Complexity trumps today’s IT landscape: workloads and data are scattered everywhere. In an IT environment that is hybrid by design, you stay in control.
Many an IT manager today is suffering from choice stress. There are countless ways to set up your IT environment, but what offers the best solution? Do you opt for the cloud or stay on-prem? We put these questions to Stèphane Lahaye, Managing Director at HPE BeLux, although we can predict his answer in advance.
HPE has long championed a hybrid cloud, with workloads spread across cloud and on-prem infrastructure, according to where each workload feels at home. Lahaye confirms this, “We have been with HPE for about a decade now and our strategy has always remained the same, since day one. The current commercial success is a result of that.”
50-50
Data and workloads are everywhere today. The idea of a hybrid cloud already seems to be well embraced by Belgian companies, Lahaye emphasizes. “On average, fifty percent of investments are made on on-prem, and fifty percent in the cloud. Within cloud, that’s about sixty percent public cloud and forty percent private cloud.”
“Our customers are often in those three environments. The edge then comes on top of that,” Lahaye outlines the situation in the Belgian IT landscape.
That spread between on-prem and cloud has not necessarily made things easier, Lahaye also admits. “Customers discuss with us how to manage that hybrid environment in a cost-effective way. IT is constantly changing. What sits where now may be somewhere else next year. There is no simple solution to a complex problem. Putting everything on-prem or everything in the cloud simply doesn’t work.”
Putting everything on-prem or everything in the cloud doesn’t work. IT is constantly evolving.
Stéphane Lahaye, Managing Director HPE BeLux
Cloud does not fulfill promise
Until a few years ago, cloud-first was a popular thought in the IT industry, but this dogma is outdated today. For Lahaye, it’s clear why. “Gradually you discover that certain technical environments simply cannot migrate to the cloud. So it largely has to do with technical reasons.”
But financial motives also come into play. “The promise that cloud is cheaper than on-prem has not been fulfilled,” Lahaye argues. “Cloud can be cheaper, but just as much more expensive. It’s a very variable business. Just that lack of predictability is a big problem for companies, who struggle to budget for everything. They don’t know how much the cloud is going to cost them next year. Then if it turns out to be more expensive than budgeted, that’s a problem.”
Lahaye and HPE have nothing against the public cloud, but there are more than good reasons to keep IT (partly) on-prem. “On-prem means you keep certain knowledge in-house. This makes you less dependent on third parties. Companies today are bound to change, but still want to maintain as much control as possible.”
Close to data
But organizations that keep their infrastructure on-prem also face challenges. “People who have knowledge about specific IT environments are often scarce. If you don’t outsource your IT, you remain responsible for operational tasks, such as security. If you bought something, it’s yours. Customers ask HPE to relieve them of this. This is ingrained in GreenLake, but we also have local partners who perform operational tasks for customers.”
For HPE, the solution lies in a hybrid cloud. Hybrid cloud does not simply mean spreading workloads randomly between on-prem and cloud. There has to be a clear plan behind it, which HPE describes as hybrid by design. Lahaye explains more.
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“The idea is to build your IT infrastructure with the knowledge that certain workloads are going to be in the cloud, and others on-prem. Tools in GreenLake like ObsRamp allow you to determine where a workload will sit now and in the future. It’s important that workloads can shift”.
Data are the compass that points the direction. Lahaye: “You have to know where your data is and where it’s being created. Fifty percent of data today is created outside the traditional data center. You can connect everything and that creates data: you have more data than code.”
“Some data is only useful in the short term, others you have to keep for years,” he continues. “Then you have to ask yourself where the best location is to store that data. Migration costs money and increases the risk of duplication. That’s why it’s better to process data as much as possible where it is.”
Not black or white, but gray
HPE helps companies find the ideal balance between cloud and on-prem. Lahaye: “Our consultants talk to customers about their current challenges, their plans and how they are going to evolve. Gartner recommended five years ago to have an ‘exit plan’ ready for when you want to move away from the cloud. Today’s world is not the same as tomorrow’s.”
The lack of predictability in the cloud is a major problem.
Stéphane Lahaye, Managing Director HPE BeLux
Flexibility and control are central to HPE’s hybrid strategy. “As a company, you have to make sure you can always adjust,” says Lahaye. “Therefore, keep the knowledge you possess in-house as much as possible. Outsourcing everything to an external provider makes you dependent and so you risk either overpaying or not being offered the right solutions.”
“This limits diversification in the market. If everyone is using the same technology, how do you differentiate yourself to stay competitive? We don’t believe in black or white. For us, the future of IT is gray,” Lahaye concluded his argument.
Ultimate hybrid workload
It’s 2024 and so we’re also talking about AI. Like any self-respecting technology company, HPE is fully pulling the AI card. Indeed, the company doesn’t want to just join in, but is confident that its hybrid strategy will lead the pack. At Discover in June, HPE called AI “the ultimate hybrid workload.
We put those words from his colleagues back to Lahaye, who unsurprisingly agrees. “AI, and especially how to build a business case around it, is very much alive among our customers. A hybrid cloud offers advantages in terms of data protection. I don’t want to say that cloud solutions are insecure, but on-prem you still have more possibilities to unlock data.”
Lahaye again refers to the cost argument. “As you use more AI applications, the cloud bill is going to add up quickly. AI is a lot of testing and a lot of trying. A private AI solution then helps keep costs under control. Again, it’s about giving yourself the choice of what you put where.”
Boarding ticket
So what does the whole AI thing mean for SMEs, who don’t have the budgets to invest in expensive infrastructure? Don’t they then rely on the cloud? “There are indeed private platforms that have an ‘entry ticket’ of half a million euros or more. We also know that SMEs are not going to do that,” Lahaye admits, but that does not mean that HPE’s story necessarily excludes SMEs.
“When we talk to SMEs about AI, it’s often about use cases. Companies are actively looking at what they are going to do with AI. I believe there will be more and more customized solutions for SMEs. There are parties that are focusing on this and can really help SMEs. On some server platforms you can now get started for as little as 40,000 to 50,000 euros,” Lahaye continues.
Lahaye offers one final piece of advice, “I would advise every company to look at AI thoroughly and seek out the necessary information. This really is an irreversible evolution.”
We don’t believe in black or white. For us, the future of IT is gray.
Stéphane Lahaye, Managing Director HP BeLux
This is an editorial in partnership with HPE. Look here for more information on the company’s solutions.