Windows Server 2019: Cloud ready for hybrid solutions with HPE ProLiant Gen10 Servers

[Willa]

With Windows Server 2008 End of Support (EoS) quickly approaching, now is a great time to talk about the benefits of hybrid cloud and SMB cloud options. Many SMBs could greatly benefit from the cloud but may lack the resources needed to transition to a cloud model. HPE and Microsoft are here to simplify the cloud and the utilization of hybrid cloud, helping bridge on-premises servers and the cloud to give customers the best of both on and off premises with HPE ProLiant Gen10 Servers + Windows Server 2019.

You may have heard, with the announcement of Windows Server 2008 End of Support, Microsoft also announced special provisions for Windows Server 2008 customers who migrate their legacy applications to the Azure Cloud… so even though support is ending for Windows Server 2008 on-prem, if customers migrate those legacy applications in a Windows Server 2008 VM to the Azure Cloud, Microsoft will offer continued support… for a price.

With this option from Microsoft, customers may be asking you why they shouldn't move everything straight to the Public Cloud instead of upgrading to a newer, supported, generation of Windows Server. Let's look at a few reasons this may not be the best option for everyone.

It is important to understand, with this option, organizations are not modernizing the legacy, Windows Server 2008, applications. Instead, they are just running in a virtual machine in the Public Cloud… and that can be quite problematic! Why? First, they will be running an operating system that is based on 10 year old design and security principles… and that is NOT ideal. Second, studies have shown that many organizations who migrate workloads to the Public Cloud actually make the decision to migrate some applications BACK to a private data center, or a hosting company (this could be for a variety of reasons that we'll get into in just a bit). However, as these legacy applications will be unsupported on-premises, customers will not have the option of pulling them back from the Cloud…

So, what is better option?
We recommend modernizing these applications by deploying them on a current, supported, version of Windows Server (such as Windows Server 2019). This will give customers the flexibility to pick the right deployment strategy for their organization, whether it is on-premises in a hybrid IT environment running on a leading edge ProLiant Gen10 server, or in the Public Cloud. AND, if their plans change in the future, they can simply migrate from one deployment strategy to the next, giving them the flexibility to do what is best for their business goals.

It is true that cloud spending is continuing to grow but on-prem infrastructure remains essential for several reasons:
- Security: Some data is too sensitive to put in the Public Cloud, and many industry segments and governments have regulations that forbid the Public Cloud for certain workloads
- Time: For databases that are time-sensitive there may be latency issues loading and pulling data to and from the cloud

There are additional reasons to consider migrating to a newer generation of Windows Server on HPE ProLiant Gen10 Servers. Windows Server 2019 offers many new and advanced features that were simply not available with Windows Server 2008. For example, Windows Admin Center, an elegant, lightweight browser-based, locally deployed, management platform can help your customers manage their Windows Server workloads, running on-premises or in the cloud, and can simplify daily management of hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) deployments.

Did you know that Hewlett Packard Enterprise offers a choice of ready-to-go Hybrid Cloud solutions based on HPE ProLiant Gen10 Servers which are tested, optimized, and certified for Windows Server 2019 to deliver solid performance, high availability, and improved reliability? Give your customers a server solution with Windows Server 2016 or Windows Server 2019 and HPE ProLiant Gen10 Servers to help them seamlessly bridge on-premises and the cloud.

Willa Anderson
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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