Gestalt It

The storage industry is increasingly focused on memory rather than traditional storage, and this reflects an architectural shift in the compute stack. This episode of On-Premise IT focuses on the new storage stack, which now includes memory, with Andy Banta, Jim Jones, Vuong Pham, and Stephen Foskett, all of whom are attending Storage Field Day 26 and SNIA's Storage Developer Conference. The difference between memory and storage was historically based on the technology at hand, but these lines are blurring. The latest systems can address storage and memory in very similar ways, and can apply advanced data management techniques to memory as well as storage. NVMe, NAND flash, CXL, and persistent memory technologies are blurring the lines, and the latest developments in software, as highlighted at SNIA's SDC, bring new capabilities. As memory becomes more like storage, what was once primary storage has a new job to perform further down in the hierarchy focused on data management, ransomware, and data protection.

As enterprises try to deploy infrastructure to support AI applications they generally discover that the demands of this application can disrupt their architecture plans. This episode of On-Premise IT, sponsored by Pure Storage, discusses the disruptive impact of AI on the enterprise with Justin Emerson, Allyson Klein, Keith Townsend, and Stephen Foskett. Heavy duty AI processing requires specialized hardware that more resembles High-Performance Computing (HPC) than conventional enterprise IT architecture. But as more enterprise applications leverage accelerators like GPUs and DPUs, and become more disaggregated, AI starts to make more sense. Power is one key consideration, since companies are more aware of sustainability and are impacted by limited power availability in the datacenter, and efficient external storage can be a real benefit here. This is still general-purpose infrastructure but it increasingly incorporates accelerators to improve power efficiency. One issue for general purpose infrastructure is

Snapshots are still not backups but the nature of data storage means care must be taken to determine data retention requirements. In this episode of the On-Premise IT Podcast, Brian Knudtson, Matt Tyrer, and Richard Kenyan discuss the nature of data protection and recovery point objectives. The rapid pace of cloud storage growth as well as the shift toward using microservices and serverless computing have added additional challenges to the definition of data that needs to be backed up. In addition, the terminology changes with major companies in the space have created confusion in features. © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: Once Again, Snapshots Are Not Backups

As we head into VMware Explore US 2023, we are forced to consider the company’s strategy once again. Wouldn’t it be better if VMware focused on the hypervisor and networking rather than continually exploring new products and markets? That’s the question posed by Stephen Foskett to Allyson Klein, Andy Banta, and Matt Tyrer in this episode of the On-Premise IT podcast. Focus isn’t a bad strategy, especially given the slow pace of development for cloud-native applications in the enterprise. And VMware’s involvement in edge computing is an enticing new market for their core technologies. But not everyone is convinced that this is the right move! © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: VMware Should Focus on the Hypervisor and Networking

Low Code and No Code automation solutions have been gaining significant popularity. Organizations are embracing them to kickstart or continue automation projects. But are they the right fit for every company? There are considerations to discuss and sizing issues that need to be addressed. You also need to understand the potential impact of having a team dedicated to a solution and not a methodology. In this episode, Carl Fugate, John Osmon, and Girard Kavelines discuss where Low Code and No Code make sense and where you should consider using a different tool. © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: Low Code and No Code Aren’t The Magic Solution

As tech giants struggle to adapt to changing business conditions, startups are quick to blaze new trails. This episode of On-Premise IT, hosted by Stephen Foskett and featuring Rose Ross, Tim Crawford, and Justin Warren, compares the tech world to an environment where small, innovative startups are advancing while larger, traditional companies fight to keep their market dominance. Companies can only flourish if they are able to understand the evolving needs of the industry, while startups can close the gap in markets they overlook. When it comes to IT products, CIOs are no longer the primary customer, necessitating a better understanding of who the target audience is and how to communicate effectively with them. © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: Startups are Tech Trailblazers for the Giants

