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2020 Roadmap:
3 Steps to Modernize
Infrastructure
for the Cloud
Get future ready HCI to
prepare for tomorrow, today

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
3 Introduction
4 Consistency Matters
4 Modern Infrastructure: The Next Step in Data Center Evolution
5 Phase 1: Core HCI
6 Phase 2: Full-Stack HCI
7 Phase 3: Hybrid Cloud
8 Benefits of Data Center Evolution with VMware
9 Reduce TCO with Hybrid Cloud
9 Digital Transformation: Brought to You by VMware

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 2020 ROADMAP: 3 STEPS TO MODERNIZE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE CLOUD 3

A s companies undergo digital transformation, it’s becoming clear that cloud infrastructure is playing a
significant role, and most companies will eventually employ multiple cloud platforms, if they’re not
already. The question from an infrastructure perspective becomes how to ensure the investments you make
today will be compatible with the new normal of hybrid cloud and the reality of limited budgets.

Whether hybrid cloud is in your organization’s immediate or distant future, a solid infrastructure foundation will
enable I&O leaders to maximize existing IT budgets for long-term business impact. Moreover, solidifying your
THE GOAL IS TO ADOPT A
hybrid cloud strategy today will ensure you can maximize investments in your current premises-based
HARDWARE AND
infrastructure while planning your cloud environment of tomorrow. You need infrastructure that fits your
SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY
existing applications, positions you to take advantage of cloud efficiencies, and ultimately gives you the
STACK THAT WORKS
freedom to use the most appropriate infrastructure for each application—premises-based or cloud (any cloud).
ACROSS LARGE PRIVATE
DATA CENTERS, HYBRID
For most companies, digital transformation will require modernization of data center infrastructure. The goal is
CLOUD, AND EDGE
to adopt a hardware and software technology stack that works across private data centers, hybrid cloud, and
FACILITIES.
edge facilities. But it shouldn’t require you to jettison existing on-premises infrastructure. Rather, the idea is to
build on those investments in a consistent fashion, to future-proof your infrastructure environments.

By ensuring consistency, modernization also helps increase operational efficiency and agility. You’ll realize a
lower total cost of ownership by optimizing resource utilization, taking advantage of automated management
tools, and reducing mean time to repair when issues arise. You can also accelerate time to market for new
applications and services, including modern, cloud-native applications.

An effective strategy is one that also enables you to leverage existing investments in areas such as
hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI), which promises to play an outsized role in modernization efforts.
Consistency across the infrastructure stacks will also help you reduce risk while implementing applications and
services to increase competitiveness.

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 2020 ROADMAP: 3 STEPS TO MODERNIZE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE CLOUD 4

The modernization effort can be a gradual migration; it doesn’t have to be a sprint. What’s important is to follow
a well-defined strategy with consistency in mind. VMware provides all the required components, focusing on an
HCI stack that can grow with you as the migration progresses. In this e-guide, we’ll walk you through the
progression from “core” HCI that includes VMware vSphere® and VMware vSAN™ to a full HCI stack that
employs the VMware Cloud Foundation™, which extends the same HCI implementation to a variety of cloud
platforms – setting you up with a future-proof infrastructure foundation.

Consistency matters
It’s clear enterprises are on board with the idea that a common approach to on-premises and hybrid cloud
deployments is imperative. In a survey of some 1,300 VMware enterprise customers, 92 percent said
consistency of architecture between private and public clouds is important.1

Environments must be aligned with respect to compute, storage, networking, and management tools, making
them simple to operate and compatible across on-premises and cloud environments.

They also need to align with application requirements, which are increasingly focused on speed and agility. That
means the ability to not only rapidly spin up new virtual machines as demand warrants, but to support modern
application development environments including containers, especially those built on the Kubernetes
orchestration platform. Hybrid cloud strategies are a natural fit with containers. Just as containers allow
developers to mix and match pieces of applications, hybrid cloud gives companies the freedom to match those
IN A SURVEY OF 1,300 applications to the most appropriate compute environment.
VMWARE ENTERPRISE
CUSTOMERS, 92% SAID Modern infrastructure: The next step in data center evolution
CONSISTENCY OF Realizing consistency in data center architecture requires taking some logical “next steps” with respect to
ARCHITECTURE BETWEEN infrastructure.
PRIVATE AND PUBLIC
CLOUDS IS IMPORTANT. Traditional data center infrastructure is characterized by separate compute, storage, and networking systems.
In most cases, this means separate teams each with their own tools to manage their bit of the infrastructure –
meaning multiple silos.

