Is the rise of hyperconverged creating a new dynamic between pure play vendors and OEMs
As a result, Technology Business Research estimates a 50 percent CAGR for the global hyperconverged platforms market from 2015 to 2020, reaching US$1.6 billion in revenue.
“Modern business transformation goes nowhere without agile, scalable infrastructure,” says Christian Perry, Data Centre Principal Analyst, TBR.
“Ageing, complex IT environments are giving way to new breeds of infrastructure designed to ease deployment and management. Hyperconverged is leading this charge with ferocity.”
Perry says the hyperconverged platforms market is teeming with competition from pure plays such as Nutanix, SimpliVity, Pivot3 and Gridstore and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Cisco.
However, as the displacement of legacy storage technologies continues, Perry believes the competitive dynamic between these two camps grows more complex, particularly as hardware OEMs seek to protect their legacy install bases.
Consequently, hardware OEMs and niche hyperconverged vendors are partnering to efficiently and cost effectively offer appliances and maximise flexibility for customers - for example, Nutanix partnered with Brocade in January.
“As adoption of hyperconverged grows quickly in IT organisations of all sizes, vendors seek to meet customer demand for decreased complexity and more effective management, especially in areas with heavy storage requirements,” adds Krista Macomber, Data Centre Senior Analyst, TBR.
“Customers’ storage challenges provide opportunities for hyperconverged platforms vendors, since many hyperconverged platforms are built with a focus on improved performance and management of storage- heavy workloads.
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“In turn, hardware OEMs continue to invest in hyperconverged to offset declining revenue in legacy infrastructure businesses.”
Going forward, vendors are investing to sustain differentiation in key areas customers value such as cost, scalability and flexibility.
TBR believes hyperconverged solutions will account for a larger share of the overall converged infrastructure market, increasing from nearly 7 percent in 2015 to 32 percent in 2020.
“As a result, OEMs will invest heavily in portfolio development and use aggressive pricing strategies to differentiate and grow their overall hyperconverged market share,” Perry adds.
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“The hyperconverged platforms market will also see a rapid increase in alliances and acquisitions, as major OEMs seek to establish leadership by partnering with niche and emerging vendors.”