One of the most attractive use cases for VMware was disaster recovery, and the availability of cloud infrastructure enhances this use case. That's the topic of this episode of the On-Premise IT podcast, sponsored by Pure Storage. Cody Hosterman, Calvin Hendryx-Parker, Ned Bellavance, and Stephen Foskett discuss the use case for disaster recovery in the cloud. Although each cloud platform has different virtual machine capabilities, most now have a storage platform like Pure Storage Cloud Block Store, which is available in AWS and Azure. In addition to the pay-as-you-go aspect, the consistency of operations when using a compatible storage solution between the datacenter and the cloud is extremely compelling. Once data is in the cloud it opens the door to cloud-native applications and modernizing the enterprise as a whole. © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: Hybrid Environments Require Cloud DR

Network-as-a-Service is a new concept. Or is it? The ideas behind having someone else working on your network infrastructure are as old as the industry. With the advent of public cloud becoming the dominant form of IT consumption the industry is taking a second look at NaaS. In this podcast episode Drew Conry-Murray, Mohammad Ali, and Pat Allen discuss the definition of Network-as-a-Service, the various different kinds of adoption models that NaaS can take, and how enterprises small and large can find benefits. © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: Network-as-a-Service is the End of Network Engineering Roles

The importance of testing cannot be understated. Network testing is more than just working bandwidth or certifying network components. Applications play an important role in determining how networks should operate. So too does the role of components integrated with each other at the unit and system level. The sponsor of this episode, Keysight, brings a wealth of knowledge to the discussion borne from years of experience in the networking testing space. Learn how Keysight uses that knowledge and experience to the modern world of high speed Ethernet and the needs of companies deploying it at scale. © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: Network Testing Is Critical

Modern information security teams have a need for visibility to ensure user safety. Traffic flows and patterns are analyzed for anomalies and polices are put in place to ensure everyone is secure. However, protecting the data that you’ve collected is an even bigger task. Organizations need to ensure users have their identities and patterns hidden away from those that might use them for nefarious purposes. In this episode of the On-Premise IT Podcast, Roy Chua, Karen Lopez, and Alex Neihaus join Tom Hollingsworth to debate the need for organizations to secure their enterprise but also keep user data private and why the gap between the two aims is easy to lose sight of while making business policy. © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: Security is not Privacy

In this age of software, cloud, and platforms, custom hardware seems to be a lost art. In this episode of the On-Premise IT podcast, Joep Piscaer, Max Mortillaro, Steve McDowell, and Stephen Foskett consider whether hardware really matters anymore. Given that developers generally prioritize higher-level abstractions and platforms, they often ignoring the importance of hardware. But we can argue that optimizing hardware is crucial for efficiency, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness. The importance of hardware is dependent on the specific use case or context. And developers should be educated about the impact of their hardware choices. The possibility of regulations being introduced to enforce efficiency and optimize hardware usage should also be considered. © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: Hardware Doesn’t Matter Anymore

IT is full of siloes. They help ensure that experts are working on the areas they are best suited for. However, siloes are a problem for security teams. When you need information and visibility the walls insulating your other teams become a barrier. How can we address this in the security space? And what does the CIO need to know to make everyone more effective? In this episode, join Alex Neihaus, Karen Lopez, and Bruno Wollmann as we explore the impact that siloes have on our security strategy. © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: Silos Are Sabotaging Your Security Strategy

You may be intimately familiar with brands and their products for some lines but not everything is iconic. Companies rebrand products all the time in order to get rid of per performers or try to increase sales. In the world of enterprise IT does that mean it’s more difficult to figure out what you’ve bought? Or how best to support it? In this episode of the On-Premise IT Podcast, Zoe Rose, Eric Steward, and Josh Warcop discuss the challenges faced in constant rebranding and how your efforts to put on a fresh face may lead to hard feelings. © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: Constant Rebranding is Ruining Your Sales Cycle

Although artificial intelligence, specifically machine learning and large language models, is in the news, it isn’t very useful in enterprise IT. In this episode of the On-Premise IT podcast, Karen Lopez, W. Curtis Preston, Michael Levan, and Stephen Foskett discuss the use case for AI in security. The panel acknowledges that machine learning can be beneficial in identifying anomalies and patterns that humans may overlook. It can assist in generating policies, templates, and rule sets, as well as providing best practices based on aggregated data. However, they also express concerns about the responsible use of AI and the need for training models on specific environments to ensure effectiveness. They highlight the importance of having the right data sets and the challenges of dealing with the black box nature of machine learning. Despite potential exploits and limitations, they agree that AI is currently the best tool available for detecting and addressing security threats, such as data exfiltration and unauth

