Gartner on the 7 Myths of Hyperconverged Integrated Systems

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hyperconverged systemCertain assumptions and hype can lead to poor decisions, Gartner reports-- and such is the case with hyperconverged integrated systems (HCIS), bringing about a list of 7 myths on the market.

All Implementations Comprise Standard and Open Architectures: Being software-defined, HCIS standardisation and opennes depend on the codebase. And no software-defined standards exist as yet. the management controls of one vendor might not be compatible with devices or software-defined networks from another vendor. As such, one must be clear on who controls the code and who is responsible for its development, maintenance and performance.

  1. All Implementations Are Destined to Fail Mission-Critical Scalability and Resiliency Tests: HCIS implementations vary in terms of robustness, scalability and security. For example, some HCIS clusters scale to 8 nodes, while others claim to hundreds or even thousands. One has to consider the context of the intended use case, and the face HCIS is best suited for high-availability and virtualised workloads.
  2. HCIS Costs Represent the Least-Expensive Deployment Model: Customers can easily scale up HCIS infrastructure in small incremental adjustments, adding more nodes as required. And if one ends up regularly adding more nodes, the investment in HCIS might easily exceed an upfront investment.
  3. The Most Important Use Case Is Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI): VDI might be the "celebrity" use case for HCIS, but many purpose workloads are now a match for HCIS due to improved performance, scaling, data protection and ease of deployment, as well as an expanding hybrid cloud ecosystem. These include DevOps, containers, bimodal applications and consumer-based services.
  4. HCIS Spells the Demise of Traditional Storage Arrays: HCIS does have the potential to replace small-to-midsize general purpose disk arrays in highly virtualised environments, but it may be less effective in large mission-critical applications demanding predictable behaviour and proven reliability.
  5. HCIS Eliminates Data Center Interoperability and Silos: HCIS lacks tight integration with traditional infrastructures, demanding positioning in silo deployments. It also demands new team collaboration models and specialty integrations different to legacy solutions, with deployment models most resonating with IT leaders wanting to switch from hardware stack management models to simple-to-deply virtualised platform delivery.
  6. Traditional Vendor Selection Preference Will Remain the Same: Gartner focus groups show HCIS tests vendor loyalty in a number of ways. Is the vendor fluent in the new wave of HCIS? Is it willing to disrupt conventional solutions? Does it have a vision to drive innovation? Can it keep ahead of increasinly agile competition? Engaging with vendors lacking a solid track record represents a risk, but the commodity pricing should alleviate some of the risk.

"HCIS, which encompasses software-centric architectures that integrate compute, storage and networking on commodity hardware, promises a cost-effective infrastructure solution that is simple to deploy, manage and scale," Gartner says. "However, new and emerging technologies are often surrounded by hype as vendors try to accelerate sales. Infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders and decision makers should examine the following points carefully to avoid later disappointments or traps."

Go Gartner Beware the Myth-Conceptions Surrounding Hyperconverged Integrated Systems