These distributed microcloud satellites can be centrally managed, as if they were a single cloud, through a common control plane, facilitating operations, updates, governance, security, and reliability across the distributed environment.
“With a distributed cloud operating model, you can manage multiple clouds as one. You can be on-premises as well as at the edge and manage everything through a single pane of glass,” explains Kyndryl’s Haren. “It doesn’t force one deployment model over another and helps accelerate innovation and deliver the promise of edge.”
Among the key benefits of distributed cloud:
Centralized management of distributed IT assets. A distributed cloud enables organizations to maximize the value of the edge, taking advantage of lower latency to enable real-time insights without the complexity of managing multiple locations. The model delivers centralized orchestration, monitoring, management, and remediation capabilities without having to tap local resources. There is also more granular control over infrastructure and data, ensuring improved security and performance.
End-to-end automation. Cloud automation capabilities help reduce the number of operational and administrative tasks. A distributed cloud model extends those capabilities to on-premises IT environments, which typically lack such functionality. With greater automation, IT staff members are freed up to focus on higher-value activities and there is less chance of human error.
A modernization path for legacy infrastructure. Existing on-premises data center infrastructure or remote office and branch locations can be reimaginined with modern capabilities as part of a multiphase transition to cloud. Distributed cloud modernizes legacy environments with cloudlike scalability, connectivity, and resilience. It also helps in the transition to an OpEx model and a cloudlike billing structure that charges only for resources used.
A purpose-built environment. Organizations gain greater flexibility to enlist private cloud deployment, shift data and workloads to a public cloud, and take advantage of best-of-breed tools, based on their specific workload requirements and service-level agreements (SLAs). Flexibility and choice without reliance on a single cloud provider’s ecosystem or a unitary deployment model are the hallmarks of distributed cloud.
Minimization of the skills gap. IT organizations are no longer burdened by having to learn different tools, user interfaces, and skills to manage and maintain multiple disparate environments. A distributed cloud enables single-pane-of-glass management and a consistent user interface across the diverse IT landscape. This enables IT organizations to focus on innovation rather than day-to-day operations.
