Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 15 | Page 89

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// t cht lk HYPERGRID OFFERS FULL- STACK CLOUD SOLUTION FOR CONTAINERS keeping things running across upgrades and patches must also be factored in. Much of the efforts of IT Ops are spent on mundane, repetitive tasks simply to keep things going. An IT proposal that provides the entire stack as a single solution is certainly preferable to a solution that requires IT to build the stack. An ever-changing technology landscape and constantly shifting business needs C ontainerisation has been the driving force behind efforts to accelerate software development, move to the cloud, and modernise legacy applications. This is according to an article written by Amjad Afanah, Vice President of Product, HyperCloud at HyperGrid, a Networks Unlimited vendor partner. IT specialists find themselves constantly required to learn new technologies and re-train existing staff. Therefore, IT needs a solution that is simple to use and internalises new technologies and tools without exposing IT to a further required learning curve. system tools, system libraries and settings. Containerised software, which is available for both Linux and Windows-based apps, helps to reduce conflicts between teams running different software on the same infrastructure.” Afanah elaborates on the key challenges for IT organisations. Economic model Afanah says that IT organisations are facing key challenges because of pressure to move towards agile deployment models for containers and scalable application architectures. These include a largely outdated economic model for IT expenditure, complexity of integration across multiple vendors, integration difficulties between the ever-changing technology landscape and constantly evolving business needs, and an increased risk of non- compliance and security weaknesses. “Containerisation allows organisations to package software into standardised units for development, shipment and deployment,” added Anton Jacobsz, Managing Director of African value-added distributor Networks Unlimited. “A container image is a stand-alone, executable package of software that includes everything needed to run it: code, runtime, www.intelligentcio.com Typically, IT expenditure requires large upfront capital and entails long budget cycles across a number of different vendors for software and hardware (computer, storage, networking.) This makes it difficult to know in advance that IT expenditure will help to drive business success and, additionally, sets hurdles for IT departments wanting to accommodate new projects unless already budgeted for. A pay-as-you- grow-the-business IT expenditure is arguably a more practical and cost-effective solution. Complexity of integration across multiple vendors Afanah says that IT solutions are built based on solutions from multiple vendors and that, in many cases, professional services are required at a practical level to fit all these solutions together. As well as integration complexity, the ongoing complexity of An increased risk of non-compliance and security weaknesses We have seen a trend of businesses going directly to the public cloud, for its pay-as- you-go economics, on-demand service and ability to support agile development. This has, as a consequence, left IT Ops with little control over DevOps, with developer usage significantly increasing the risk of non-compliance and security. A solution that seamlessly brings back control to IT Ops, while preserving public-cloud like workflows for DevOps and developers, is therefore the ideal. In response to these issues outlined, Doug Rich, Vice President for the EMEA region at HyperGrid, says that the firm addresses these challenges and brings together the best of two worlds that separately address some key enterprise requirements. “On-premise solutions give security, control and governance and offer the IT department familiar tools, processes and people,” he said. “On the other hand, public cloud services offer agile development and innovation and provide resources on-demand, with customers paying only for what they use, which obviously facilitates business needs.” n INTELLIGENTCIO 89