Juniper, Lenovo converge for next gen data centers
The alliance comes as the hyperconvergence market – tight integration of compute, networking and storage into an overall software-defined IT fabric – is reaching warp speed. Cisco entered the market last week via an alliance with start-up Springpath; HPE disclosed plans for an offering this month; and leading start-ups Nutanix and SimpliVity are expanding their product lines, ecosystems and addressable markets.
SimpliVity is also a Cisco and Lenovo partner.
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The hyperconvergence market more than doubled in 2014 and 2015, according to IDC, and now stands at just about $1 billion. Use cases for the technology include support for virtual desktop infrastructure workloads, as well as Big Data/analytics.
The Juniper/Lenovo alliance is intended to meld Juniper’s strengths in networking and Lenovo’s in x86 servers and access switching to deliver next generation data center infrastructure. Lenovo plans to leverage Juniper’s portfolio of routers, switches, network management software, network security products and Contrail SDN technology in this effort.
Specifically, the companies will:
Lenovo will sell and support Juniper’s products globally, the companies said. Juniper, however, will not resell Lenovo products.