When Cisco and Pure Storage introduced FlashStack converged infrastructure in 2014, it represented the beginning of the modernized converged infrastructure stack. Cisco UCS was built for virtualization with integrated networking, and Pure Storage was built for flash with an Evergreen storage experience. This convergence and the shared investment in validated designs has maintained a steady cadence of solution innovations over the last five years. Today, FlashStack is in production across more than 3000 customers in 47 countries.
In fact, Cisco and Pure have never been more tightly aligned than we are right now—in development, in building solutions, and in selling—across our shared channel. The next five years will leverage the fundamentals and continue to modernize and transform the customer experience.
The FlashStack modern platform experience
Because Cisco and Pure are so tightly aligned in our go-to-market together, we are able to respond and develop based on the requirements of our mutual customers and partners. For instance, Cisco and Pure are committed to the development of tightly aligned offers that deliver one shared, modernized experience. Another ask from the industry is for the tight integration of operational control across the stack. Technical integration for FlashStack is focused on the opportunity to address the customer need for consolidated, seamless management functions, including automation, analytics, and reporting. In addition, our CVDs support not only the infrastructure, but more importantly how to most efficiently and successfully deploy complex workloads with FlashStack, such as VDI, enterprise applications, containers, analytics, AI and more.
Flexible consumption models
In addition to leveraging years of an effective partnership based on best-of-breed technologies and architectures, we’re also seeing modernization occur around business models. In fact, one of the most significant developments we’ll see moving forward is how FlashStack is consumed. Flexible consumption for the whole stack is a must for the future. We’re working together to enable customers to run converged infrastructure on premises, while providing a cloud-like consumption experience that is flexible, variable, cost-effective, and low-risk. These models are based on the highly successful and fast-growing Pure as-a-Service solution from Pure Storage. Creating a single model to include storage, compute, and network in one offer is the single greatest demand we share together.
Pure Storage integration with Cisco Intersight
Cisco Intersight (Figure 1) is the SaaS-based cloud platform for data center systems management that is overhauling the IT operational model. Connecting everything through the cloud, we’re able to analyze, interpret, automate, and support in a transformational way. Pure is the first storage partner to integrate with Intersight, allowing customers to achieve a more complete level of management and automation for their converged infrastructure stack. With integration comes the ability not only to perform storage administration of FlashArray directly through Intersight, but also to create comprehensive workflows to automate end-to-end processes in one platform. The partnership is focused on continued integration at this level, delivering customer value as the intermediary between infrastructure and applications.
Figure 1 Cisco Intersight
Going forward with Cisco and Pure Storage
FlashStack solutions validated between Cisco and Pure will continue to be best-of-breed, thoroughly vetted, and with timely updates to platforms and use cases. No matter how abstract and automated the deployment and management of applications becomes, the need continues for infrastructure that delivers high levels of performance, efficiently and cost-effectively. It’s exciting to be a part of a tightly aligned partnership, so focused on customer success that our combined efforts create industry-leading innovation.
For more information on our partnership, as well as some
of our customer success stories, visit www.flashstack.com
or www.cisco.com/go/purestorage.
Looking forward to the continued partnership with Cisco & Pure!