Hardware refresh cycles – these are three simple words that when combined together represent one of the most challenging moments in IT’s daily life, especially when you are talking about storage hardware.
But, there’s a good reason for it – planning a storage hardware refresh can be characterized as a major and daunting task.
Typically, an IT department will go through a storage refresh cycle every three to five years, but in some cases the hardware can be used for a longer period of time. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting to upgrade your hardware every few years. The problem is that storage hardware with all the new bells and whistles is not cheap so now you have to take into account the elements of time and money into the equation. Also, no one is looking forward to when those support contracts end. Don’t forget that your CIO wants to make sure the business gets the most out of their existing investments.
I know what you are thinking.
How can I incorporate new flash into my existing storage hardware? How can I bring new technologies without being disruptive and refreshing my hardware? How can I meet the new performance requirements our databases and mission-critical applications need during the midpoint of my hardware’s life cycle? What will I do with my current gear? What happens to perfectly good storage when my support contract is up? How can I meet the needs of the business while protecting my current investments?
The questions are endless, but there’s a common answer to all of these questions. And that is: software-defined storage.
Future-Proof Your Storage with Software-Defined Storage
No one really has a crystal ball when it comes to new technologies. You can always rely on industry roadmaps, but the reality is that nowadays, technology changes so fast that hardware acquisition cycles could become endless. You might not know what new technology is next, but you’ll want an infrastructure and an architecture that allows you to easily take advantage of it.
Software-defined storage allows you to build that architecture and have the software in place. Once the latest and greatest hardware comes out, you can easily integrate it into your environment, helping you modernize your data center and increasing infrastructure agility.
DataCore’s software-defined storage solution is very flexible and lets you add new storage and technologies non-disruptively, so you can be ready to integrate whatever comes next onto your existing hardware. Whether it is incorporating AFAs, NVMe, containers or cloud storage into your infrastructure or gaining the competitive advantage that the next new storage innovation brings, your infrastructure is ready to bring it in and put it to work. With software-defined storage, there’s no need to rip and replace when new technologies arrive. You decide when it’s the right time.
No Hardware Vendor Lock-In Enables Greater Buying Power
For the most part, hardware vendors have no interest in allowing you to bring in new technology to work with the storage you’ve have already purchased from them. Most likely, your hardware vendor will suggest you upgrade to the newest, fastest and most powerful equipment because it’s better. They aren’t wrong about that, but the problem is hardware refreshes can be really expensive. You have to be careful not to fall into that grey area where you end up locked-in, especially if you are working with a single vendor.
DataCore’s software-defined storage solution is hardware-agnostic. This means that it gives you the freedom to buy from any storage hardware vendor while providing all the storage services and integrating the new technologies you need across your entire storage infrastructure. Also, this helps remove infrastructure inefficiencies and puts you in a better position to negotiate the best deal and right-sizing your purchase to buy what you need instead of what just one vendor has to offer. With software-defined storage, it’s easy to add, replace or migrate across different storage platforms without disrupting users and business applications.
What You Get Out of All This
In addition to eliminating performance bottlenecks and ensuring your infrastructure is always available, software-defined storage offers many other advantages:
- Ability to integrate new technologies quickly
- Extending the life of current storage hardware
- Increasing the value of past and future investments
- Hardware and vendor independence
- Greater buying power and freedom of choice
Don’t just take my word, see it for yourself! Download a 30-day trial of our software-defined storage technology or request a live demo with one of our expert solution architects today.
