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2012 - Performance Management Takes the Steering Wheel

Contributed Article by Alan Robin, CEO, Xangati

In 2012 performance management jumps from the virtualization backseat to behind the steering wheel and - as it does - Xangati predicts we will see the following along the way:

Scalability becomes the destination.

The industry finally accepts that agent-based software solutions cannot scale in a virtualized environment, and vendors are forced to take a different approach to support scalability - breaking down the silo walls once and for all. With an ever-growing volume of data - including hundreds of thousands of physical and virtual elements that are all dynamically intertwined - a scalable environment becomes the destination in the virtualized data center, and in 2012, performance management solutions must have the horsepower to take you there.

Vendors ride the all-in-one virtualization express but miss the 80/20 rule.

Large vendors continue to serve up all-in-one virtualization platforms, encompassing hypervisors, storage, and servers, etc... But despite the benefits offered by these one-stop-shops, businesses are still looking to fill their management needs elsewhere. The reason why? Integrated solutions that meet 80 percent of the virtualization requirements, but miss the critical 20 percent that is needed to ensure a positive end user experience just won't take you far.

Real-time crushes existing speed barriers.

Although research numbers vary, all signs point to untapped virtualization growth potential - with some estimates as high as 70 percent remaining. As businesses chase down the opportunity, they're demanding second-by-second views regarding what's happening on the road - in order to send their top tier applications safely on the virtualized journey. When you commute to work, the last thing you want is a traffic report averaged over minutes or hours or days - otherwise, you'll run straight into a three-car pile up. Similarly, performance fluctuations and dynamic interactions must be captured in real-time views for immediate, accurate and actionable troubleshooting.

IT embraces virtualization spending as a strategy or gets stuck in the road.

Many businesses are already shifting gears when it comes to virtualization spending. They are moving away from a tactical approach - triggered by short-term plans and needs - toward a long-term strategy and budget where infrastructure system performance is recognized as the critical piece to ensure a smooth ride. I predict that this pattern will continue in the next 12 to 18 months, as businesses work to further leverage virtualization's value. Conversely, the businesses that maintain a short sighted course will experience a bumpy road ahead - fraught with false starts and stops - and lacking a strong compass that will lead them all the way on their journey.

Virtualization gets in the fast lane with analytics.

Just as today's luxury vehicles come fully loaded with advanced GPS video systems, sophisticated motion detection alerts and traffic monitoring systems, the modern virtualized data center will leverage turbo-charged interactional analytics that will independently track interrelation between elements and watch for behavioral problems before they're even on IT's radar screen. The intelligent system will take on the responsibility of tracking exactly how the actions of one object affect another, easily illuminating the particular nature of a problem. 2012 will be the year that performance management takes control of the voluminous data that comes with the virtualization territory. Even in environments that can grow to include millions of objects, these highly intelligent systems will have the ability to take virtual troubleshooting to an entirely new level.

In Conclusion

With performance management firmly entrenched in the driver's seat in 2012,

Xangati predicts that virtualization's engine will be recharged - creating a more sustainable data center vision for the future, outpacing performance roadblocks along the way, and maximizing promised opportunities. We can't wait!

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About the Author

Alan Robin, CEO, Xangati

Prior to Xangati, Alan was President and CEO of netVmg, which was acquired by Internap. He was also previously VP of Sales for CacheFlow, which is now Blue Coat Systems, leading that company through a highly-successful IPO. Robin also held VP of Sales positions at Ipsilon, which was acquired by Nokia, and Bay Networks/Wellfleet Communications. Robin holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Kenyon College and an MBA in Finance from Fairleigh-Dickenson University.