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It may seem easy to assume that data center modernization investments made to increase business agility, security, and innovation would increase costs rather than decrease them. But that’s not always the case, and the linchpin is cloud-like infrastructure and operations.

I always say the cloud is not a place, but an operating model;one that significantly increases the speed, efficiency, and agility of your business.

Systems integration (via hyperconvergence) and software-defined automation are the primary enablers of these cloud-like attributes that when implemented, can greatly impact  the success of any data center modernization effort. With compute, storage, and networking solutions more tightly aligned across on-prem, edge, and cloud environments, there are fewer systems to patch, fewer management tools to monitor, and fewer licenses to purchase. And with the ability to automate and orchestrate those systems collectively – no matter where they are – instead of box-by-box and switch-by-switch, data center teams can easily transition from hardware management to business innovation and enablement.

But that’s not all. Data center modernization and cloud-like operations often come with an added bonus: cost savings.

Kaleida Health provides a timely example. Constrained by an aging infrastructure with a mishmash of technologies, the largest health system in Western New York has initiated a sweeping data center modernization effort that may be the biggest and most ambitious in the U.S. healthcare industry. And they’re doing by utilizing the powerful combination of Cisco HyperFlex, Cisco ACI, and Cisco Intersight.

Data Center Modernization Fuels Effective Scalability and Savings

Through data center modernization to a highly automated, cloud-ready infrastructure, Kaleida Health is:

  • Supercharging IT operations – Cisco Intersight enables Kaleida Health to monitor, manage, and automate their distributed infrastructure systems from the cloud. It’s also helping improve inventory and asset management via ServiceNow integration.
  • Saving millions of dollars each year – Technology integration, consolidation, and simplification also enable Kaleida Health to decommission a variety of management tools, hypervisors, and licenses. In fact, the healthcare leader expects to save $5 to $10 million per year in licensing costs alone.
  • Pushing the boundaries of healthcare innovation – The modernized infrastructure is designed to support ongoing growth and emerging technologies, and Kaleida Health plans to explore new healthcare use cases involving virtual reality, VR wearables, mobile robots, and microscopy telemedicine.

” The future of healthcare innovation and operational efficiency will all go through IT ”, said Thomas Hull, senior vice president and CIO of Kaleida Health. “We need to lead, and we can only do it with Cisco.”

 

 


Resources:

Read the full case study about the groundbreaking Kaleida Health data center modernization project.

To discover other ways Cisco is helping customers evolve in the cloud and the data center, visit our Cloud and Compute customer stories.

Learn more about how Cisco Data Center and Hybrid Cloud solutions can modernize your operations.

 

 



Authors

DD Dasgupta

Vice President

Product Management