Manage the Chaos of Multiple Clouds and Diverse On-Premises Technology
As more companies embrace the cloud, the use of hybrid architectures is becoming more predominant. These architectures allow organizations to keep benefitting from investments made in on-premises environments, while leveraging innovation introduced by the cloud.
The adoption of hybrid solutions can be a winner. But only if organizations implement shared policies for distribution, component management and security. Without consistency in the management of different environments, the costs and complexities are likely to exponentially grow as organizations embrace hybrid and multiple clouds.
Say Hello to Arc
Microsoft has recently responded to this need with the introduction of Azure Arc. Arc involves a range of technologies aimed at supporting new hybrid scenarios. Arc takes Azure service and management principles and extends it to any infrastructure.
With the ever-increasing complexity of the IT estate, leaders must balance the demands of internal and external stakeholders, along with meeting compliance and security requirements Throw in differing SLAs for various resource types and the complexity only increases.
Companies need a solution that centrally allows them to inventory, organize and enforce control policies on IT resources, regardless of location.
The principle behind Arc is to extend Azure management and governance practices to disparate environments. This allows the use of DevOps techniques (infrastructure as code) within the on-premises environment.
Support for Microsoft Hybrid Cloud Environments
Microsoft has extended Azure Resource Manager to enable this support for hybrid and multi-cloud environments. This makes it easier to enforce management and security policies on all infrastructure components.
Azure Arc is a set of different technologies and components. Arc allows you to:
- Manage applications in Kubernetes environments. It enables you to deploy and configure Kubernetes applications in a consistent manner across all environments, adopting modern DevOps techniques.
- Run Azure data services on any infrastructure. Everything is based on the adoption of Kubernetes. With it, you easily meet compliance criteria, improving security of data and providing flexibility in deployment time.
- Organize, manage and govern all server systems. Arc extends Azure governance and management capabilities to physical machines and virtual systems in different environments.
[Read: Why Cloud Governance Matters]
With the adoption of Azure Arc, you can reach the following objectives for Microsoft hybrid cloud architectures. Otherwise, these can be difficult to achieve.
- Standardization of Operations
- Organization of Resources
- Security
- Cost Control
- Business Continuity
- Regulatory and Corporate Compliance
The following infographic lays out some specific benefits and capabilities of Azure Arc.
[Read: Cloud Security: Not a Contradiction in Terms]
Conclusion
As you continue to shift toward virtual infrastructure, taking advantage of scalable resources and bleeding edge services in the hybrid cloud environments, it’s important to get as much value as possible from current on-premises infrastructure.
Protecting your substantial investments in current infrastructure and keeping up on innovative technologies is now possible with Microsoft Azure Arc.
System Soft Technologies (SSTech) recently presented a webinar with a focus on Arc. During the online seminar, we showed how market leaders have successfully built a modernized hybrid platform, using the latest cloud services and actualizing the value of on-premises infrastructure.
Sharing case studies, the webinar showcased smart companies taking advantage of Azure’s monitoring, security, scalability and modern services. And how they reduced time and cost, as well as rapidly deployed, without throwing away invested infrastructure.
By watching the webinar, you get a chance to learn how top performers overcame challenges. And you get practical, specific recommendations and techniques, which drive adoption, accelerate modernization and increase ROI for your current and future infrastructure environment.
[Watch the webinar: Azure Arc: There’s No Pain with a Single Pane of Glass]
We also uncapped our secret sauce, which is a blend of a unique method with an automated hybrid platform to modernize our clients’ current Infrastructure. The end game: Enhanced digital customer experiences and higher top-line growth.
Stay up to date on how Arc can help your organization. Let us know how we can help you.
About the Author: Eric Leonard
As Director of Cloud Solutions at System Soft Technologies, Eric helps clients overcome operational business challenges through cloud software and platforms, as well as Rapid Application Development strategies and solutions. With his global perspective, he has mastered identifying, evaluating and acting on key business drivers to build business value for organizational growth.
