From sneaky to standard
As technology changes, so does the way businesses manage their IT infrastructures because, apparently, the old ’turn it off and back on again’ approach just doesn’t cut it anymore. Cloud computing, once hailed as the ultimate solution for flexibility, scalability, and cost savings, has undeniably transformed the tech landscape. While cloud adoption has skyrocketed, it’s equally clear that the cloud has had a profound influence on how on-premises workloads are managed. This shift has sparked a resurgence of interest in on-prem solutions that aim to bring cloud-like benefits into the data center. Let’s explore five sneaky ways the cloud has influenced on-prem workloads and how SoftIron’s VM Squared can help solve the challenges that have arisen.
1. Self-service portals: From cloud convenience to on-prem power
Cloud computing popularized the concept of self-service portals, allowing users to quickly provision resources without involving IT teams. In many organizations, this has led to faster, more agile operations, enabling departments to spin up environments in just a few clicks. Let’s be honest, who really wants to ask the scary IT guy for help when you can click a button and hope for the best? However, implementing a similar system for on-prem workloads has proven more complex. Traditional virtualization environments often lack the streamlined interfaces that cloud services offer, leading to increased administrative overhead.
VM Squared mirrors the ease of cloud self-service by providing a user-friendly portal for on-prem environments, neckbeard not required for setup. With an intuitive interface, users can spin up virtual machines (VMs) effortlessly without deep technical expertise. VM Squared also supports multi-tenancy, ensuring that different teams can manage their resources independently while central IT retains control. By simplifying the provisioning process, VM Squared reduces the burden on IT while empowering users.
2. Consumption-based pricing: flexibility meets on-prem
Cloud’s pay-as-you-go pricing revolutionized how organizations view IT expenses. Instead of purchasing hardware upfront, businesses could now pay only for the resources they used. This model has influenced how on-prem solutions approach licensing and billing, with many vendors now offering more flexible, usage-based pricing. However, implementing true consumption-based pricing on-prem can be challenging due to the fixed nature of traditional infrastructure investments.
VM Squared brings a more flexible approach to on-prem licensing inspired by cloud economics. Rather than locking organizations into costly, rigid licensing agreements, VM Squared offers subscription-based licensing that adjusts as your infrastructure grows. This model empowers businesses to scale their virtual environments at a predictable rate, aligning costs more closely with actual resource usage. It’s a pricing structure that brings the agility of cloud economics into the on-prem world.
3. Elastic resource scaling: cloud’s dynamic influence
One of the cloud’s most attractive features is its ability to scale elastically. Resources can be added or removed based on real-time demand, allowing businesses to handle peak workloads without overprovisioning. Meanwhile, traditional on-prem systems are like that one friend who never adjusts to change—either hogging all the snacks when you don’t need them or ghosting when the party gets crowded.
VM Squared brings cloud-like elasticity to the on-prem world by enabling dynamic resource allocation. Businesses can scale resources up or down as needed, exclusively place VMs on specific hosts, and ensure they never touch others, just like in a public cloud environment. VM Squared’s architecture allows IT teams to avoid the complexity of traditional virtualization scaling, making it easier to adapt to changing business needs without overprovisioning or waste.
4. Automated infrastructure management: The cloud’s efficiency model
Cloud services are known for their automation capabilities, from provisioning to monitoring, reducing the need for manual intervention. This has raised the bar for on-prem solutions, pushing them to adopt similar automation features. However, building a highly automated on-prem environment often requires additional tools, expertise, and effort to integrate disparate systems.
VM Squared offers automated setup, management, and maintenance of the entire virtualization environment, mirroring the automation capabilities of cloud platforms. From provisioning new virtual machines from known good templates to monitoring and maintaining the system, VM Squared minimizes manual tasks, taking the approach of “if it can be automated, it SHOULD be automated,” ensuring that IT teams can focus on more strategic initiatives—like finally figuring out what ‘synergy’ actually means. The platform also integrates with popular DevOps tools, streamlining the deployment process for continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines. Who doesn’t love the idea of less work and more glory?
5. DevOps culture shift: From cloud to on-prem agility
The cloud has driven a cultural shift towards DevOps, promoting collaboration between development and operations teams for faster, more agile software delivery. While this model works well in cloud-native environments, implementing DevOps practices in traditional on-prem environments with legacy software, silos of expertise, and teams that fight over the name of a server, can be challenging. It requires infrastructure that supports automation, continuous integration, and quick iteration without causing frustration, stagnation, or the need for a long vacation.
VM Squared embraces the DevOps movement by simplifying the deployment and management of on-prem workloads. The platform integrates with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform and Ansible, allowing IT teams to automate the provisioning and configuration of resources—because nothing says ‘living in the future’ like wrangling your legacy software while pretending it’s as cool as the latest cloud-native app. By supporting DevOps-friendly workflows, VM Squared ensures that on-prem environments are as agile as their cloud counterparts, letting IT teams juggle outdated tech and shiny new tools without dropping the ball—or losing their sanity.
Ready to see how VM Squared can transform your IT infrastructure? Get your free access today.
Contact SoftIron at info@softiron.com to explore how you can make the shift from complexity to simplicity. It’s not just another virtualization platform—it’s a new way forward.
