There is a big shift in the IT space where agencies are moving from traditional server and storage area networks (SANs) to hyper-converged infrastructure. A hyper-converged framework combines computing, storage and networking in a software-driven appliance to reduce data center complexity and increase scalability.

Hyper-converged infrastructure is seeing rapid growth in the federal government —boasting a 26.6 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past five years. In fact, it is the fastest growing sector of the software-defined storage market.

According to Ed McCosby, Senior Solutions Architect at CAS Severn, Inc. and NITAAC CIO-CS contract holder, “This is a great platform to do a private cloud on site because you can scale it up and down.” Hyper-converged infrastructure allows agencies flexibility when it comes to scalability. It also gives agencies the ability to move data around in a non-disruptive manner, while also allowing for integration with an agency’s public cloud.

For agencies that are engaging in IT modernization projects, hyper-converged infrastructure can provide the agility and flexibility of public cloud infrastructure without giving up control of hardware on an agency’s premise. It is demand-elastic, highly scalable and eliminates traditional data-center inefficiencies. Plus, utilizing a hyper-converged framework reduces the total cost of ownership of storage.