Intelligent Data Centres Issue 11 | Page 32

EDITOR’S QUESTION to unlock the limitless computing power inherent in cloud-native applications and cloud-native development in your data centres. Or perhaps you just crave the cybersafety of the public cloud for the protection of your data and the options for business continuity. Supporting on-prem and cloud-native apps When planning better support for enterprise applications in the public cloud, make sure that the data services you select not only meet the feature requirements of your operations, but that the performance of those services can scale appropriately to the needs of your apps. ASSAAD EL SAADI, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST, PURE STORAGE he relatively short history of hybrid cloud has furnished us with several cautionary tales. If these uncomfortable anecdotes were to be compiled into a single volume, its title would read: ‘plan ahead’. Jumping the gun in IT projects has never yielded a happy ending and yet we still do it. But those who ask the right questions as they design their hybrid IT infrastructures, are more likely to recount a happily-ever-after story than those that jump in with both feet. T What are your targets? Identify your goals, zero in on your biggest pain points and plan your attack. Maybe you want to find better ways to run traditional applications in a public-cloud setting. You might want to explore ways 32 Issue 11 If your big win is to prepare your data centres for the support of cloud-native apps, then you will need to add container support and object storage capabilities. This code portability allows cloud-native applications to run on your premises. In addition, associated automation tools and self-service facilities can lead to an appreciable surge in your organisation’s IF YOUR BIG WIN IS TO PREPARE YOUR DATA CENTRES FOR THE SUPPORT OF CLOUD-NATIVE APPS, THEN YOU WILL NEED TO ADD CONTAINER SUPPORT AND OBJECT STORAGE CAPABILITIES. IDENTIFY YOUR GOALS, ZERO IN ON YOUR BIGGEST PAIN POINTS AND PLAN YOUR ATTACK. agility and allow you to deliver on cloud- native application development. The bottom line is that modern IT environments should facilitate data strategies based on flexible consumption models, across on-premises, hosted and public cloud – aligning application workloads with the most effective infrastructure. Most importantly, the modern IT environment should work harmoniously with a common management interface, 100% non- disruptive architecture and proactive or predictive support services. Securing the digital estate Building your ideal hybrid IT infrastructure will require a long, hard look at your current security policies and the formulation of new ones that allow a secure environment without hampering your operational ambitions. Do not be afraid to re-evaluate your entire data-protection and disaster-recovery processes, to ensure all your digital bases are covered. Your recovery objectives may have changed, before or during the design of hybrid cloud. As a result, you may find that the recovery options available to you are no longer fast enough for your new ambitions, necessitating the switch to flash storage. And if you find yourself needing to repurpose your backup data under your new paradigm, then consider using object storage for the long term, to ensure greater accessibility than you would receive with tape solutions. Modern IT infrastructure roadmaps, diligently navigated, can take you where you want to be, with your data working for you, delivering the actionable insights that will keep you relevant in the global digital economy. ◊ www.intelligentdatacentres.com