Building an Efficient Modernization Lifecycle
Every organization deploys their own unique version of the modernization lifecycle to fit and adapt to their needs. An efficient lifecycle in comprised of two core elements:
- Modernization of the data center and extension of capabilities to the cloud
- Accelerating cloud adoption and optimizating cloud platforms
Data Center Modernization
In this section we’ll delve into more detail about data center modernization.
For most organizations, data centers aren’t fully going away any time soon. Instead, they’re being transformed into private clouds with the capabilities extended to public cloud. We’ve developed a modernization maturity model to help you identify and understand where your organization fits today.
Data Center Modernization Maturity Model
The left side of the diagram is a more reactive state, with countless disparate hardware/software platforms and multiple panes of glass. This stage is largely inefficient with long provisioning times and lots of sprawl.
The right side of the diagram is the panacea of a cloud-enabled enterprise foundation characterized by the ability to move workloads transparently, automation across platforms, complete visibility, and consumption-based models regardless of where the workload sits.
In reality, most organizations live somewhere in the middle. Many are starting to consolidate and converge infrastructure stacks, become more software-defined, and layer in automation—all in an effort to drive towards increased efficiency.
Regardless of where you are on the modernization maturity model today, this framework can be customized to provide a reference point of where you came from and where you aspire to be.
Next, let’s look at a modern data center reference architecture. We’ll break it down to show the progression. At the core is your data center infrastructure, which hosts your data and workloads. This starts to become your private cloud—by layering in automation and software-defined aspects and potentially starting to leverage subscription-based models and burst capacity on-premises to more closely resemble public cloud.
ePlus Modern Data Center Reference Architecture
Inevitably, you will begin to use the public cloud, such as AWS, Azure, GCP, and/or SaaS applications.
To truly create an enterprise hybrid cloud, you need the ability extend your workloads into the public cloud, which is enabled by the extension of network and security services, automation, and data services.
As you can see, the modernization of the data center does not just turn your infrastructure into a private cloud, but it creates a two-lane road between your data center(s) and cloud platform(s). This helps to accelerate cloud adoption and helps free you from cloud lock-in.
