the pressures of daily life back at the dock. Of course there are competitive events held around the world even as there is no letup in the technology advancements being made – recall the drama surrounding the Australian win in the America’s Cup of 1983 when the Australian 12 meter yacht featured a winged keel! At the center of the controversy was the embarrassment among U.S. yachtsmen that they had been beaten by technology they did not possess. Outsmarted, as it were or, as one publication suggested, out-technologized!

One of the more positive aspects of sailing is that it doesn’t matter what you take on the water (and indeed how much you have spent on your vessel), the ocean is still the same ocean. The bays and inlets you may favor are the same for everyone as are the morning sunrises and the starlit nights. The fact that you happen to be able to enjoy these outings no matter the vessel is perhaps the biggest attraction for yachters big and small and whether you sail solo or bring aboard the rugby team, completing any day of sailing is worth a few drinks at the bar once the sails have been taken down.

When it comes to IT then there is a sense of permanency similar to the ocean. Extreme? An exaggeration? Perhaps not and by this I mean that systems come and go even as technology introduces new challenges, but increasingly, IT isn’t as much about the equipment as about the service IT provides business – the enterprise looks upon its IT organization to procure systems, select software, provide support and advice and yes, navigate the many paths through multiple vendors to ensure the optimal system is operational at price points consistent with the business objectives of the enterprise. Whether you are happily running a mainframe or a compact server farm or even product offerings available strictly as a service, in many ways it’s all the same. Your business logic and data may be yours as it is with every other enterprise but whether or not you’re content to have a few drinks at the bar as the day winds down is solely a reflection of just how well you have managed all the resources that go into the computing infrastructure you have in place that allows the enterprise to remain in business.

HPE positions NonStop as part of its Mission Critical Systems (MCS) business unit with the newly created Hybrid IT organization. One of three organizations that make up the new HPE, joining with the Intelligent Edge and Finance, it’s also where today the bulk of HPE’s revenue comes from, but even so, NonStop occupies a very special place within the Hybrid IT and MCS product portfolio – no other system on the planet can match the levels of availability that comes with NonStop right out of the box! It may seem that HPE glosses over the capabilities from time to time but talk to any HPE executive on any tradeshow floor and there is an understanding of just how valuable NonStop is to HPE. It’s transition to being a software solution has only added to its value proposition as clearly, NonStop can run on its own HPE hardware, on your hardware (as virtual NonStop) even as it is fully capable of serving up solutions as a service from a private cloud – possibly even public clouds in the future. All that it takes for the NonStop user community to capitalize on this prized offering within HPE is to talk to someone and to leverage the skills of a community that has decades of experience with NonStop.

In an article by Chris Purcell published in CIO Magazine on FEBRUARY 25, 2019, – IT’s Vital Role in Multi-cloud, Hybrid IT Procurement: Changes in cloud deployment models are forcing a rethinking of IT’s role, along with the demand for new tools and expertise a good case is provided featuring the role of IT even as IT continues to evolve. Not just the organization that looks after the data center but IT is perhaps the strongest candidate of all when it comes to investing in cloud computing. After all, they have the technology experience even as they are familiar with the ins and outs of data center operations, including procurement at all levels be that hardware, networking, software or services.

In his article, Purcell references a recent podcast where Dana Gardner, Principal Analyst at Interarbor Solutions, talks with Rhett Dillingham, Vice President and Senior Analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy. The two discuss the changing IT procurement landscape as more organizations move to multi-cloud and hybrid IT operating models which included the following observations:

Dillingham suggests that organizations consider all types of deployments in terms of costs. Large, existing investments in data center infrastructure will continue to serve a vital interest, yet many types of cloud deployments will also thrive. And all workloads will need cost optimization, security, compliance, auditability, and customization.

He also recommends businesses seek out consultants to avoid traps and pitfalls, which will help better manage their expectations and goals. Outside expertise is extremely valuable not only with customers in the same industry, but also across industries. “The best insights will come from knowing what it looks like to triage application portfolios, what migrations you want across cloud infrastructures, and the proper set up of comprehensive governance, control processes, and education structures,” explains Dillingham.

If you cannot access the CIO article via the hyperlink (above), cut and past the following URL into your browser –  https://www.cio.com/article/3343976/it-s-vital-role-in-multi-cloud-hybrid-it-procurement.html

In the February, 2019, issue of NonStop Insider, reference was made to how strongly HPE is committed to Hybrid IT even as it is committed to providing a variety of solutions addressing mission critical computing. For the foreseeable future there will continue to be a need for special computers to handle mission critical transaction processing and this is where HPE anticipates NonStop shining brightly. HPE is often asked about its plans for NonStop even as the NonStop community flocks to product roadmap presentations, interrogating every descriptive box and date appearing in the PowerPoint slides. From all the interactions and exchanges that the NonStop community has had with HPE, the future of NonStop, particularly as a software solution, has never looked brighter. But here’s the bigger story being told; HPE is committed to Hybrid IT even as HPE is committed to partnerships.

It’s through the use of partners as members of the team that IT assembles to install and then deploy Hybrid IT that it is gaining even more attention within the enterprise and IT has a history of working with partners when expertise in new areas is required – it’s simply through their depth of experience (yes, they have done this projects multiple times before) where they can add value. When it comes time to procure your private cloud, then it will be IT leading off but they will not be alone in most instances. Partners will be supporting them and this is nothing new for the NonStop community as NonStop has a history, even a tradition, of bringing in partners when anything new arrives with NonStop.

Sailing is for the most part a team sport and even when sailing recreationally it’s good to have a helper on board. It only makes sense to work with an experienced hand if it’s smooth sailing you seek. And no business wants to be out-technologized by competing enterprises. For the NonStop community smooth sailing is ever most in their minds and while IT may be best positioned to help transform to Hybrid IT, when it comes to the integration of NonStop into an enterprises Hybrid IT plans, it is the partners that will smooth the way to seamless operation!