Virtualization: The 5 Trends That Can Extend Its Value Now that virtualization is the enterprise IT norm, how can you make it work best for you? Virtualization has become the norm in today s business and it s no wonder. The benefits of virtualization create new opportunities at every level of IT, from maintenance improvements (like eliminating costly maintenance windows ) to operational and capital savings (fewer servers and racks). Companies who embrace virtualization already enjoy: Faster deployment and time to service, including the ability to scale for growth or adjust to new business requirements as needed Lower operational expenses through common software administration/maintenance and standardization of operating procedures for all applications Improved business continuity with lower costs; virtual appliances offer the same or even enhanced levels of reliability and survivability found on physical appliances Overall, organizations that take full advantage of virtualization see an average of 20-50% savings in servers, data center power, space, and administration 1. Plus, with advances in hypervisor technologies, the entire suite of communication services can be deployed in a virtualized environment 2. Avaya is ready to help you take advantage of virtualization however you approach it. But first, let s look at the trends you need to watch. Virtualized Environment The entire suite of communication services can be deployed in a virtualized environment 2. Avaya Trend Advisor 1
1. The Rise of Real-Time Applications More than of companies are planning to virtualize their UC applications 4. To be competitive, businesses need to be more capable in services, more intelligent in responses, and more efficient with resources. Real-time collaboration particularly unified communications (voice, video, web) is a key factor in delivering on service and intelligent response. With advancements in both hypervisor technology and the skill of network managers in running virtualized environments, real-time applications for call control and contact center are increasingly virtualized. In fact, 39% of companies are running their contact center applications using virtualization and 23% are planning that transition 3. Virtualization of real-time communications applications will provide the next step forward in accelerating business collaboration and improving business operations, while reducing the hardware required for redundancy in a dedicated server deployment, which can be costly and cumbersome to manage. 2. Network Virtualization The benefits of virtualization will be harder to perceive without the right network backbone. The increasing demands of applications and servers, plus the bandwidth requirements of virtualization, can all add up to an unsustainable strain on traditional networks and management. Just look at the numbers related to configuration: the total number of configuration mistakes per networking device increased from 29 to 43 in 2012 a regression to 2009 levels 5. To avoid the complexities of network configuration and provisioning, consider network virtualization. It enables simple end point provisioning eliminating the need to touch the core. In essence, it brings the same agility, cost-effectiveness and business continuity benefits to the network that server virtualization brings to the computing environment. You won t be alone. Gartner predicted that by the end of 2012, 30% of the Global 2000 data centers will be, in part or whole, fabric-based up from only 5% in 2011 7. Through network virtualization, you can eliminate configuration errors, provide much-needed bandwidth, and be ready for your inevitable growth in server-to-server (east-west) traffic. A virtual server can be up and running in, but it can still take two weeks to provision the network 6. While only 3% of companies are running UC over their VDI infrastructure, are evaluating or planning this over the next 2 years 8. 3. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) When you apply the same administrative, managerial and operational benefits of virtualization to desktop computers, it s easy to build a case for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). VDI runs operating systems and applications on shared servers in the data center, giving desktop users a window in the operating system on a remote client. Enterprises are already looking to expand VDI to include unified communications and collaboration, offering their users enhanced productivity, improved collaboration, and streamlined communications. Be advised, however, that carrying real-time voice and video from a virtual desktop to the data center isn t the same as moving desktop applications. The VDI architecture must be designed to handle real-time issues such as packet delays, jitter and bandwidth limitations. Be sure to consider both VDI and UC plans before deployment to avoid delays or complications. In one extreme case, a company had to revert back to traditional desktops because its chosen VDI solution couldn t support its UC initiative. Make sure your separate plans for real-time collaboration complement rather than derail each other. Avaya Trend Advisor 2
Increased Cost Advantage Quick to Market Improved IT Efficiency 4. Fully Integrated Virtualized Solutions Naturally, the most comprehensive approach is a fully integrated full stack solution. Rather than identifying individual pain points that virtualization can solve, imagine how integrated computing, networking, storage, management elements and applications can simplify your IT structure and reduce operating expenses (OPEX) through turnkey deployment. The benefits of adopting converged systems are threefold: faster time to service/market, increased cost advantage and improved IT efficiency, and greater infrastructure and operational improvements 9. Think of it as all of the benefits of virtualization already outlined, plus fewer elements that are incompatible, lower OPEX through standardization, and enhanced flexibility through common architecture and technology. As one IT director from a global manufacturer put it, We saw a 30% gain in application performance and reduced our provisioning cycle time by over 30% as well I think we can still do better 9. The use of converged systems as an alternative to traditional procurement and delivery models will continue to be one of the most important developments in the evolution of the IT infrastructure market 9. 