HP is making headlines today with the introduction of an impressive new strategy and architectural framework: HP Converged Infrastructure (click here to view the news release). The timing couldn't be better. I've heard from a lot of CIOs lately who have indicated they have more aggressive plans to invest in infrastructure innovation to attract new customers and tap new markets to combat economic conditions. This is exactly how convergence of new and existing technologies can, and is, creating exciting opportunities.

Converging the infrastructure isn't a new concept, but being able to convert that vision into reality today, is. This is where the breakthrough HP Converged Infrastructure architecture has me excited. In my mind, it's the most thorough and complete framework - all built through the pioneering work of the HP Adaptive Infrastructure - by which customers can gain the pure benefits of a services-centric IT approach that has been elusive for years.

Why a converged infrastructure ... a look back in time?

I know time flies, but if you look back a few decades, IT organizations have been adding servers, storage, and networking in silos to keep pace with business demand for applications and the terabytes of data they generate. The problem is, because of this sprawl, those resources are tangled up in legacy architectures that have created inflexible stacks of IT.

This sprawl has wide-reaching implications that are driving businesses to a breaking point - starting with cost. It's a fairly well known fact that the average business spends around 70% of their IT budget on operations versus innovation. This is unacceptable in today's market. The effects of sprawl have caused business to suffer from a lack of agility ... sluggish time to revenue ...lost opportunity and higher costs to operate through lost time ... and the lack of integration with business processes. This has placed IT under tremendous pressure. Because of sprawl, these rigid, aging infrastructures have all led to over-provisioning and underutilization ... complex physical and virtual management ... stranded capacity ... and exponential opportunities for error. Plus, back to my earlier point ... the amount of money it takes to operate and manage all of this has put a noose around the already slim IT budget.

The solution to sprawl lies in a converged infrastructure that unifies business, application, and infrastructure functions to optimally deliver faster time to business value, simplified management, increased utilization, and lower power cost across a scaling set of applications. This balances the 'cost-innovation' ratio - among the many other benefits - because it both addresses IT cost optimization and provides new value that directly impacts business results!

Imagine being able to deliver any application anywhere, on the fly, in the cloud; have ready resources that flex 'on demand' in an optimized way; unleash the trapped & strapped productivity of administrators, systems and facilities; have complete predictability and continuity of service; and achieve all this now while working from your current IT investments and infrastructure (we are not talking about rip & replace like other vendors).

Why I believe the HP approach is optimal for our customers?

For customers to truly benefit from a Converged Infrastructure - in ways never achieved or seen before - it's about bringing "innovation" into the game ... and not in a small way. As more and more businesses begin to rely on fewer, more strategic vendors (and selective partner solutions), they need the best products, the best services, and the expertise and track-record that delivers the biggest bang for the lowest cost ... and at lowest risk. This is exactly what CIOs told me at the recent HP IT forum in Hong Kong (see my last blog).

Simply put, it requires the convergence of servers, storage systems, network, management software, and energy optimization, which is no small feat. It requires an architectural approach where all technologies and services come together - having been designed for convergence from the get-go - through years of experience delivering IT infrastructure solutions to our customers.

The HP approach uses a unique value proposition and infrastructure requirements that are Virtualized  (heterogeneous and end-to-end), Resilient, Orchestrated, Optimized and Modular (needs to scale).

The bottom line: All the core areas that need to merge and converge - based on standards - cannot simply be loosely assembled or pulled out of thin air. No business I know has that kind of extra budget or resources available for long implementation cycles - or the business security and solvency to even take that risk. What HP is announcing today is very exciting with the new introduction of the HP Converged Infrastructure strategy and architectural framework.

I invite you to take a look for yourself and "break through to the other side" with HP Converged Infrastructure!

www.hp.com/go/convergedinfrastructure

Duncan Campbell, Converged Infrastructure