As we mentioned in an earlier blog, “A business’ data is one of its most unique, differentiated, and competitive resources. But to fully unleash this treasure trove of advantage, IT needs to move beyond supporting data centers to instead realizing data is at the center for the business.” This month, as we march toward VMworld 2019, we are sharing more about how to shift the conversation from data centers to Data @ the Center, specifically how to accelerate, consolidate, and mobilize your data to drive actionable insights.
A few key considerations as businesses shift their mindset from data as input to data as an indispensable resource, is the speed and ease of accessing, managing, and transforming that into insight and competitive advantage. To get there, we have to look at some of our favorite topics – NVMe (after all, it is the Year of NVMe) – and virtualization.
As you map out your data strategy and shift to ensuring data remains @ the center, we wanted to share a few resources in this month’s NVMe guide with a focus on virtualization. NVMe-based devices, platforms, system arrays and fabrics will be pervasive as organizations continue to unlock the power of their ever-growing data, seeking more powerful and efficient solutions.
Start with a Data Strategy
Virtualization has been around for quite a while. However, today, virtualization is more of a strategy than simply a tactic as it was in years past. Now might be a good time to review what you’re doing from a data perspective. Classic hardware virtualization has been the key to consolidation efficiencies and savings. Now data virtualization can provide similar benefits in a different way. Some people are surprised to find out that hardware virtualization is not the end of the story, that there is data virtualization as well. If you want to learn more, we invite you to:
- Check out this webinar: How to Develop a Data Strategy for Virtualization
- Read this blog: How to Build a Data Strategy Framework
- Learn lessons from a data management expert
Understand the Business Value of NVMe
We’ve talked a lot about NVMe over the past months. If you are still getting questions about what it means for the business, check out two resources – a video and eBook – that will help you explain/share why your organization might want to consider deploying NVMe-based solutions to unlock the power and possibilities of your data:
- Read this eBook: NVMe Storage for Dummies
- Check out this AllTech Media MegaCast roundtable discussion on “How to Accelerate Business Critical Applications with NVMe”
- See Why Fast Data Matters, and How to Get On Board
Integrating and Optimizing Your Virtual Environments
While, it’s true that virtualization lowers IT infrastructure costs and allows enterprises to respond to new business needs quickly, it also creates an additional layer of infrastructure complexity – complexity that the IT team has to manage across both the virtualized and storage array layer. We get it – it’s a double-edged sword. Virtualization is meant to lower costs and allow quicker response time, but when the infrastructure becomes complex, the resources required to manage it could increase and offset the savings you were hoping to achieve. Here are a few great resources as you consider how to both integrate and optimize your virtual environments:
- Watch this upcoming webinar on “How to Integrate Virtualized Server Environments with NVMe AFAs”
- Read our blog on the 4 Questions to Ask When Evaluating Virtualization Optimization
- Check out this eBook: Flash Storage for Virtualization for Dummies
- Watch this roundtable EcoCast webinar where participants talk about how to optimize your virtual environments
Each month, we continue to share information to help you determine if you may want to integrate NVMe into your infrastructure. And, as always, we invite you to ask questions or share comments below and/or Twitter @WesternDigiDC.
If you are headed to VMworld® join us at booth 1933 where we’ll share more about how to shift the conversation from data centers to Data @ the Center, specifically how to accelerate, consolidate, and mobilize your data to drive actionable insights.
