This is the last of four articles that review the details behind IDEAS predictions for 2012 (see earlier postings on drivers of cloud computing adoption, the changing landscape of client devices, and the impact of solid-state-drive [SSD] storage).
In the cloud era, when users are increasingly shielded from details about underlying platforms, the challenge of differentiating server hardware has become more acute than ever. Like gravity, standardization is pulling IT infrastructure toward common hardware components. With every new generation, x86 servers and industry-standard operating systems such as Linux and Windows are being used to host increasingly critical workloads. To remain competitive, systems vendors are constantly under pressure to lower prices by cutting hardware and operating system margins. Faced with an identical "race to the bottom," vendors are stepping up efforts to complement their hardware with highly differentiated software that is optimized for their platforms.
Today, systems vendors have a variety of opportunities to optimize their platforms with higher-level software. For example, Oracle SPARC and IBM POWER processors incorporate features that enable them to work optimally on Oracle or IBM hardware. Providers of Intel Xeon-based systems may not be able to customize Intel's processors, but they can create system designs that have desirable characteristics, such as more memory for virtualization, SSDs for performance, and hard partitioning for business-critical environments. Just as razors continue to evolve – touting advancements that can only be achieved with a proprietary blade – so too must server vendors continue to evolve designs if they want their hardware to be the foot in the door that helps them sell their higher-margin software stacks.
While the hardware-as-razor, software-as-blade model is not new for the IT industry, server vendors are under pressure to go much further than before in crafting their own integrated software stacks. Systems management software presents the first opportunity for expansion. As larger enterprises adopt multiple hypervisors from different vendors, vendors are extending their server management tools to become complete virtualization management platforms. The convergence of computing, storage, and networking in integrated "cloud servers" is also creating a need for a new class of management software that allows all three of these domains to be controlled from a "single pane of glass."
Virtualization also opens up new opportunities for adding value with software, since functions that would have been implemented as hardware devices before can now be delivered as software-based virtual appliances. For example, some storage vendors, such as FalconStor and HP LeftHand, offer their storage controller software as a virtual machine image that can be deployed as a complete virtual storage server. Software-defined networking (SDN) will also start to get more attention in 2012 with the gradual emergence of industry-standard initiatives like OpenFlow, startups like Nicira, and technologies based on specific server platforms such as IBM VMready. These approaches will allow some low-level networking functions to be integrated directly with applications to enable more predictable performance under variable load conditions.
Still, even while it seems that most future infrastructure opportunities are in software, there is no sign that the demand for hardware is diminishing. Interest in public clouds offering infrastructure as a service (IaaS) remains strong, as does the deployment of private clouds in which the virtualized infrastructure is coupled with software that allows users to provision resources on a self-service basis by means of service catalogs. Both of these trends will continue to increase server sales as IT managers consolidate existing systems to better accommodate new operating processes. The increased use of client devices such as tablets and smartphones, which depend on back-end services for much of their value, will result in yet more demand for storage and compute resources.
Sales of traditional servers will thus stay on track throughout 2012 and beyond. Integrated server platforms will put some pressure on traditional server configurations such as blades, racks, and towers. Since integrated platforms are still in their infancy, best practices for selecting and deploying these systems have not yet been agreed upon. For the most part, IT managers will continue to purchase "raw iron" that they will integrate with other components themselves. With processors gaining more cores, memory bandwidth will become the new bottleneck to performance. Vendors that develop innovative new ways for CPUs to quickly access the data they need will stand out in the server market. Some major server product updates scheduled for 2012 include Intel's Sandy Bridge EP processors, Microsoft's Windows Server 8 and SQL Server 2012, and Oracle's SPARC T5 processor. All of these releases should help to energize systems purchases. While IT may be headed for the cloud in the future, in 2012 there are still plenty of opportunities to take care of business right here on earth.
Comments