It has been two-and-a-half years since we launched VxRail. In that narrow window of time, hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) has redefined what is possible for IT and the businesses it supports. According to a 2017 ESG report1, HCI usage has more than doubled since 2015—and it’s no mystery why.
Why is HCI growing so rapidly? For starters, deploying HCI solutions reduces (or eliminates) reliance on more rigid, siloed technologies; increases IT operational speed and efficiency while reducing TCO; empowers digital transformation by transforming IT; I can go on and on… and so can Dell and VMware, together.
You hopefully already know that VxRail Appliances—co-engineered and pre-tested with VMware—are the standard for predictably transforming VMware environments. I am excited to announce new innovations that make VxRail even simpler to deploy and manage, more powerful and able to address even more use cases, and offers additional peace of mind through investment protection:
- Synchronous releases between VxRail and VMware speed time to value with the adoption of the latest VMware releases within 30 days. By ensuring customers get the latest VMware updates and fixes as quickly as possible, Dell empowers them to continuously innovate so they can stay ahead of the competition.
- The new VxRail G560 delivers greater density in a 2U/4Node form factor and outperforms the previous VxRail G Series with up to 1.75x more cores, up to 100% increase in processing power, up to 4x more memory, and 3x capacity increase improvement in the boot device
- The Dell Networking Fabric Design Center, which now includes VxRail, offers wizard-based network design capabilities—resulting in a faster time to production, right-sized for your environment, and interoperable in your existing infrastructure.
- Dell’s future-proof loyalty program protects your VxRail investments by leveraging the strength of Dell Technologies to offer the industry’s strongest investment protection: three years versus our competitors, who provide 30 days for their programs.
In addition to all of this, Dell and VMware are working together to accelerate the path to a multi-cloud vision–ensuring IT organizations are always on the forefront of hardware and software technology advances, and are able to respond to evolving business needs in a cloud-first world (learn more).
So what does all of this mean? When customers ask me what workloads are right for HCI, I tell them “virtually any” (do you see what I did there?). But I am being genuine—if it’s a virtualized workload, it’s most likely a good candidate for hyper-converged. Customers from every vertical have been quick to take advantage, and adoption rates are only increasing from the edge to the core to the cloud. For example, we are now supporting a national retailer whose goal is to move to a completely software-defined data center. They chose VxRail, calling it “the logical choice for anybody using VMware products who wants to put [in a] hyper-converged infrastructure.” I must say, I agree.
When we say “VxRail Appliances are the standard for rapidly and predictably transforming VMware environments,” it is not an exaggeration. By working together, Dell and VMware have created a product that dramatically simplifies IT operations, accelerates time to market, and delivers an incredible return on investment. With new innovations such as synchronous releases between VxRail and VMware, Dell and VMware are enabling customers to innovate even faster and more predictably. And with the added confidence of knowing investments in VxRail are now backed by Dell’s future proof loyalty program, customers looking to take the next step in their IT Transformation journey can set their eyes on the horizon.
Speaking of horizons, if you’re here at VMworld make sure to stop by the Great Xscape—VR in the Dell Modern Infrastructure Solutions Booth #1276 for an experience unlike any others. In our virtual reality escape room you perform actual VxRail admin tasks in outer space in a race against the clock. Not here? No problem—you can join in the fun by participating via Twitter; just tune in to #GreatXscapeVR.
Hope to see you here!
1ESG Hyperconverged Infrastructure Trends, July 2017
