Is SDDC the Key to Successful Data Center Virtualization?

Data center virtualization is a crucial IT trend for today's businesses. Research has shown that the global data virtualization market was worth approximately US$2.2 billion in 2019 and is set to grow at an annual rate of 22%, reaching a value of US$8.5 billion by 2026.

Furthermore, worldwide spending on cloud IT infrastructure is expected to increase at a quicker pace as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gartner has predicted that cloud will account for more than 14% of total global enterprise IT spending by 2024, up from 9% in 2020.

As the amount of data handled and stored by businesses grows and the disadvantages of on-site IT architecture become increasingly clear, companies need to find cost-efficient and reliable ways to manage their virtual infrastructure.

One concept that looks set to take on more importance amid these transformative trends is the software-defined data center (SDDC).

The value of data center virtualization

There are many reasons why data center virtualization is an attractive prospect for companies today.

One of the clearest advantages is the ability to leave behind the constraints of on-site storage. For growing enterprises, relying on your own physical data center means you need to add new servers and other components whenever you reach the limit of your storage space. This creates additional practical and financial concerns like having to add power and cooling capacity.

As far as costs are concerned, virtualized data center services are available on a 'pay-as-you-go' basis. This can help you manage your cash flow by reducing upfront expenditure on IT hardware and only paying for additional resources when you need them.

Other benefits include:

• A high level of data security and compliance
• The ability to set up new virtual servers and data center components at high speed
• Reduced burden on your IT team as the responsibility for managing and maintaining the data center is outsourced

You can maximize the advantages of data center virtualization for your business by staying up to date with the latest trends and technologies in this space, such as SDDC.

Learn more: Is Paravirtualization a Viable Alternative to Full Virtualization?

What is SDDC?

SDDC describes a data center in which all infrastructure elements - computing, storage, networking, security and so on - are fully virtualized and delivered as a software-based service.

The addition of a software layer to the fundamental hardware gives you more visibility and control over your applications and the various parts of your data center infrastructure.

This innovation makes it possible to achieve a fully automated virtual desktop infrastructure for any hardware and application, with very little downtime. Consequently, it’s been hailed as the next stage in the ongoing evolution of cloud computing and data center virtualization.

The benefits of SDDC

A key advantage of SDDC is the ability to extend your private, public and hybrid cloud capabilities. It enables you to turn resources such as servers, storage and networking facilities into programmable tools, which gives you more power to manage them with software and connect them to other virtualized assets. This means you can extend your SDDC to other cloud services, for example.

Another compelling feature of SDDC is the opportunities it provides for businesses to benefit from automation. Using software to manage and control your data center enables you to take the responsibility for provisioning resources away from your workforce. This frees up your IT team to focus on other tasks that could generate more value for the business, such as developing new services or solutions for your customers.

Efficiency should always be a priority for any organization that wants to make the best possible use of its resources, and SDDC can prove particularly helpful on this front. Software can be used to automatically balance and reassign workloads, based on the evolving needs and demands of the business.

This can also prove crucial if a server fails or some other problem occurs in your data center infrastructure. You can rely on the automated system to make adjustments that will reduce downtime and minimize the risk of outages.

Questions to ask for your business

As beneficial as SDDC could prove to be for many businesses in the coming years, it's also important to be aware of the potential challenges associated with this technology.

Adopting and completing the migration to SDDC is likely to be a significant undertaking for your IT team and possibly the business as a whole, so you need to make sure you're ready. How will fundamental IT processes need to change, for example, and how can you prepare your team for this?

It's also important to consider the impact of SDDC with regards to:

• Data center security
• Compliance
• Disaster recovery
• Capacity planning

If you can provide satisfactory answers to key questions in these areas and prepare your teams for the transition to SDDC, it could prove to be a transformative technology for your business.