Requirements of a modern IT infrastructure
An optimized IT infrastructure builds the foundation of a successful IT organization. Today, IT managers are not just under pressure to run a company’s operational applications and systems. They are increasingly facing the challenge to be ready to support the company’s need for new solutions and to come up with necessary system resources.
This is even more difficult when tight budgets and what are often already highly-optimized operations leave few resources for innovation. A dilemma to which there appears to be no solution.
Although some IT system environments are managed efficiently from the administration viewpoint, the infrastructure itself has grown through the implementation of additional applications, the take-over of companies, etc., over the years. Consequently, a large number of different systems are now working with different hardware platforms and operating system versions. This creates an administration of complex systems with a large share of resources.
We know for a fact that many systems are not up to newest standards, however, this is not the main cause for their need of numerous resources. The main cause is that IT infrastructures are not working to full capacity. In the past the hardware capacity was often designed for the worst case scenario – due to different platform requirements this was done for each system separately.
What if dozens of these servers (and the systems running on them) could be grouped together on a few powerful, modern servers? With higher average utilization, yet still with sufficient spare capacity to cope with peak loads? And if instead of specialized cluster solutions per platform, there was just one integrated solution for high availability and guaranteed operation?
Modern virtualization techniques are not just solutions for the workrooms of software developers or administrators, but offer sensible solutions even in the SAP environment. They enable optimized, secure operation on a tight budget, yet allow potential for innovation.
Virtualization is not restricted to "virtual machines”. Virtual storage and virtual networks offer new possibilities – and not just since Amazone Cloud Computing.
Consultants from GOPA ITC have been making use of this kind of technology since the early phase, and are now at the cutting edge of virtualization of SAP systems, in collaboration with the SAP Center of Excellence.
We would be glad to support you in this key area for the future.
