Ten Tips To Run IT And The Data Center
In A Converged, Intelligent Infrastructure
Vernon Turner
Senior Vice President
Copyright 2010 IDC | Reproduction is forbidden unless authorized. All rights reserved.

Agenda
 Define A Converged
Infrastructure
 What Are The Key
Requirements For
Converged
Infrastructure
 The Ten Tips
 Essential Guidance
©2010 IDC | 2

What Is A Converged Infrastructure
A Converged Infrastructure treats server,
storage and network infrastructure
resources as pools, to be assigned as
needed to Business Services
Converged Infrastructure Maturity Map
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
• Integration Of Traditional • Tight Integration Of • Integration of IT Services (
Hardware Functionality Systems Management and e.g. Outsourcing, SaaS, PaaS,
( e.g. Combining servers Control Software Into Cloud Computing) Blended
and network equipment) Hardware Functionality Into A Unified Computing
Framework
©2010 IDC | 3

Without A Converged Infrastructure,
Is There A Cloud?
Consolidate Virtualize Automate Provision Cloud
ure
uct
ra str
d Inf
ve rge
on
fC
lO
eve
gL
sin Self
rea
Inc Provision
Metering & Metering &
Chargeback Chargeback
Mobility Mobility Mobility
Hypervisor Hypervisor Hypervisor Hypervisor
©2010 IDC | 4

Is The Customer Ready For The
Converged Infrastructure?
Where On The Adoption Cycle Are We?
What is your organizations’ approach to
Visibility Converged computing?
Never Consider 27
Unheard 15
Against 8
Plan 14
Consider 35
0 10 20 30 40
2010 % Respondents
Time
Source: IDC Enterprise Platforms Survey, Jan 2010 (N=255) ©2010 IDC | 5

The Importance Of Virtualization &
Systems Management
 Virtualization Adoption Rates Are A Leading
Indicator For Converged Infrastructure Plans
 Systems Management & Automation Has The
Most Appeal
Server & Storage
60
Virtualization Adoption Rates
50 Storage &
Not Sure
40 30 Network
30
20 0
10 Other Server & Network
0
Never Never Consider Consider Plan Current
Heard Consider But Not Using Use Systems Mgmt & Fiber Channel &
Using
Automation Ethernet
High Virt. Adoption Large Enterprise Technology Leader
Low ( <15%) Medium (<49%) High ( +50%)
Source: IDC Enterprise Platforms Survey, Jan 2010 (N=255) ©2010 IDC | 6

What Are The Top Two Benefits Of A
Converged Infrastructure?
Total N=250
Cost Reduction/Saving 52%
Simplified Management 36%
Better Availability 12%
Increased Flexibility 11%
Higher Utilization 10%
Don’t Know 10%
Save On IT Staff/ 7%
Headcount
Lower HW Costs 7%
Disaster Recovery 6%
Lower TCO 3%
Better Energy Use 2%
Source: IDC Enterprise Platforms Survey, Jan 2010 (N=255) ©2010 IDC | 7

What Are The Top Two Challenges Of A
Converged Infrastructure?
Total N=250
Cost Prohibitive 39%
Skilled Staff 32%
Difficult To Integrate To 29%
Existing Infrastructure
Cultural Barriers 15%
Security 12%
Don’t Know 10%
Technology Maturity/ 9%
Imaturity
Vendor Lockin 5%
Source: IDC Enterprise Platforms Survey, Jan 2010 (N=255) ©2010 IDC | 8

What Will It Take For Customers To
Implement A Converged Infrastructure?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rate how likely is it that your organization will
utilize a Converged computing environment
over the next three years?
Use a 0-10 scale where 0=Not at all Likely
and 10=Extremely Likely.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
 Customers need to be convinced that this will improve their business,
not just IT
 Organizations will need a mature approach to management
operations.
– Service Management
 Move from focusing on managing individual devices, to defining what
they manage in terms of services.
 Converged Infrastructure demand automation and standardization
Source: IDC Enterprise Platforms Survey, Jan 2010 (N=255) ©2010 IDC | 9

Individual Markets Impacted By
Converged Infrastructure
2010 2013
Systems SW Management $13.6B $16.7B
Security SW Management $19.4B $25.1B
Virtual Machine SW Management $1.4B $2.0 B
Network Management $3.0B $4.0B
Storage Systems SW Management $13.0B $16.2B
Systems Management $35.0B $41.0B
Server Network Storage $100 B $115 B
$198 B $220 B
©2010 IDC | 10

