EMC Accelerates Transformation To Private Cloud Computing

EMC Corp. announced transformational solutions and services that are intended to help customers move workloads of SAP AG solutions to next-generation private cloud infrastructures. 

To help build a foundation for private cloud computing, EMC is also deepening its relationship with SAP and VMware, Inc. by integrating their respective services capabilities and helping customers accelerate lifecycle transformation of SAP applications to virtualized x86 environments.

These additions are expected to help IT organizations and operations by simplifying the design, planning and operation of on-premise cloud computing infrastructures that take advantage of the EMC, SAP and VMware technologies. Through a combination of services and solutions, they intends to enable customers running SAP solutions to simplify IT management while reducing costs.
 
EMC Proven Solutions Tailored
For Private Cloud Optimization of SAP Solutions
Customers making the transformation to cloud computing will seek to optimize their IT landscape to maximize productivity of SAP application-based workloads and the IT and basis administrators responsible for managing them.
 
The EMC Proven Solution for private cloud computing running SAP solutions discusses common business drivers for private cloud computing as well as standard requirements. The solution documents the components of a virtual stack designed to support a virtualized private cloud environment running SAP solutions. The solution may also facilitate high QoS, optimization for performance, and ease of management, while helping to control costs through virtual infrastructure consolidation.

Key components include the following:

• Maximized performance and scalability through EMC fully automated storage tiering (FAST VP)
• IT management leveraging virtualized technology and integrated with SAP NetWeaver Landscape Virtualization Management software
• Setup and deployment of virtual IT chargeback models
• Cloud stack monitoring across virtualized servers and infrastructure running SAP applications
• Non-stop operations and CDP for SAP solutions with EMC RecoverPoint and VPLEX

The EMC Proven Solution for automated DR of SAP solutions outlines how to extend private cloud infrastructures for DR across heterogeneous storage infrastructure as well as how to perform non-disruptive testing of DR plans. This solution leverages RecoverPoint with VMware Site Recovery Manager to help provide customers DR using VMAX and VNX series interchangeably as production and DR storage for SAP applications and is expected to enable:

• Application consistent failover – automated failover across multiple storage systems with write-order integrity of SAP applications all in a matter of minutes
• Point-in-time recovery – granular recovery of SAP applications from a logical corruption without the need to restore and roll forward the entire database, accelerating recovery
• Non-disruptive failover testing – online testing through restoring a snapshot of SAP applications and encapsulating it in a private network during the test

The result is a DR plan that is anticipated to allow for non-disruptive testing to meet information security and audit requirements and help increase leverage of existing storage assets for ROI.
 
Many customers have realized benefits in performance, agility and cost efficiency from deploying SAP solutions in private cloud infrastructures using EMC and VMware technologies.
 
New Services Can Accelerate
Private cloud Transformation of SAP Solutions
Working in collaboration with SAP and VMware, EMC is offering services designed to move workloads of SAP solutions to virtualized x86 environments that are high performing, easier and less expensive to manage.
 
Services available today address the lifecycle
transformation of SAP applications, including:

• Initial blueprinting and design of virtualized x86 infrastructure
• IT operational process changes and planning
• SAP application and infrastructure migration planning, execution and testing
• Setup of efficient and agile data management of cloud-based environments running SAP solutions.

The initial phase of this collaboration is being executed in the EMEA region to help customers move their SAP solutions to virtualized x86 environments in less time and with less risk.

Steve Killan, enterprise server manager, James Hardie Building Products, Inc., said: "EMC and VMware have revolutionized the way we do business. Standing up new VMs and provisioning storage quickly means that we can accelerate projects involving SAP solutions and enable the business to realize value much faster."
 
Rick King, consulting systems programmer, Kindred Healthcare, Inc., said: "By moving to cloud with VMware and EMC, we’re reducing our expenditures while gaining operational agility and stability. Rather than being consumed with keeping the infrastructure up and running, IT can focus on delivering on-demand IT services to doctors and nurses that are easy for them to use and supplements the quality of patient care."
 
Ferdinand Karner, head of systems and base services, Mediaprint Group OÜ, said: "With EMC and VMware, we’ve seen a 300% improvement in response times for some applications. Editorial and business staff can now work faster so that important news stories and advertising copy are delivered quickly and efficiently."
 
Rob Floyer, CTO, co-founder, Wikibon, said: "Over 60% of customers are virtualizing their most mission critical production environments running SAP applications to achieve increased performance, higher levels of data protection and enable significant costs savings. The collaboration between EMC, VMware and SAP will give greater choice to installations of SAP solutions, help accelerate transformation of customers to virtual private clouds and help reduce IT risk."
 
Prasad Rampalli, SVP, solutions group, EMC, said: "SAP and EMC embarked on a journey two years ago when we announced we would change the course of IT for our customers with game changing solutions and services and we did. Together we’re ushering in a new era of IT transformation with our collaboration on private cloud technologies and SAP HANA. Through our shared vision and investments, we will continue to transform the way our customers leverage IT."
 
Kevin Chew, global VP, ecosystem innovation and business development, SAP, said: "By leveraging the strength of key strategic partners in our ecosystem, we can continue to help drive additional innovations to our customers.  The hardware and services provided by EMC complements our solutions and services offerings, especially in the domain of virtualization and cloud, strengthening the foundation and laying the next steps for a real-time data platform powered by SAP HANA.  Through this engagement with EMC and VMware, we aim to boost business value for customers, enabling them with new and faster technologies."
 
Parag Patel, VP, global alliances, VMware, said: "As organizations are looking to increase the agility and flexibility of their IT infrastructure, while lowering costs, many are finding great value and success in deploying SAP solution-based workloads on VMware infrastructure. To continue this momentum, we are pleased to offer services and solutions integrated with offerings from EMC and SAP to increase value to customers."