Powering through change: How HP networking innovation enables IT transformation & better TCO

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By Mike Nielsen, Director of Solutions Marketing, HP Networking

It’s the end of the world as we know it. REM may have been ahead of its time, but it strikes me that this may be the constant refrain from many IT professionals today.

The rise of Web-based applications, smart phones, collaboration application and wireless networks is a growing issue. For many enterprises, this will require a fundamental rethink of existing IT architectures. The costs of ignoring these changes - either accidentally or intentionally - are already apparent:

·         Loss of organizational agility and responsiveness

·         Management complexity caused by Frankenstein-esque mishmashes of IT infrastructure

·         Increased latency as old dogs (legacy equipment) are trying to do new tricks (virtualization and cloud)

Add the new IT consumerization challenge and the complexity increases exponentially into the mix. Where business applications once circulated within the safe, restricted confines of the “place of work,” now each individual employee, partner and customer has a virtual umbilical cord. They are attached to their organization’s applications and services—anywhere, anytime, over any number of smart, and not necessarily corporate-owned, devices. (Read what Les Stuart has to say on the topic in his recent blog post: The mobility challenge: The transient infrastructure.)

Networking innovation from HP just may be the solution you are looking for

So, how do you spend to budget, implement new all these new services and solutions and do it without the network ultimately looking like it was built by Inspector Gadget?

Well, our approach is to focus on driving innovation that reduces complexity, delivers breakthrough economic benefits, and empowers customers to deploy the network as a business enabler. Two of these key innovations are Intelligent Resilient Framework (IRF) and Intelligent Management Center (IMC).

IRF is an innovative HP switch virtualization technology that allows customers to dramatically simplify the design and operations of their data center and campus Ethernet networks while doubling performance.

By deploying IRF, you can completely eliminate the requirement for a dedicated aggregation layer as you scale-out your network, and enjoy the benefits of large Layer 2 domains with increased network uptime and simplified management.

Because of this unique architectural approach, you can eliminate the aggregation and distribution tiers in the data center and campus networks, effectively saving you up to 50% of the network capital cost.

In addition to stripping out unnecessary network layers, HP’s Intelligent Management Center combats swivel-chair management and network management ‘bloat’ by delivering a single-pane-of-glass, multivendor management platform with automated virtual machine orchestration, automatic synchronization of network connectivity information and our recently announced mobility module to provide integrated mobile network access control.

I hear you saying: ‘It’s the economy, stupid!’

Well, from our point of view the answer to that is yes—but not at the cost of sacrificing your ability to innovate.

Most IT departments are spending 70% of their budgets just to keep the lights on, with only 30% used to innovate. HP Networking, with our IRF technology to flatten the network and IMC to reduce network management complexity, is committed to changing that dynamic. We're offering our customers not only cost efficiencies (up to 66% TCO, 85% reduction of complexity by removing aggregation layer), but also industry-leading solutions that deliver 80% faster VM mobility and 500x greater failover recovery.

Both IRF and IMC are integral parts of the HP FlexNetwork architecture. The way we see it, vendors need to be focused on designing architecture for the next decade of innovation. HP FlexNetwork architecture is just that. It transforms legacy networks through convergence and simplification, enabling organizations to deliver innovation, speed and performance.

But hey, don’t just take it from me. Below are some independent reports you might want to check out.

And while it may be the end of the IT world as we know it, you might just start to feel fine....

• IDC: ROI of a Complete Networking Potrfolio: Delivering Value from the Network Edge to the Core
• Network Test report: FlexNetwork Architecture Delivers Higher Speed, Lower Downtime With HP IRF

>> Learn more about HP Networking products and solutions for the Instant-On Enterprise.

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