The Impact On Individual Markets By
Converged Infrastructure.
CI Impact 2013
Systems SW Management $18 B
Security SW Management $26 B
Virtual Machine SW Management $2 B
Network Management $5 B
Storage Systems SW Management $17 B
Systems Management $43 B
Server Network Storage $101 B
$212 B
©2010 IDC | 11

Customers Are Still Deciding Who To
Work With
The Vendor Opportunity
Cisco
Dell
 IBM and Cisco have leading
mind-share in large business
EMC
 HP has gotten off to a fast
HP start in small and medium
IBM
business
Microsoft
 Microsoft and EMC ( with
VMWare) lack customer
Others awareness
Don't Know  Dell’s best opportunities lie in
medium sized businesses
0% 50% 100% within manufacturing and
professional services
Which vendor has the best
opportunity to deliver on this objective?
Financial Manufacturing Infras Svcs Distribution Professional Svs Health Gov/Ed
Source: IDC Enterprise Platforms Survey, Jan 2010 (N=255) ©2010 IDC | 12

The Ten Tips To Run A Converged,
Intelligent Infrastructure
Tip 1: Implement A Mature Approach To Management Operations
 Move From Individual Device / Application Management To Defined
Service Management
– Go Beyond ITIL And Get To Policy-Based Services
– Dynamically Automate Resource Allocation To Workloads.
Tip 2: Embrace Standardization
 The More Diverse The Infrastructure, The Harder It Is To Automate
– Demand Highly Standardized Workloads & Virtual Images
 Implement Consistent Patch,Upgrade Management, Automated
Discovery and Compliance
Tip 3: Invest In Performance Monitoring & Analytics
 Applications & Workloads Will Become More Intelligent And
Proactively ‘Call’ For Resources
– Traditional Resource Allocation Automation Relies On ‘Reaction On
Action’
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The Ten Tips To Run A Converged,
Intelligent Infrastructure
Tip 4: Revamp The IT Organization Structure.
 IT doesn’t have a Converged Infrastructure Business Model – they
still have P&L structures. The CFO has to be sold on the concept as
much as the CIO.
Tip 5: Legacy Systems Need A Seamless Transition Path.
 Converged Infrastructure has limited or no support for multiple
platforms. Legacy systems inherently no dot integrate with other
management systems
Tip 6: Train IT Staff To Support IT Resource Planning.
 Storage Managers and Capacity Planners will need to take on new
roles and responsibilities due to the increased level of Systems
Management and Automation:
– Will we see a reduction in staff?
– Will we see new attributes where staff now manage information?
©2010 IDC | 14

The Ten Tips To Run A Converged,
Intelligent Infrastructure
Tip 7: Install A Charge Back System
 Granular and measures resource consumption at the smallest
unit of work. Simple annual ( or semi-annual cost allocation
processes won’t work).
 Vendors will be expected to have the ability to provide easy to
access usage statistics across multiple metric dimensions
Tip 8: Promote The Benefits Of Web-based Service Catalogs
 IT organizations understand they must be able to communicate to
end users what they are allowed to get and at what frequency and in
some cases for how much. Converged Infrastructures and Cloud
Computing adoption will be hampered without an IT service
catalogue."
Tip 9: Clearly Understand The Impact Of Network Convergence
 Vendors will have to explain their Converged Infrastructure strategy
in conjunction with the IT department’s Converged Network
implementation.
©2010 IDC | 15

The Ten Tips To Run A Converged,
Intelligent Infrastructure
Tip 10: Converged Intelligent Infrastructures will demand
Foundational Network Services
 Definition: A Virtual Network Service is a network service,
traditionally deployed as an appliance, that is now deployed in a
virtual machine form factor. It is a virtual appliance with network
functionality.
Systems SW Management
Security SW Management
Virtual Machine SW Management
Network Management
Storage Systems SW Management
Systems Management
Server Network Storage
Potential
Market
Opportunity
©2010 IDC | 16

Essential Guidance
1. Converged Infrastructure Needs Evangelists –
This Is A New Market.
2. Vendors Will Need To Demonstrate A High
Degree Of Market Agility – The Industry Is
Ripe For Consolidation.
3. Don’t Let A Broad Product & Go To Market
Portfolio Assume You Have A Leadership
Advantage.
4. Vendors Who Bring Sophisticated, Service
Oriented Automation and Workload
Management, Provisioning & End-To-End
Performance Optimization Will Take The Lead.
©2010 IDC | 17

Contact Information
Email me at
vturner@idc.com
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