The Cloud Blog

Today, Hitachi Data Systems announced the Hitachi unified compute platform. You’ve probably heard about “converged infrastructure” or “unified stacks” which are typically a combination of server, storage, and network components pooled together as an integrated unit and assigned as a business resource. Hitachi Data Systems is taking this concept to the next level by adding end-to-end orchestrated management that will provide an integrated and truly unified compute platform for data centers and cloud deployments.

This is a game changing solution that I’m really excited to be a part of. …All the benefits of a converged infrastructure, but designed to provide flexibility and choice in network, servers and storage, so that you are not locked in to just one technology, plus, holistic coordinated management of the entire stack to help streamline data center operations.

And this isn’t just slide-ware we’re talking about. We’ve been working on this for quite some time, and in fact this week at the Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas we will be revealing the high availability features of the solution through a live disaster recovery demonstration from a simulated datacenter failure. The deployment speeds and simplicity are really amazing.  If you’re at MMS, come to our sessions on Tuesday at 2:15 pm or Wednesday at 11:45 am, or visit our booth (#401) for a tour.

The new Hitachi unified compute platform will include storage, server and network components with automated management across all components and applications. It also delivers business-ready reporting and chargeback. The initial set of integrated components will include storage, server and network, orchestration software, Microsoft System Center Operations Manager, and virtualization technologies.

So, why is the orchestration layer so unique?  In typical Hitachi fashion, we are dedicated to developing a high quality, feature-rich, holistic management solution aimed at managing IT from a business-oriented view. We are building this solution from the ground up so that we aren’t confined by the limits or architecture of today’s technology. This was the best way to build a unified infrastructure that was also extremely efficient and could be aligned to changing business needs. Although we are developing new technology, we are keenly aware of how important it is to protect our customer’s current investments and that meant creating a flexible compute platform with an open architecture that supports multiple servers and hypervisors. We really went big with this solution and changed the game. The Hitachi unified compute platform goes beyond current solutions by offering a more comprehensive feature set, deeper integration, open and flexible, and end-to-end orchestration.

We’ll be working with customers and partners over the coming months to start testing, integrating and designing solutions. If you’re not lucky enough to be in Vegas this week, visit our unified compute platform site to learn more.