Z-IMPACT Inc.- HCI Ecosystems: A Catalyst Has Emerged For Digital Infrastructures

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John Saylor, Managing Partner

The last two years alone have contributed to nearly 90 percent of the world’s data. With billions of IoT devices firing on all cylinders, not to mention the influx of AI and real-time analytics, digital data-driven businesses are springing up like mushrooms. This new wave of technology has created an unrealistic demand on enterprise data centers. However, navigating this path to infrastructure modernization is easier said than done. For years, the enterprise landscape has been hamstrung with converged technology that provides only minuscule gains and optimization with minimal software-defined efficiency. Z-IMPACT Inc., an IT company that offers proven professional services and original design manufacturing (ODM) of hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) hardware and software, is quickly changing that narrative. While other prominent vendors offer converged solutions in the disguise of HCI, Z-IMPACT (which holds the first HCI patent: US20170135249) is “the catalyst” to a quantum leap in tackling the challenges in the data center marketplace. By means of its robust and patented HCI technology—a pre-configured bundle of software and hardware that includes compute, storage, and network in a single ecosystem—Z-IMPACT is paving the way for the IT industry to enjoy significant energy and real-estate savings while facilitating performance gains.

To put things into perspective, an established on-premise solution that has a good deal of both market share and mind share saves its clients nearly $41 million over three years. In comparison, Z-IMPACT is saving clients nearly $77 million during the same timeframe, which includes both capital and recurring expenses. Through its proven service programs which include implementation (onsite assessment and intelligent professional services), migration (data center migration and data center application migration services), managed services, and custom software development solutions (R&D services), Z-IMPACT is putting together a modernization playbook to save millions of dollars for its clients. This playbook is headlined by Z-IMPACT’s iStormCloud, a family of HCI appliances catering to enterprises, cloud providers, and remote branch offices (RBO) to name a few.

By unleashing the power of the iStormCloud hyperconverged ecosystem, Z-IMPACT’s customers enjoy 32x energy savings, 117x rack reduction, 30x performance gains, and 100x increase in scalability. In other words, a data center that previously utilized 3500 racks (338,800 Sqft, 1,354,500 KW) now requires only 30 racks (1,050 Sqft, 2,190 KW) upon migration to a iStormCloud E7000 Vault, which can be scaled accordingly to meet the requirements of any midsize or large-scale business. Particularly for this reason, Z-IMPACT insists on investing in only platinum processor chips, thereby driving increased performance gains for its clients. According to John Saylor, managing partner, Z-IMPACT, clients can scale their businesses like never before. “Once you are on our platform, there is no migration headache. You can migrate from the iStormCloud E4500 to the E7000 enterprise-class appliance by the simple push of a button. By scaling to a second appliance, one can instantly double the data center capabilities,” explains Saylor.

Equipped for the 2020 Data Center Crisis

The Z-IMPACT team is bracing itself for the projected crisis in 2020 when the U.S. will need 4,000 new data centers, in turn requiring 800 million square feet of data center, and 1,000 new power plants. The projections are astounding, given the time and resources that are needed to build a data center and power plant. To add to that, analysts project that the cloud market segment will grab a 20-30 percent market share when enterprises migrate from on-premise to cloud colocation centers.

As unfeasible as it may sound, Z-IMPACT has just the solution for this conundrum—the iStormCloud HCI Appliance that is redefining the data center ecosystem in ways that were previously inconceivable. Consider this: Z-IMPACT’s HCI solution cuts grid or battery power and operation risks by half, eliminates more than 50 percent of the cooling needed for a data center, and uses 50-90 percent lesser energy depending on the infrastructure. In other words, Z-IMPACT can cut short the requirement by 90 percent, to just 400 data centers and 100 power plants.

Due to their ability to downsize data centers and reduce energy consumption, colocation centers that previously needed 20 acres of space for a current 500,000 square feet data center with future build requirements, would now need only half an acre. Furthermore, “since our data center operates within a flexible ecosystem, we can achieve massive reductions in data footprint by redefining requirements in space and operation,” says Saylor.

The IT industry is at a pivot point and the catalyst to springboard disruptive changes is the Z-IMPACT iStorm Cloud HCI Appliance

Also, Z-IMPACT’s patent on hyperconverged and cooling technologies enable them to place a 42u frame with maximum possible storage and number of cores within a 30-square-foot footprint, or two data center tiles. In comparison, the other HCI players require 117 additional 42u cabinets to configure a similar load.

The Ecosystem Paves a Pathway to More Agile, Greener, and Scalable Solutions

Besides gearing up for the data center crisis, Z-IMPACT is helping its enterprise clientele shed millions to billions of dollars in IT operational costs. By replacing legacy hardware and modernizing the facilities through its HCI appliance, Z-IMPACT is cutting a client’s data center costs by more than half, through the reduction, replacement, or elimination of digital infrastructure. For the colocation center, the transition to an HCI ecosystem means increased revenue and twelve to nineteen times the profit, per location. For Z-IMPACT’s clients, there is an opportunity to reduce annual costs by nearly 75 percent in transitioning to a hyperconverged infrastructure.

