In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the significance of an agile and resilient IT infrastructure cannot be overstated. As businesses and business leaders seek to progress in their digital transformation journey, the concept of an integrated infrastructure has emerged as a key enabler of IT maturity. By establishing robust connections between cloud, colocation, on-premises, and edge computing, an integrated infrastructure creates a seamless IT ecosystem, offering distinct advantages over alternative deployment architectures. The concluding section of our Shape Your Tomorrow guide highlighted Gartner’s prediction that by 2025, 85% of infrastructure strategies will be integrated. Let’s explore the fundamental principles of an integrated data centre infrastructure and the factors influencing modern infrastructure strategies.
What is Integrated Infrastructure?
Modern data centres face the challenge of harmonising diverse systems, including secure on-premises setups, collocated servers, and equipment spread across multiple cloud services and edge infrastructures. The essence of integrated infrastructure lies in consolidating physical computer, networking, and storage resources from various providers into a cohesive solution managed from a single, centralised interface. This approach significantly enhances IT infrastructure management, enabling the utilisation of a unified toolset throughout the network, from core to edge. With an integrated infrastructure in place, businesses can seamlessly navigate complexities and leverage the specific advantages of each component within the broader ecosystem, without compromising on connectivity, security, or resilience.
Agnostic Infrastructure vs Integrated Infrastructure
Cloud-agnostic infrastructure focuses on creating a technology environment independent of any particular cloud provider or platform, allowing organisations to integrate a mix of open-source and vendor-provided tools, as an example.. In contrast, an integrated infrastructure ensures smooth and seamless connections between your tools and the underlying infrastructure. As a result, choosing an integrated infrastructure architecture becomes a more appealing option than adopting an infrastructure-agnostic approach. The trend is now very much shifting toward integrated infrastructure—an interconnected ecosystem where hardware and software components are meticulously designed to function seamlessly together.
Conclusion
Incorporating integrated infrastructure, encompassing edge, colocation, on-premises, and cloud deployments, can deliver substantial benefits to companies seeking a simplified approach to operate and manage their complex IT landscape. This integrated approach paves the way for greater innovation and agility, empowering businesses to meet the dynamic challenges of today’s digital landscape.
If you’re eager to learn more top tips from industry experts on how to implement stronger, more resilient, and sustainable planning for the future, we invite you to download our latest e-book, “Shape Your Tomorrow: Navigating Your Technology Infrastructure in 2023 and Beyond”. Discover how an integrated approach can shape a sustainable IT future for your organisation.