A dangerous trend is emerging in the Belgian IT landscape: the IT infrastructure is evolving at two speeds, with the gap between mature companies and laggards widening. In a discussion group, four experts analyze the causes and dangers.

“I fear that we are moving towards a two-speed IT landscape,” notes Tom Van der Hulst, Business Unit Manager Intelligent Infrastructure at NTT. The finding was unanimously supported by the experts present at the round table on data centers and IT infrastructure organized by ITdaily.

Pay attention to the broom closet

Nobody is surprised. “Two-thirds of the infrastructure still runs in old, on-premises corporate data centers,” says Xavier Warnier, CCO at Datacenter United. He uses the term data center loosely here. “The waiters actually stand in the broom closet at the back. This is not economically and ecologically sustainable.”

Frank De Campenaere, Senior Solution Sales Executive at Lenovo, agrees. “Server density is increasing and with it the demand for AI servers. They use more electricity and generate more heat. You can’t leave something like that running in the broom closet.” De Campenaere notes that there is still a lot of ignorance about this aspect. “If you want to build an AI data center with your own servers, you don’t necessarily have the power and cooling capacity to operate the devices.”

HCI in hybrid multicloud

On-premise, enterprise-level data centers themselves therefore appear doomed on paper. Everyone at the table also agrees on what a modern IT infrastructure looks like. Luc Costers, Regional Manager Nutanix BeLux, CIS and Eastern Europe explains: “The infrastructure includes the edge, the private data center and the hyperscaler. It’s important to have an environment that spans hybrid multicloud so that workloads can evolve from left to right depending on where they can run most efficiently.

Two-thirds of the infrastructure still runs in old on-premises corporate data centers.

Xavier Warnier, CCO Datacenter United

Van der Hulst confirms this: “Every conversation with the customer starts with the workload. We’ll see where things work best. For example, for predictable workloads or when data is subject to strict regulations, this is the local data center.”

In addition, the hybrid multicloud environment ideally consists of hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI). This is not only said by Costers, who of course specializes in this at Nutanix, but is also confirmed by the other participants. HCI makes it possible to use hardware efficiently and handle workloads flexibly, no matter where it runs.

Sun, wind and workload

The message resonates with many companies. “If the CIO is on the board, companies are certainly more likely to agree with the story,” says Van der Hulst. “Such organizations tend to be much more mature than others.” The benefits are numerous: A modern and flexible infrastructure ensures that companies can always run their workloads where they belong, and do so in a cost-effective manner.

“In the future, I even see companies shifting workloads based on variable energy costs,” expects Warnier. “For example, if there is a storm and there is a lot of wind energy, a data center can be more interesting, while a day later the sun is shining and there is a lot of solar energy somewhere else.” Van der Hulst also sees something in this. “But of course something like this is only possible if the infrastructure and the network support it.”

Stretch until retirement

All these new possibilities require an IT policy that takes modernization into account and moves away from outdated dogmas such as: Cloud first. The shoe pinches all too often. Costers: “Three-tier environments are still very popular. All too often, a modern and efficient solution like HCI is not in the interest of the decision maker. An IT professional who has been doing the same thing for decades is not very inclined to change his strategy.”

It is important to have an environment that embraces hybrid multicloud.

Luc Costers, Regional Manager Nutanix

De Campenaere sees this clearly. “Sometimes with the latest technology you can still lose a tender with the best and cheapest offer,” he knows from experience. “For example, if an IT manager realizes a few years before his retirement that he can easily end his career if he can use the old solution again.”

The consequences come

The gentlemen at the table are waging a common fight against conservatism, which can certainly be felt in the Belgian SME landscape. In the past, the dangers of this were less visible. Old-fashioned 3-tier systems or broom closet IT cost a little more due to inefficient infrastructure and over-provisioning, but that’s not a disaster for every business.

However, the gap is getting bigger and bigger. Those who choose hybrid multicloud are ready for flexible workloads, the integration of AI into their own data, and excellent ESG values ​​for the IT infrastructure itself. Those left behind will notice several doors closing. The heavy AI servers don’t fit in the company’s basement, cooling and power are more expensive, and migrating workloads is a larger project in due course. “And beyond that there will be new European regulations,” notes Warnier.

Fortunately, there is optimism at the table. “Change is coming,” says Van der Hulst. “Young IT specialists have grown up with the cloud. They are used to modern environments.” Warnier thinks so too. “When a new generation takes charge, there will be a change.” We also find that mindset takes precedence over age. This is also made clear by today’s round table, where Costers, as the biggest supporter of HCI, is also the most experienced person present.