5. Software Automation and Orchestration Automating the software management layer will define the next era of computing. According to IDC, there are an average of 17 different management consoles in a typical company today. While it might take time to move beyond that and achieve a high level of automation, it is clearly necessary as today s IT model relies on humans to intervene, distracting them from more strategic projects that contribute to the bottom line. Data center networks will have to leverage automation and programmability to keep pace with change and properly align with application workloads. In a recent study, IDC projected spending on cloud server and application management software to total more than $3 billion by 2016 as IT customers of all sizes and industries embrace more efficient and automated data center operations strategies 9. Clearly, IT systems have often become overly complex and too reliant on humans. Automation turns the focus of IT back on business where it makes the most impact. ORCHESTRATION COMPUTE NETWORKING APPLIANCES STORAGE Avaya Trend Advisor 3
Comprehensive Virtualization from Avaya Avaya is one of the only companies in the industry that is able to address virtualization from a number of different aspects, including applications, desktop and networking and can bring all these pieces together in a single turnkey bundle complete with integrated orchestration. Our virtualization solutions will allow you to consolidate resources, deploy more cost effective business continuity solutions, and turn up and move services with far greater ease and agility. Regardless of when, how far and how wide you decide to virtualize, Avaya offers a full breadth of solutions that can reduce costs and make you more efficient. The combination of avaya s business collaboration offerings and VMware s virtualization services offers us proven technology that can be extended for future uses. Robert Rivas, Director of Technical Services, Central Maine Medical Center Real-Time Applications Avaya is aggressively moving toward the virtualization of our real time application suite. This gives you the opportunity to consolidate your footprint, improve agility and deploy our software-based applications on the server platform of your choice. Today, we offer the Avaya Aura Virtualized Environment, which allows you to install any of the Avaya Aura core applications as separate virtual machines, supported by VMware hypervisors. We also support Avaya Customer Experience Management Virtualized Environment, which offers the same capabilities for many of our Contact Center applications. Our virtualized solutions have proved very popular with customers, growing at an average of 200% quarter over quarter. Network Virtualization Real-Time Apps Avaya offers the industry s most comprehensive network virtualization technology with our Fabric Connect technology. This technology transforms the network into an agile, cloud-based infrastructure that is easier to configure, manage, and maintain. It dramatically simplifies today s networks by eliminating complex protocol overlays and cumbersome hop-by-hop provisioning practices. Services can now be deployed at the edge of the network only, protecting the network core. It also delivers lightening-fast network recoveries (sub 50 milliseconds) and massive network service scalability. Due to its simplicity, scale and resiliency, it has been chosen as the backbone for prominent industry events such as InteropNet 2013 and the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Avaya Trend Advisor 4
Virtualized Desktop Infrastructure The Avaya VDI Communicator enables unified communication for VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) desktops, eliminating desk phones and giving users advanced communications capabilities. Our VDI Communicator software is deployed on a Thin Client device that provides connectivity to the network and enables our UC interface, Avaya one-x Communicator. Avaya VDI Communicator provides a streamlined experience for supporting real-time media over a virtual desktop, where VDI and UC work to enhance instead of impede one another by dividing media and desktop traffic. Fully Integrated Virtualized Solutions For companies looking to evolve to virtualization in a fast and efficient way, Avaya offers a turnkey, virtualized, full stack solution (compute, networking, storage, management and applications) that provides a plug-and-play Collaboration and Contact Center in a pre-integrated and pre-tested solution. These solutions are in deployment today both in enterprise private cloud environments, and in service provider points of presence to deliver high value UCaaS and CCaaS services. A new key customer just reported having dial-tone to the desktop in just under a week of delivery. Just power it up, connect it to your network and the system is up and running. It s that easy. Successful and rapid delivery of new applications is much easier following the introduction of Avaya Fabric Connect. We re now in position to say yes, we can do that. Phil Taylor, Leeds Metropolitan University Automation and Orchestration Orchestration is enabled by Avaya s Software Defined Data Center framework. This framework aims to break down traditional data center silos that require weeks or even months to turn up an application, and replaces it with a simple process that takes minutes. Our orchestration platform leverages OpenStack, an open-source cloud operating system, allowing data centers to spin up virtual machines, assign storage, and configure networks and appliances through a single, intuitive GUI. Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, providing unified communications, contact centers, data solutions, and related services to companies of all sizes around the world. For more information please visit www.avaya.com. 1 Gartner, Virtualization: Key Initiative Overview, 2013 2 Brian Riggs (Current Analysis), Approaches to Unified Communication Virtualization, 2011 3 Nemertes Research, Announcements Illustrate Demand for Multi-Channel Contact Center Routing, Virtualization, 2013 4 Nemertes Research, The March to UC Virtualization Continues, 2013 5 Dimension Data, 2012 Network Barometer Report, 2012 6 Gartner, Market Trends: Business Realities Driving SDN in Data Center Networking in 2013 and Beyond, 2013 7 Gartner, Emerging Technology Analysis: Fabric-Based Computing, Server Technologies, 2009 8 Nemertes Research, United Communications: How Far and How Fast?, 2011 9 IDC, Worldwide Converged Systems 2012-2016 Forecast, 2012 Avaya Trend Advisor 5