Virtual computing is the most profound journey that will transform computing over the next decade. The major milestones of this journey are:
- Resource Virtualization where the resources of a data center are virtualized, including servers, storage and networking. Initially applied to test and dev, this approach allows virtual machines (VMs) to run applications, and be mapped against real resources. The key value proposition is better utilization of resources including servers, space, cooling and power.
- The key benefit for this stage of the journey is improved resource utilization, particularly of expensive and power hungry resources such as servers.
- Key success metrics include:
- The virtual-to-physical ratio, the number of virtual machines that can be run in a physical machine; the higher the number, the greater the efficiency.
- The percentage of applications virtualized
- Application Encapsulation or creation of vApps (virtual applications) is the next milestone. vApps are created together with the data and metadata required to define the resources and service levels required to execute the vApp. The vApp runs in one or more Virtual Machines (VMs). The cluster of VMs that constitute a vApp are scheduled against the physical machine resources, which execute the application to meet the business needs of the organization and deliver on service level agreements (SLAs). The virtual infrastructure is seen as a set of services that are shared by the vApps.
- The main value propositions for this stage of the journey are improved agility, the time taken to deploy a new application or changes to existing applications and reduced storage costs.
- Key metrics for measuring success include:
- Time to deploy a new application
- Percentage of applications encapsulated
- Internal Cloud enables location independence of the vApp, so that data and applications can be moved between virtual machines (vMotion and Long Distance vMotion), physical machines and internal locations. This stage is the realization of the virtual data center (internal cloud). The data associated with the application can be moved or replicated and the state of the application preserved. This construct is referred to as the first stage of a hybrid cloud.
- The key benefit of this milestone is improved resilience, so that if IT resources become unavailable or are fully utilized, other resources across the enterprise can be deployed to meet service level requirements.
- Key metrics to measure success include:
- Improved RPO and RTO for all the applications in the data center
- Improved compliance with internal and external mandates
- Hybrid Cloud enables external location independence of the vApp, so that the application or part of the application can be moved outside the organization into externally available resources. This stage is the realization of the hybrid cloud (internal and external cloud). This allows IT services to be provided either externally or internally, according to availability, capability and cost requirements. This also enables greater potential integration of applications between organizations, and the ability to exploit external shared resources to improve efficiency. This construct is also referred to as a full implementation of the private cloud.
- The key benefit of this stage is improved efficiency, so that opportunity can be taken of external computing offerings to supplement or replace internal computing resources.
- Key metrics to measure success include:
- Percentage of IT spend that is external
- Percentage of revenue spent on IT compared with other organizations in the same industry
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Footnotes: This research is an expansion of a section of research looking into The Value of the VMware Integration Journey