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1
VMware Cloud Market Study, Management Insights, Jan. 2018.
 2020 ROADMAP: 3 STEPS TO MODERNIZE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE CLOUD
All those disparate tools and teams introduce
complexity and add cost, both in terms of
personnel and infrastructure. It also increases the
risk that something goes wrong, such as during
routine maintenance, simply because so many
components are involved.
Perhaps worst of all, this traditional infrastructure
can’t easily support cloud-based and other
modern applications, including Kubernetes
containerized applications. These applications are
written to work in highly virtual environments,
with a high degree of portability among
environments.
Virtualization separates compute, storage, and
networking capabilities from underlying physical
infrastructure, instead implementing each in
software. It enables software-defined capabilities,
including storage and networking, that make it far
easier to spin up new resources as necessary,
move existing resources (such as for disaster
recovery), and garner far greater hardware
utilization.
HCI takes the concept a step further, by enabling
compute, storage, and networking components
that work in concert with one another, with a
single management interface.
5
The ultimate goal of data center modernization is to “VMware Hybrid Cloud has
deploy the same HCI stack across private data centers allowed us to move work-
and hybrid cloud environments, bringing consistency loads into the cloud extremely
across the board. quickly with just a few
people . . . We didn’t see any
It doesn’t take a “rip and replace” strategy to attain this other potential offerings that
goal. Following is a three-phase approach to getting the would allow us to lift and shift
job done at your own pace. While some may find it our workloads. The other
beneficial to follow the phases in order, it’s not a options would have required
requirement: if you want to jump right from wherever extensive refactoring and
you are to Phase 3, that’s your prerogative. transformation.”
— IT executive, higher education
Phase 1: Core HCI organization, from IDC report,
The first step in the modernization effort is implementing “The Business Value of Hybrid
core HCI, which consists of hyperconverged compute Cloud with VMware”
and storage implemented on-premises. One example is
VMware vSphere server virtualization software along
with vSAN storage virtualization software.
Core HCI puts you on the road to greater operational
agility as compared to the traditional silo approach. Now
you have server and storage infrastructure managed as
a single entity, because vSAN is integrated with the
vSphere hypervisor.
It’s little surprise, then, that HCI is seeing robust growth—
more than 17 percent year-over-year from the 4th
quarter of 2018 to the same period of 2019, according to
researchers at IDC.
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 2020 ROADMAP: 3 STEPS TO MODERNIZE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE CLOUD
“[Hyperconverged] systems continue to provide value to a wide variety
of businesses in both hybrid and multicloud environments given their
easy-to-deploy and automated software-defined nature,” said Greg
Macatee, research analyst, Infrastructure Platforms and Technologies
at IDC.
With core HCI you start to gain the benefits of software-defined
infrastructure. In addition to simplified management, the combination
also enables far faster deployment of compute and storage resources.
No longer is a single application matched to a specific hardware server
and storage array. With virtualization, multiple applications can share the
same server hardware, leading to far greater utilization. The same goes
for storage resources, as you can now assign capacity as needed from a
generalized pool of storage.
It all adds up to faster delivery of services – a must in the digital
transformation era. And with the consolidation of server and storage
resources, with a common management platform, you need fewer staff
to manage it all.
The vSphere plus vSAN combination is also future-proof, serving as the
foundation of your other data center modernization efforts, as you’ll see
in the next two phases.
Phase 2: Full-stack HCI
The next phase in the modernization journey is full-stack HCI, which adds
networking, management tools, and automation to the mix, enabling you
to manage the entire stack as a single platform.
A simple way to achieve full-stack HCI is to adopt VMware Cloud
Foundation, which encompasses integrated, virtualized compute,
storage, and networking, all with unified management.
The State of Application Modernization and Hybrid Cloud Computing,” VMware, Feb. 2020.
2“
6
VMware Cloud Foundation enables automated private cloud services,
offering many of the benefits of cloud platforms on premises-based data
center infrastructure.
That includes a cloud-like operating model, where you no longer deploy
