K–12 schools need powerful data centres now more than ever as their infrastructures feel the increasing weight of new technology integrations, data analytics initiatives and the rising number of personalized devices. Hyperconverged infrastructure may be the answer.
Across industries, hyperconvergence has seen a marked increase as IT managers look for ways to juggle network speed and security with low infrastructure costs.
Hyperconvergence has already hit higher education, and is starting to come down the pipeline to K–12 schools as district leaders recognize the financial and physical benefits data centre modernization can bring.
Large technology companies are beginning to see the benefits as well. Windows servers are now optimized for hyperconverged data centres. Such movement around hyperconvergence makes now an opportune time for schools to make the switch.
What Is Hyperconvergence?
Traditional data centres are made up of siloed servers and storage arrays, separating the data computing, storage and networking processes. Hyperconverged infrastructure unites these systems through a combination of hardware and software solutions.
By centralizing these disparate parts, schools are able to limit the amount of time and resources designated to maintain data centres.
Additionally, by virtualizing part of the data centre, schools can greatly reduce the amount of physical space they need to allocate for their infrastructure.
HCI can also increase data centre productivity for K–12 schools. According to a white paper from CDW, there are seven unique benefits to adopting hyperconvergence:
1. Increased Flexibility:
Incorporating cloud solutions into a data centre allows K–12 IT teams to dynamically shift their infrastructure to fit their needs, instead of having to adjust their plans to the limits of their traditional platforms.
2. Speedy Deployment:
HCI allows teams to grow their data storage and computing capacities more easily. It’s easy to scale, so schools can add new classroom technologies (and the data centre capacity to support them) without having to increase physical space.
3. Easier Protection:
For HCI, data is stored in a central location. This means IT teams can plan security strategies that protect the infrastructure as a whole, instead of worrying about each server individually.
4. Mobile Workload:
The flexibility of HCI means its much easier to migrate workloads across platforms.
5. High Availability:
Because HCI unites multiple integrated technologies to be managed through one system, IT teams can easily monitor availability through one toolset.
6. Efficient Data Storage:
HCI allows schools to mix and match their data storage solutions. This means IT teams can find the perfect balance of spinning-disk and solid-state drives to maximize their infrastructure’s performance.
7. Better Cost Management:
Schools that implement HCI do not need to keep buying more servers as their infrastructure needs increase, nor will they have to invest in servers that sit unused in anticipation of future needs.
To learn more about CDW’s solutions for K-12 schools, visit our Education page.
