Taking a Unified Approach to Hybrid Cloud Modernization

Over 70% of global enterprises generate, store and use their data in hybrid environments. But while hybrid cloud adds flexibility, it also introduces complexity. This often leads to customers avoiding implementation of mixed virtualization and container platforms in order to prevent additional complexity and to address talent shortages, as each platform is intricate and requires specialized skills.

Key Hybrid Cloud Modernization Challenges

So how are hybrid cloud enterprises evolving to meet the challenge of today’s modern data and application workloads?

Let’s look first at several key challenges IT leaders should be aware of when modernizing hybrid cloud infrastructure for today’s workloads:

• Increased operational/management complexities and reduced overall visibility and observability: Managing a hybrid cloud environment involves integrating and overseeing multiple cloud services alongside on-premises systems. This can be complex and may result in operational inefficiencies and increased management overhead.
• Security and compliance challenges paired with governance: Ensuring data protection and regulatory adherence across various environments is demanding. And different regions and industries have unique rules, making it challenging to maintain compliance when data is distributed across multiple platforms. Today’s IT must also align good governance to their specific environments to keep the right control and oversight for the protection of their business. Without it, management can become disjointed, compliance risks can increase and maintaining a unified security stance can be challenging.
• Skill gaps and talent shortages: Managing hybrid cloud needs a mix of skills like cloud design, cybersecurity and DevOps. Many companies don’t have these skills in-house and might need to get help from outside experts.
  
• Integration and interoperability issues: Hybrid cloud environments use different systems and technologies, which can cause compatibility issues between tools, platforms and processes. This can lead to integration problems and make operations less efficient.
  
• Data management and sharing/migration complexities: Moving and syncing data and application workloads in a hybrid cloud environment in a timely manner can be challenging because it involves combining different cloud services with on-premises systems. To avoid downtime, data loss and disruptions, plan thoroughly, test before moving, use reliable tools, back up data and monitor your progress. This ensures a smoother transition to a hybrid cloud environment.
• Cost optimization: Hybrid cloud can save money, but if not managed properly, can lead to unexpected costs. Organizations need to keep an eye on expenses in both public and private cloud environments. Difficulty balancing resource allocation and optimizing costs across hybrid environments can also lead to unexpected costs due to complex pricing models of different cloud providers.
  

Addressing Hybrid Modernization Challenges with Hitachi UCP

Hitachi Unified Compute Platform (UCP) for Hybrid Cloud offers a diverse portfolio, including VMware, Azure Hybrid Cloud, Red Hat OpenShift (including OpenShift Virtualization) and more. These are tightly integrated with Hitachi Vantara’s high-end and midrange storage offerings, offering customers freedom to choose the most suitable virtualization, container and hybrid cloud platforms, with their data stored in and served from the most robust and reliable storage available.

Hitachi UCP offers a range of simplified, integrated, validated hybrid cloud solutions, including:

• UCP for VMware Private Cloud and Hybrid Cloud
• UCP for Azure Hybrid Cloud
• OpenShift Virtualization integrated with UCP compute and Hitachi VSP storage

These solutions are validated and supported with Hitachi Vantara quality, ensuring customers enjoy a variety of benefits, including:

1. Enhanced Performance and Reliability: Hitachi Vantara’s high-end and midrange storage solutions deliver exceptional performance and reliability, ensuring your data is always available and secure.
2. Scalability: Solutions are built to scale with your needs, allowing you to expand infrastructure seamlessly as your data requirements grow.
3. Simplified Management: Integrated tools provide a unified interface for managing your hybrid cloud environment, reducing complexity and operational overhead.
4. Cost Efficiency: By optimizing resource utilization and providing flexible consumption models, UCP helps reduce total cost of ownership (TCO).

Creating Additional Value Through Integration

Modern, inclusive hybrid cloud platforms enable customers to run both legacy and modern workloads. UCP adds value by integrating and validating Hitachi Content Platform (HCP) solutions, such as HCP Anywhere Enterprise, for global file sharing. Additional integrations, validations and support readiness will be available soon, ensuring customers can leverage the latest technologies and innovations.

Moreover, we validate the platform migration paths among our solutions to provide customers the agility they need for the ever-changing landscape of enterprise workloads. This makes UCP not only robust and easy to use, but also flexible and future-proof.

When it Comes to Modernization, We’re Just Getting Started

Moving forward, it is inevitable we’ll all see a dramatic increase in enterprise hybrid cloud. That makes this a good time to look at making evolutionary changes to manage your journey.

Hitachi Vantara UCP for Hybrid Cloud offers a comprehensive, flexible and reliable solution for making that journey and managing hybrid cloud environments. With a diverse portfolio and commitment to quality, we’re ready to help empower our customers to choose the best platforms for their needs, backed by the most robust data infrastructure solutions in the industry.

Over the coming months, we’ll be taking a deeper dive into each of our UCP offerings. Be sure to check back for additional information and perspective into:

• Hitachi UCP for VMware Private Cloud and Hybrid Cloud
• Hitachi UCP for Azure Hybrid Cloud
• OpenShift Virtualization integrated with UCP compute and VSP storage
• UCP for Google Distributed Cloud

Stay tuned for further insight on making your move to hybrid cloud.

Read more

• Hitachi Vantara Hybrid Cloud Solutions
• Cloud Extensibility: Optimize IT with Hybrid Cloud Flexibility
• Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure
• Hitachi UCP for Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) Enterprise (Anthos)
• Reference architecture: Hitachi Unified Compute Platform for GKE Enterprise