static resources on a one-by-one basis, such as a new physical server for
each new application. Rather, full-stack HCI enables an “as-a-service”
approach where the infrastructure team delivers compute, storage, and
network services that application developers, business groups, and
others can order and consume as needed.
The VMware Cloud Foundation full-stack approach also sets you up to
support modern applications, which will be a requirement to keep up
with business demands going forward. Traditional siloed infrastructure
will be like an albatross around the neck of infrastructure teams, holding
them back from supporting modern applications that take advantage of
advancements such as containers and Kubernetes.
Finally, full-stack HCI based on VMware Cloud Foundation means you have
consistent infrastructure and operations across private and public clouds
and edge environments, so you’re well-positioned for cloud migrations
when the time comes. In the meantime, it brings many cloud benefits to
on-premises data centers, which is clearly a priority for many companies.
For its “State of Application Modernization and Hybrid Cloud Computing”
report, VMware surveyed some 600 North American IT organizations. Asked
how they expect their data centers to evolve over the next three years,
respondents cited the following as their top three modernization priorities2:
63% 54% 52%
Automate more Virtualize Better monitor clusters
core IT processes more layers and containers
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 2020 ROADMAP: 3 STEPS TO MODERNIZE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE CLOUD
Phase 3: Hybrid Cloud
The final phase of the data center modernization effort, hybrid cloud, is
when you extend your HCI environment to multiple private and public
cloud environments and the edge. That requires an HCI stack that is
compatible with hyperscale cloud providers and others, enabling IT to
maintain visibility and management across both on-premises
infrastructure and that in the cloud.
Hybrid Cloud
Data & Connection
Public Cloud Applications Private Cloud
VMware once again makes this a simple proposition with VMware
CloudTM on AWS, a VMware-managed Cloud Foundation implementation
hosted within Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers. With hybrid
cloud, companies can now migrate thousands of VMs live, without
retrofit, from their premises to the cloud.
Customers are bullish on hybrid cloud. More than two-thirds (70 percent)
of respondents to the VMware survey said they are actively engaged in
public cloud migration, noting they plan to migrate 54 percent of their
applications to the cloud. That means the remaining 46 percent will stay
on-premises. And given that half of the respondents said they’re already
using more than one public cloud provider, it’s clear a hybrid cloud
model is indeed the wave of the future.3
7
That makes sense when you consider that, for each application, a hybrid
cloud model enables companies to choose the infrastructure option that
best meets the needs of the business, considering issues including:
Performance — a virtually unlimited amount of CPU cycles is
available in the cloud, but that doesn’t always make it the best
choice, depending on some of the other criteria below
Latency — this is one of the bigger gating factors that force some
applications to remain on-premises
Cost — depending on the exact requirements, it may be less costly
to run an application in the cloud vs. on-premises
Seasonality — Cloud platforms are a natural fit for workloads that
vary by time of year or with special promotions and the like
Compliance, regulatory — Restrictions around where data is stored,
for example, may require some workloads to remain on-premises
Speed of deployment — Any virtual workload is easy and fast to
deploy on full-stack HCI, including loads you choose to move to the
cloud. Consistent infrastructure means there’s no retooling of
applications required to move to or between compatible clouds
Security, privacy— As with compliance, security and regulatory
issues sometimes give on-premises deployments an edge with
respect to security and privacy
The point is, a hybrid cloud HCI model enables you to put each workload
in the right place (including multiple clouds), at the right cost, for the
right reason.
HCI also provides consistency in terms of infrastructure and operating
model, whether on-premises or in the cloud. With VMware Cloud
Foundation, and its support for Kubernetes, that consistency also applies
to the operating model for applications within a hybrid cloud. With
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Ibid.
3“
 2020 ROADMAP: 3 STEPS TO MODERNIZE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE CLOUD
“We’re using VMware’s hybrid
cloud solutions for areas that
we may have to scale up or
down depending on the
needs of the business . . . That
way we don’t have the cost of
running the data center for
these workloads on physical
infrastructure.”
