IT shops seeking to simplify their administration, refocus on higher level areas in the technology stack, and increase agility, are turning to converged systems writes Wikibon Principal Research Contributor Stuart Miniman. Converged hardware can help IT break the traditional silos and move towards simpler architectures. It provides a stable foundation that extends the value of virtualization up the stack to meet the needs of application owners. As a result, market adoption is well along the path forecast by Wikibon.

While speed of implementation can be an initial attraction, the greatest value is provided by systems that integrate up the stack to database and applications. Technological improvements such as NAND flash storage have added to that value, supporting operational proof points for the full spectrum of converged solutions.

There are no wrong converged infrastructure solutions. Which is best depends on the specific needs of the organization, user groups, and applications. When making a choice along the spectrum from build-your-own to reference architecture to fully converged infrastructure, CIOs should consider that the deeper the integration of a solution, the easier it is to have a repeatable process. Full stack solutions that have tracks for upgrades of hardware and software components, guaranteeing the results of patches in advance, can move the needle in operational expenses. Organizations that only buy new infrastructure every few years may find it hard to synchronize upgrade cycles for pieces of the stack, making a flexible reference architecture attractive.

Cisco UCS has been a significant driver of converged infrastructure deployments, including VCE Vblock, NetApp/Cisco FlexPod, EMC VSPEX, and reference architectures with Nimble Storage and Tegile. In this connection Cisco’s acquisition of WHIPTAIL, maker of all-flash arrays, raises speculation about the future of these relationships.

Cisco is positioning its WHIPTAIL acquisition as a “technology buy” to provide an extension of UCS rather than a move into storage. Both VCE and NetApp have said they see the purchase as a positive move for their relationships. However, VCE today announced updates including a full refresh of flash offerings including the new EMC VNX hybrid array and the EMC XtremIO all-flash array that in theory competes with WHIPTAIL. So, writes Miniman, “you won’t see them selling an all-flash array.”

Stu Miniman’s full analysis  is available without charge on the Wikibon Web Site. IT professionals are invited to register for free membership in the Wikibon Community. Members can post comments on published research and publish their own questions, tips, Professional Alerts, and white papers on the site. They also receive invitations to the periodic Peer Insight Meetings, where their peers discuss how they are solving business and technical problems with creative use of advanced technologies.