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Unlock the value of data trapped in legacy Unix systems

Data first strategies canโ€™t be fully executed if critical data is still trapped in legacy Unix systems. Learn how HPE helps you modernize to lower costs and accelerate innovation.

Unlock-value-legacy-Unix.pngOver the past 10 to 15 years, thousands of workloads have been migrated from legacy Unix systems to standard x86 platforms running Linux.

The case for migration is strong. x86 platforms are more powerful, more efficient, they can run any modern workload, and they can scale to handle massive data growth.

Why wouldnโ€™t you modernize? The answer is that some workloads running on Unix systems are very complex to migrate, and organizations feel itโ€™s too risky to move them. But the risk of leaving them on Unix is actually greater, because it means dealing with problems such as:

  • High support costs โ€“ The older the system, the more youโ€™re likely to be billed for support
  • Weaker performance โ€“ Older, legacy platforms simply donโ€™t deliver the power of modern solutions
  • Vanishing skills โ€“ IT professionals with Unix expertise are retiring, and that makes it hard to find good people to run your systems
  • Lack of innovation โ€“ Because software vendors (ISVs) arenโ€™t developing Unix applications anymore you lose business functionality and innovation. Put it simply, modern apps donโ€™t run on Unix

These are some of the operational challenges you might face if you stick with Unix. But thereโ€™s a bigger, more strategic problem, too.

Unix breaks data-first strategies

Todayโ€™s organizations are shifting to data-first strategies, which address a continuum of modern data challenges. These include keeping transactional workloads up and running, and continuously feeding the analytic systems so business insights can be developed and acted upon on a timely manner.  

To address this transformation, HPE Mission Critical Solutions has expanded to become Data Solutions. HPE technologies and services have evolved to help you take full advantage of your data from the systems of record, to systems of intelligence, and systems of insight.

The data stuck in legacy Unix systems is often transactional, and therefore critical not only to the daily operations of businesses, but also to feed the analytics workloads. As long as this data is locked out of modern data pipelines, organizations cannot realize its full value.

Why Oracle and SAP migration is urgent

If you are still running Oracle or SAP workloads on Unix systems, there are even more reasons to begin migration now.

With Oracle, part of the reason is financial. Software licenses for Oracle cost twice as much on Unix as on x86 platforms. That means huge costs, which you could eliminate by moving to a modern platform. It may not be simple to migrate Oracle workloads, which often run critical systems in banking, telecommunications, and healthcare. But the cost savings and performance gains are very likely worth it. Read about an HPE Oracle reference architecture here.

And if youโ€™re an SAP customer, you may already know that all SAP ECC workloads must move to the Linux-only SAP HANA platform by 2027โ€”because SAP will stop supporting its older solutions then. Migrating is a big job, so now is the time to prepare.

How HPE can help you modernize

HPE has helped thousands of Unix customers migrate their critical workloads, leaving the high costs and problems described above behind them. In fact, HPE Pointnext Services has more than 20 years of experience migrating customer environmentsโ€”so you benefit from:

  • Lower TCO โ€“ Right-sized HPE solutions help you reduce licensing costs and avoid overprovisioning
  • Fast payback โ€“ Efficiencies in licensing, management, and support costs help you achieve ROI quickly, on top of performance gains
  • Risk-free processes โ€“ with proven frameworks, migration tools, experienced country teams, global migration HPE Centers of Excellence and more

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Unix systems vs. HPE Superdome Flex

When you modernize with HPE, you can also move to an x86 platform that delivers powerhouse performance at scale, industry-leading features, and Unix-like reliability.

Itโ€™s called the HPE Superdome Flex family, itโ€™s powered by Intel Xeon Scalable processors, and IDC describes it as โ€œideal for firms that want to standardize on x86-based compute infrastructure but do not want to compromise on performance or RASโ€.

On HPE Superdome Flex family you can:

  • Safeguard your mission-critical workloads with proven and differentiated RAS capabilities to achieve high service levels
  • Outpace data growth with single-system scalability up to 8 sockets and 24 TB of shared memory on Superdome Flex 280, or up to 32 sockets and 48 TB of shared memory on HPE Superdome Flex. Both Oracle and SAP HANA are well suited to scaling up, instead of scaling out and Superdome Flex family delivers high performance at scale so you can grow your environment with confidence.
  • Save up to 50% on Oracle licensing costs when you migrate from UNIX
  • Run and scale SAP HANA environments of all sizes with modular 2- or 4-socket building blocks

With so many reasons to modernize, and HPE solutions that quickly return value, the time to break free from Unix is now.

To make it easy for you to get started, HPE can provide a complete assessment of your requirements and potential savings. Click below to find out more.


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Meet Compute Experts blogger, Diana Cortes, Marketing Manager, Data Solutions
Diana has spent the past 23 years working with the technologies that power the worldโ€™s most demanding IT environments and is interested in how solutions based on those technologies impact the business. A native from Colombia, Diana holds an MBA from Georgetown University and has held a variety of regional and global roles with HPE in the US, the UK and Sweden. She is based in Stockholm, Sweden.  Connect with Diana on LinkedIn!
 
 
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