— IT executive, finance
organization, from IDC report,
“The Business Value of Hybrid
Cloud with VMware”
Kubernetes there’s no need to re-architect applications
as you move them between cloud platforms. Similarly,
any application than runs on VMware Cloud Foundation
infrastructure will move seamlessly between
on-premises data centers and the cloud.
That consistency of operating models greatly simplifies
management, which leads to dramatic cost savings. A
study by IDC found VMware customers realized an
average savings value per year of $355,700 per 100 VMs.4
VMware TanzuTM Kubernetes GridTM
Benefits of data center
evolution with VMware
Those kinds of savings don’t happen by accident. It’s
the result of VMware’s work to create infrastructure
that helps ease the customer journey from traditional,
siloed data centers to core, full-stack, and, eventually,
hybrid cloud HCI. It’s an approach that brings with it a
number of significant benefits.
4
“The Business Value of Hybrid Cloud with VMware,” IDC, August 2019.
8
The VMware approach enables customers to leverage
their existing investments in virtual infrastructure as
they migrate to a more modern data center, since
they’re building on top of what most are already using.
At the same time, the shift to HCI enables companies to
eliminate infrastructure that they no longer need,
including all those standalone servers and storage
systems.
The ability to employ a consistent software stack in
diverse environments enables companies to evolve their
data centers while minimizing risk. Stack consistency
helps ensure applications run as intended no matter
which environment you choose to deploy them in.
Similarly, having a consistent operating model and a
seamless path from core HCI to full-stack and hybrid
cloud reduces complexity. That, in turn, reduces
operational overhead, as the IDC cost savings numbers
make clear, enabling fewer staff to manage far more VMs.
Hybrid Cloud Consistent Operations
On-prem and Off-prem
Full Stack HCI
Cloud Foundation
Fully Automated
Private Cloud
Core HCI Easy Agility
vSAN + vSphere
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The fact that the same management tools apply for on-premises and
cloud-based resources also reduces overhead, while reducing disruption
to IT processes and services. There’s no rip-and-replace required in
terms of management tools, which again leads to reduced risk of errors
because IT staff don’t have to learn new tools.
What’s more, VMware Cloud Foundation provides tools for integrated,
automated performance management, proactive planning, and
optimized capacity utilization, so you can get the most out of each piece
of infrastructure. Collectively, VMware management tools help you avoid
unplanned outages and quickly troubleshoot any issues that do occur, to
reduce mean time to resolution (MTTR) and improve uptime.
Reduce TCO with Hybrid Cloud
Collectively, all these benefits add up to a lower total cost of ownership
for enterprises that employ hybrid cloud HCI. IDC makes this fact clear in
its “Report on the Business Value of Hybrid Cloud,” which is based on
interviews with users of VMware hybrid cloud solutions, including
VMware Cloud Foundation.
Study participants reported benefiting from enhanced IT scalability and
improved application reliability along with cost and staff time efficiencies.
On average, IDC found study participants realized the following savings
from VMware hybrid cloud solutions:
“We’re pushing our ratio of staff to VMs from 100:1 to 250:1,” one
participant told IDC, summing up the benefits to be had.
Digital transformation: Brought to you by VMware
VMware is the company that brought you virtualization in the first place. As it
turns out, that was just the first step.
Now modern infrastructure is paving the way to a hybrid cloud model, and
VMware is leading the charge once again. The good news is the investments
you’ve been making in VMware virtualization technology will continue to
serve you well in the years ahead.
For the vast majority of workloads that exist in IT today, VMware Cloud
Foundation is the premier infrastructure on which to operate a modern,
hybrid cloud implementation. It includes everything you need to get your
data center ready for modern applications that can span from your data
center to the cloud — any cloud.
Modernization is crucial to improving business agility, getting new applications
to market faster, and capitalizing on digital transformation. With VMware
Cloud Foundation, you can realize those goals while also reducing TCO.
More than 4,300 VMware cloud providers stand ready to help in your
journey.

Visit our website to learn how VMware solutions can help you
263% 35% 47% 26% 78% modernize your infrastructure for hybrid cloud and modern
Three-year Lower More Lower Less applications. You can also request a free HCI assessment.
ROI cost of efficient infrastructure unplanned
operations IT teams costs downtime

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