HP unveils new 'converged infrastructure'

Ad hoc virtualisation has reached a breaking point without a clear path towards unified management tools for hybrid physical and virtual IT environments, according to global technology giant HP.

CIOs in major enterprises today face a growing problem of 'virtual sprawl' in their data centres. Too many CEOs remain unaware of just how much they are actually spending on information technology.

Enterprises have developed 'silos of automation' in their IT systems, creating unnecessary complexity and using 'a United Nations' of applications that were all the same but were different versions. Virtualisation was increasingly being used for mission-critical applications.

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Ad hoc virtualisation has reached a breaking point without a clear path towards unified management tools for hybrid physical and virtual IT environments, according to global technology giant HP.

CIOs in major enterprises today face a growing problem of 'virtual sprawl' in their data centres. Too many CEOs remain unaware of just how much they are actually spending on information technology.

Enterprises have developed 'silos of automation' in their IT systems, creating unnecessary complexity and using 'a United Nations' of applications that were all the same but were different versions. Virtualisation was increasingly being used for mission-critical applications.

In Singapore today, HP highlighted such 'virtualisation' problems that CIOs are increasingly facing and unveiled its new strategy, which it called 'Merging the fabric', focusing on converging blade server and networking technologies to increase virtualisation performance and network flexibility.--

Converged infrastructure

'Merging the Fabric' involves a new integrated offering of HP ProCurve and HP BladeSystem in what HP calls 'converged infrastructure'.

"Virtual sprawl has been an ongoing challenge for customers, adding unnecessary complexity and management costs that take valuable resources away from business innovation," said Neal Clapper, vice president and general manager, enterprise storage and servers, HP Asia Pacific and Japan.

"By delivering a converged solution that is easier to manage, higher performing and reduces costs, HP is eliminating these challenges, allowing customer to focus their efforts on growing the business, today and in the future."

Clapper said blades and converged infrastructure are going to cause a lot of turmoil in the IT world.

Watch out Cisco

"Cisco's going to have an interesting wake-up call and it's going to be difficult for them," she said. "They have a beautiful story but we have the track record and experience."

Louis Au, vice president and general manager, ProCurve, HP Asia Pacific and Japan, said CIOs are now constantly under pressure to leverage technology to deliver business results.

"They are also expected to be prepared to focus on innovation and to enable new business models for the future," Au said. "Converging standards-based HP ProCurve and HP BladeSystem technologies fundamentally changes the economics of networking to deliver a secure, easily manageable and higher performing solution."

At the function, HP also announced two new standards-based bladed switches -- the HP ProcCurve 6120XG and the HP ProcURVE 6120XG -- which "seamlessly integrate a mix of legacy network equipment in the data centre, allowing customers to maximise return on investment for their existing environment".

Marina Bay Sands contract

HP made the announcements while still celebrating its major contract win with the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort, which includes the Sands SkyPark®, a 2,500-room luxury hotel, Sands Expo and Convention Centre, a museum, theatres, gaming, shopping and dining. It refused to specify the total cost -- other than to say "a lot".