Demand for Hyperconverged Systems Expected to Drive Market

The consolidation of assets to achieve more efficient operations is a concept that continues to gain traction in the business environment. Tasked with so many different platforms, devices and capabilities to manage, companies are trying to get away from complexity by transforming network infrastructure for convergence and simplicity.

Integration is not a new concept and was in fact a key basis for the development of systems and networks that first formed the corporate network. The original IBM mainframe was the first demonstrated approach to technology integration that proved a game changer in the business environment. Today, according to IDC, integrated systems are driving sales past the $10 billion mark per year and is expected to keep growing.

On area of strong potential, as highlighted in a The Next Platform piece, is that of the converged system. IDC suggests that transforming network infrastructure will include the adoption of the converged model, which can include integrated systems, hyperconverged systems and certified reference systems. Both integrated systems and certified reference systems are demonstrating the characteristics of maturity in the market, yet this is still a relatively new market and subject to volatility and seasonality.

With fourth quarter numbers still absent from representation, IDC reported on third quarter results in the converged systems market. Integrated systems accounted for roughly $1.59 billion in sales, which is down 1.4 percent from one year ago. The market leader in this space is VCE, with Hewlett Packard Enterprise close behind. Oracle claims the third place spot, with all other vendors trailing behind. It’s expected that all sales of integrated systems will fluctuate for the market as a whole.

One area to watch is that of the hyperconverged systems market, with offerings from companies like EMC, VMware, Scale Computing, Maxta and more. The market is in an explosive growth phase. In the third quarter, hyperconverged systems accounted for $278 million in revenue, which was a 155.3 percent jump over the previous year. This growth rate continues to accelerate and is expected to be the main growth vehicle moving forward.

The reality is there is still huge demand for transforming network infrastructure to support the way companies are doing business today. This means the ability to capture and manage data is significant, but so too is the ability to be efficient. The hyperconverged system is offering both, helping to spur on significant growth. 

Edited by Maurice Nagle