Sphere 3D Corp. (ANY)

[ral4]

Convergence -- the bundling of storage, compute, network and virtualization

According to tech target there is a new shift.. its called HYPERCONVERGENCE

searchstorage.techtarget.com/magazineContent/Convergence-reaches-a-new-level?pageNo=2

what does that mean?

But a new concept has appeared on the horizon, one that some might lump into this convergence category yet it’s factually different. At Taneja Group we call this concept hyperconvergence. According to our analysis, only three companies currently fit into this category: Nutanix, Scale Computing and SimpliVity. So how is hyperconvergence different, what is its value and who benefits?

Hyperconvergence blurs the lines between compute, network, storage and data protection, and almost creates an “infrastructure in a box” particularly for small to mid-level enterprises with limited IT expertise. Let’s look at the drivers bringing this concept to life.

Compute power is so inexpensive today that most storage arrays have tons of it to spare after storage processing is satisfied. There’s no point in wasting this power, especially when many unstructured data analytics prefer compute and data to be close together and not separated by latency-inducing networks. Virtualization is now a well-understood concept for far more technologies than the server, and storage virtualization can eliminate the need for a traditional SAN. Storage functionality is now easily defined in software and can itself run as a virtual machine (VM). Finally, inexpensive flash technologies that can be installed right next to compute and still act like storage fundamentally change the availability of IOPS. When you map all these drivers with most users wanting to manage their entire IT through a VM lens -- rather than separately for storage, compute, applications and so on -- you can see why hyperconvergence is here to stay.

Much simpler for enterprises to purchase and administer. Kind of like leggo blocks that can stack and be added when needed

This week there were rumours HP was looking to purchase Simplivity. They turned out to be just rumours but could it be a sign of things to come

www.crn.com/news/data-center/300073066/sources-hewlett-packard-in-talks-to-acquire-hyper-converged-infrastructure-startup-simplivity.htm

Once we get Overland into the fold, and all the IP merged into a single appliance, we should have the most compelling hyperconverged mouse-trap out there.

and PB gave us a peek into the future... software defined 'everything' on a chip. If the above is called 'hyperconverged'... what would you call this :)

jmo