Can a remote predictive wireless survey achieve the same results as something on-site? Can the current generation of modeling give you the assurances that your design is going to work? And does the coming future of AI-driven development offer any additional capabilities that we don’t see today? In this episode of the On-Premise IT Podcast, Kerry Kulp, Peter Mackenzie, and Mohammad Ali discuss the trends of predictive surveys and how we can improve overall design satisfaction. © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: Predictive Site Surveys Don’t Work

Enterprise IT is constantly oscillating between centralized and distributed, and we're currently in a period of repatriation of workloads from the cloud. This episode of the On-Premise IT podcast features three delegates from Cloud Field Day 17, Joey D'Andoni, Eric Wright, and Jason Benecicic, discussing the reality of repatriation of cloud applications with Stephen Foskett of Gestalt IT. Pundits constantly tout the money they save by repatriating from public cloud, but this might not be the best choice especially for smaller organizations. The only way to ensure functionality between on-prem, hybrid, and public cloud is to use them and use each where it is the best solution. Repatriation is especially challenging for today's SaaS-oriented businesses, since most of these solutions can't be run on-prem. But even workloads that can be run outside the cloud will likely require re-architecting to run locally. Yet many companies are developing software to ease the transition to and from the cloud, and these make i

As NAND flash memory technology has evolved, MLC, TLC, and QLC has been perceived to compromise both reliability and performance. In this episode of the On-Premise IT podcast, we confront the reality of Quad-Level Cell (QLC) SSDs, shedding light on their capabilities and suitability for today’s workloads. Roger Corell of Solidigm, who sponsored this episode, discuss QLC SSD with Karen Lopez, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. The industry is increasingly embracing the benefits of QLC SSDs for mainstream workloads, and this discussion debunks common misconceptions, emphasizing the equivalent reliability, performance, and quality of QLC, TLC, and MLC SSDs. With the shifting landscape of read-intensive workloads and the growing data demands, QLC SSDs offer an efficient and cost-effective solution for mainstream applications. © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: QLC SSDs Are Ready for Mainstream with Solidigm

The industry is excited to implement Wi-Fi 6E with all the new devices coming out. Even with regulatory challenges the world is ready for faster connectivity and more reliable signal. But those same regulatory challenges are just part of the myriad of issues. Standards bodies, marketing teams, and even users themselves are asking why it’s taking so long to implement Wi-Fi 6E even after it has been brought to market faster than any Wi-Fi standard in the past. Is that because we gave up too many things to get it here? In this episode, Tom Hollingsworth talks to Sam Clements, Avril Salter, and Mario Gingras to find out whether Wi-Fi 6E got here so fast because we left so much of it behind. © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: We Gave Away Too Much To Get Wi-Fi 6E

There is a wide gap between storing data and making it useful, and it is getting worse with the growing volume of unstructured data. In this episode of On-Premise IT Podcast presented to you by Hammerspace, delegates Justin Warren and Chris Evans get together with Hammerspace’s Head of Global Marketing, Molly Presley, to drill into the pains of managing unstructured data, and learn how Hammperspace addresses them with data orchestration. Data orchestration takes the one-dimensional approach of storing data, to the next level that is cleaning, organizing, enriching and making data accessible across systems. It makes it possible to move large volumes of data across distances. Not bound by any one data or infrastructure type, data orchestration helps businesses handle new kinds of complex data and keep up with their changing uses. © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: Don’t Just Store Your Data, Make It Useful with Hammerspace Orchestration

Private 5G is coming to the enterprise near you. Deploying this hot new wireless and mobility technology is a great way to overcome challenges with Wi-Fi and allow IoT devices to be provisioned quickly in remote locations. But with new technologies come new complexity. Can Wi-Fi engineers figure out how to make these two solutions co-exist? And does the complexity of 5G radio technology mean we have to choose between one or the other? In this episode, Avril Salter, Troy Martin, and Keith Parsons discuss the complexity of Private 5G and whether or not it can be simplified for the enterprise. © Gestalt IT, LLC for Gestalt IT: Private 5G Can’t Be Simplified For Enterprises