In the context of virtualization, vendor lock-in often has negative connotations. But if a company provides solid products and support, this practice of purchasing the bulk of your data center components from a single vendor can be beneficial.
Few vendors have the product lineup to supply every facet of a data center infrastructure, with the exception of Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., and IBM. But many vendors can fill most IT needs and then bridge the gaps through strategic partnerships. VMware Inc., for example, has teamed up with EMC Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. to form the Virtual Computing Environment (VCE) coalition. Together, these providers have bundled servers, storage and virtualization capabilities into a single product, which essentially locks customers into their vertical stack.
This tip offers a new way of thinking about vendor lock-in. It covers the pros and cons of this approach to building your virtual infrastructure and provides advice for those who choose a single-vendor approach in a virtual environment.
Read the full article at searchvmware.com…
