What does the Broadcom-VMware acquisition mean for SMBs?

Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, which completed nearly 12 months ago, has caused ongoing concern among vendors, partners, and customers alike, and the storm is far from calming. Among the various issues being raised is VMware’s new product pricing and packaging strategy that forces the purchase of bundles– an approach that is likely to become a financial strain on enterprise edge and SMBs who may easily end up paying for a platform packed with features they don’t need. It is perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that more than half of VMware customers are looking to leave the Broadcom-owned vendor, according to media reports.

While Broadcom’s strategic changes have left many SMB and enterprise edge customers in the lurch, they have also opened up the market for other vendors to offer alternative solutions. Moreover, as upgrade cycles approach, there is an entire SMB and enterprise edge community that needs to decide what the next investment in their infrastructure is going to be.

For example, edge sites present some unique infrastructure challenges, such as limited physical space, limited energy capacity, and the need for reliable, real-time application performance. Then there are the issues associated with edge data management, where IT leaders must decide what data to keep at each remote site or in their central data centre, and whether to archive data to the cloud, or delete it entirely.

In the retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and utility sectors, for instance, mission-critical access to real-time data – or the lack of it – puts these priorities firmly in the spotlight. This comes at a time when the complexity and scope of edge devices is increasing with organisations investing heavily in innovative smart devices that require high performance remote infrastructure.

In this context, if VMware ceases to become a viable option for these use cases, how can these users get the uptime, reliability, and real-time application processing they need that is cost-effective?

The growing role of hyperconverged Infrastructure

This is where hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) comes into play. This technology combines computing, networking, and storage resources into a single and streamlined architecture so organisations can run crucial applications at individual sites and still have a connection to the cloud as needed.

For instance, traditional data centre architecture requires dedicated hardware components, with each designated for a specific function. This typically includes using appliances such as SAN and/or NAS hardware for storage along with separate server and networking hardware devices. In contrast, HCI provides simplified hardware and software components that integrate traditional data centre hardware into a single hardware appliance controlled by a software virtualisation layer. This software typically includes a hypervisor to virtualise the server plus virtual SAN and virtual networking layers to share storage and network bandwidth across all of the virtual servers.

This hardware consolidation gives SMBs and enterprise edge users performance where they need it but also the ability to scale their resources according to changing demands. This is equally true across a diverse range of industry sectors, each of which will have specific infrastructure priorities.

HCI allows users to minimise the physical space required to implement computing, networking, and storage. They also consume less power, are easier to keep cool, and are less likely to require maintenance or spare parts than legacy technologies.

Install, maintain, and support

The inherent simplicity offered by HCI means that the technology doesn’t need to be installed by engineers with highly specialised experience and expertise. Instead, the “onsite” work (setting up the hardware) can be carried out by anyone - even a retail store clerk since all they need to do is plug in power and networking cables. The software can either be preloaded or installed remotely by IT teams or service providers. Many of these HCI solutions can be up and running in less than an hour and with the associated knock-on benefits of reduced downtime or the business agility that comes from getting new sites operational very quickly.

From that point onwards, centralised management tools allow IT admin teams to work remotely to ensure systems remain operational without the need for onsite visits. At the same time, HCI software tools automatically allocate and balance compute and storage resources to ensure performance remains within required parameters.

In this context, organisations are less likely to overprovision and can also ensure their tech spend is more efficiently allocated. When requirements dictate, infrastructure resources can be increased without delay and the need to draw engineers away from more strategic priorities.

With the market for enterprise edge and SMB infrastructure technologies in flux, those organisations that can define their future strategy now can quickly get back to core priorities. In doing so, they can also harness the power of scalable, efficient infrastructure that gives them the agility to adapt to future business trends.

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About the author

Bruce Kornfeld is an experienced technology executive who has held leadership roles in marketing, product management, alliances, and business development in the storage, server, networking, and security industries. He joined StorMagic in 2017, and serves as chief product officer, where he is responsible for all aspects of product management, global marketing, and alliances for the company. Prior to joining StorMagic, Bruce held marketing and product leadership positions at Compellent, Dell, and NCR. He helped Compellent grow its revenue from $9M to more than $150M, which led to its IPO and eventual sale to Dell for $960M, and was instrumental in building and growing Dell’s first storage division to over $1 billion. Bruce holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Masters Degree in Engineering as well as a Master of Business Administration, all from Cornell University.

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