Intelligent Data Centres Issue 10 | Page 31

EDITOR’S QUESTION a range of cloud service providers. Opting for an open networking solution gives businesses an extra element of flexibility, not to mention lower costs. Interoperability is another key benefit of utilising an open cloud. In order to remain agile, businesses need to be able to shift to the cloud at their own pace – all while responding to strategic objectives. They also don’t want the technical choices they make today to limit them in the future. With an open cloud, businesses can control and run an application, workload or data on any cloud (public, private and hybrid) based on their individual technical requirements. HIREN PAREKH, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF CLOUD SERVICES EMEA, OVHCLOUD s data centre networking continues to evolve, so do the increasing choices for open networking solutions. An open cloud environment is an important element of an open networking ecosystem. While there can be challenges associated with migrating to the cloud, the majority of companies will ultimately make this move, whether it’s today or in the future. Offering an open cloud gives businesses freedom to divide up their applications among several providers and, importantly, choose where their data is stored. Furthermore, when considering data centre modernisation, it’s important to think of ‘open’ as not being limited to working with open-source technologies, but being able to offer technologies customers need, whether they’re open- source or industry standards. A With so many options, businesses today don’t necessarily want to be locked in to one provider. Many platforms are built on open-source technologies like OpenStack and Kubernetes, which are supported by www.intelligentdatacentres.com OPTING FOR AN OPEN NETWORKING SOLUTION GIVES BUSINESSES AN EXTRA ELEMENT OF FLEXIBILITY, NOT TO MENTION LOWER COSTS. They also need to use existing standards already deployed in their country. VMware is a good example of openness to existing standards. At OVHcloud, we offer a flexible range of solutions to fulfil any given workload. Ranging from hosted private cloud based on VMware technologies to public cloud on OpenStack. This provides easy migration and interoperability, which are two key elements of data centre modernisation. If a business is undergoing change – or modernisation – there are a myriad of networking solutions to help manage that change. Cloud technology is just one example. By embracing open networking solutions, businesses will be well positioned to develop and grow, and ultimately achieve their Digital Transformation needs. Issue 10 31