Since enterprise IT workloads have highly varying requirements, some suited to cloud deployments and others to traditional deployments within the data center and outsourced, we believe that the Data Center of the Future will need to operate not solely in a cloud model, or in a hybrid cloud model comprised of multiple cloud entities, but in a hybrid enterprise model. This hybrid enterprise model will consist of internal and external infrastructure, some deployed as clouds and others more traditionally operated, with a mix of general purpose and specialized functions.
To address the barriers to cloud adoption and enable organizations to truly exploit the benefits of cloud computing, a Hybrid Enterprise framework will be required that comprehensively addresses strategic considerations across applications, data centers and management. This is best done across a model that addresses cloud architecture, management and tools, security, financial models, storage, networks, IT service management and support services.
Within this framework, a workload placement decision model will be required to characterize applications and drive placement decisions so workloads can run on the optimal infrastructure. A consistent approach will be required for building and evaluating data center characteristics – one that meshes with the application modeling – and which optimizes the data center footprint across cloud and non-cloud delivery models, and which minimizes complexity.
Finally, a single management environment will be required that provides a set of controls to manage governance, risk, compliance, services and costs across all infrastructure types.