Electricity and Control February 2022

INDUSTRY 4.0 + IIOT

According to research and analysis group, Mordor Intelligence, based in Hyderabad, India, the global hybrid cloud market is expected to reach US$ 145 billion by 2026, with an estimated compound annual growth rate of 18.73% over the forecast period (2021 to 2026). Managing hybrid cloud environments Jonathan Duncan, Vice-President Anglophone Africa, Secure Power Solutions at Schneider Electric

Jonathan Duncan, Schneider Electric.

T his again confirms the global growth trajectory of hybrid cloud, which is seeing a healthy uptake also in the South African market with more businesses moving some of their data to cloud environments. The reasons for businesses in South Africa adopting hybrid cloud solutions are many: for one, the cost of replacing IT assets such as high-end servers versus moving data to the cloud are driving decision makers to make the more cost-effective choice. In addition, in South Africa, there is a shortage of competent data centre managers to run these environments, so it makes sense for companies to shift some data to expert outsourced providers. However, with the ongoing move towards hybrid cloud environments there comes an extra layer of complexity. Hybrid cloud environments are by their nature a mix-and- match of various technology options, including centralised cloud, regional edge data centres which provide significant compute and storage options, and local edge facilities that consist of smaller IT assets used by branches and satellite offices or sites. The different technologies accommodate different needs: increasingly mature systems such as CRM, for example, can be hosted in the cloud, but others such as those managing counting machines in manufacturing environments must be at the coalface and provide consistent performance and immediate data delivery. The challenge is to manage these somewhat diverse environments in a way that provides consistent performance and data access. Edge data centres, which are located close to where the data is generated, provide organisations with a metadata view of their information, but must also be managed ac- cordingly. It is important that organisations recognise these smaller data centres as being of equal priority to off-site data cen- tres. A node site is still a vital cog in an overall machine and if an edge data centre goes awry, it can derail an organisa- tion’s entire hybrid cloud position. Additionally, edge data centres are vulnerable to cyber- attacks. Located at smaller branches or operational sites, edge data centres are often surrounded by aging technol- ogy that simply cannot run the required security software to keep the environment safe. This affects their security – and potentially the security of the hybrid data storage system. When considering the above, we are finding that organ-

Hybrid cloud environments encompass various data storage technologies and introduce an extra layer of complexity. isations with hybrid cloud environments are increasingly investing in: - Software that offers visibility into all data centres - Software management tools - Standard operation procedures (SOPs) to manage these diverse environments. Software management tools today provide increasingly sophisticat- ed functionality that allows organisations to gain valuable insights into their operational and data environments. For example, coupled with artificial intelligence (AI), these tools can provide the analytics to solve an issue remotely without requiring human intervention and this can save on costs and man hours. In addition, software management tools provide predictive analyt- ics, which can extend the service cycle of equipment, for example. The tools can be used to assess the lifespan of equipment and provide a real-world service scenario, again saving on service costs. Software management tools thus offer a number of valuable bene- fits in hybrid cloud environments. These include: - Hosted, vendor-neutral, monitoring, management, and planning - Smart-alarming and data-driven recommendations powered by AI - Risk planning, capacity management, and automated workflows. Software management forms an important part of managing any hybrid cloud environment, ensuring information is collected and analysed from all data points, in the cloud or at the edge. □

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FEBRUARY 2022 Electricity + Control

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