Z-IMPACT’s resolve to embrace meaningful environmental changes is paving the way for a lower carbon footprint in the IT industry. Z-IMPACT is working tirelessly to tackle the steep rise in global CO2 levels. Since an HCI ecosystem can serve as an environment-friendly solution, Team Z-IMPACT believes it is only a matter of time until existing data centers make the switch. “Most HCI vendors are not as scalable as we are; they create cable sprawl and lack geographic synchronicity. While other HCI vendors are growing your data center footprint, Z-IMPACT is compressing the same. The move to HCI as the data center architecture of the future is a technology refresh,” states Saylor.

The Impact of Infrastructure Agility

Agility through automation can help a business deliver new applications and services with higher speed and efficiency, and they can thereby enjoy a faster ROI and IRR. An organization’s decision-making power depends on the quality of the on-premise infrastructure. To that end, Z-IMPACT’s ability to provision and scale the data center infrastructure instantly in-line operating with the demands of the business workloads gives organizations the power to make decisions in real time. This rapid processing is made possible via Z-IMPACT’s advanced tightly integrated Fluid Enterprise Architecture, iPulse OS (operating system) and iMesh Agility the brain of the Z-IMPACT HCI ecosystem. “Extending collection methods is one thing, but having a network that is in geographic synchronicity is another. Z-IMPACT moves edge computing to the source of data, which provides instant visibility to the business operation as a single pane-of-glass to the enterprise computing layer,” explains Saylor. Since all Z-IMPACT deployments allow the business to function at accelerated speeds, analytics engines now can begin processing the 90% data growth more rapidly - today only 1% of this data is being utilized and analyzed. Z-IMPACT overcomes these challenges to make data more useful therefore accelerating business decisions.

Geographic Synchronicity

When it comes to the speed of implementation, Z-IMPACT has the capability to deploy a data center or establish an internet connection in the middle of nowhere with minimal investments and resources. For instance, in the event of a natural calamity, state-authorized relief workers would need to fly in hundreds of helicopters to Deploy the required compute, storage and network equipment for the restoration of critical services and the internet. Z-IMPACT, meanwhile, requires only two helicopters—one for computing and the other for power—to re-establish connectivity across the calamity-hit region, turning the tables for the entire industry.

Z-IMPACT is able to connect the aforementioned resource-challenged region to its critical services and internet by creating a single ecosystem powered by its patented HCI technology. This IT environment, in which all components are tightly integrated such that they operate as a single appliance, can be deployed standalone, in a modular 20’ or 40’ container for cloud, or in 20’ field compute and power containers. “We can connect a hurricane-struck regions critical services and the internet within 24 to 48 hours,” says Saylor, while explaining how the HCI appliance is deployed in data center modernization, the backbone of the cloud, or remote edge locations. “By transporting a ruggedized container out to any remote corner of the globe, we can set up a data center anywhere. Since everything is interconnected, the ecosystem is like one big computer.” This process of container deployment, utilized for the scalability of cloud infrastructure, is Z-IMPACT’s patented “FASTRAP Field Deployment” solution.

John Jensen, Managing Partner

With HCI, Less Is Truly More!

In addition to downsizing their data center real estate requirements by 50 to 90 percent, Z-IMPACT’s clients can also trim down their recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) to nearly zero. Moreover, the E4500, which can be scaled for larger businesses, consumes only 30KW of power as compared to other appliances needing thousands of kilowatts.

While emphasizing that a true HCI ecosystem, such as the E4500, can significantly improve an organization’s ROI, Saylor cites the Vitamin C analogy, a staple in Z-IMPACT’s corporate brochures and handbooks. One can eat 50 oranges weighing 31 pounds or take one teaspoon of Camu Camu to receive the same amount of Vitamin C. He draws a parallel between hyperconvergence and health and wellness when he says, “Similarly, you can either purchase HCI solutions from established market vendors that occupy thousands of square feet and dozens of data center floor tiles, or simply order one E4500, which occupies only 30 square feet of space.”

Saylor, who previously served as Dell’s Director of Global Sales for Business-Critical Solutions, believes that there is a wide misconception about the genesis of HCI as a technology. The definition of HCI has been altered to fit the needs of long-standing industry giants. However, they “aren’t hyperconverged in the truest sense,” from Saylor’s vantage point. Z-IMPACT, on the other hand, is creating a modern enterprise data center that is nimble, energized, and built on true hyperconverged (on-premise, cloud, or hybrid) infrastructure.

Over the past decade, John Jensen, managing partner, Z-IMPACT—formerly known as SysTMs—has worked tirelessly toward creating a GOLD migration methodology, the underlying services for the iStormCloud ecosystem that has enabled a host of clients to overcome hurdles and reduce costs. While narrating one such case study, Jensen recalls how Z-IMPACT saved a prominent British insurance company tens of millions of dollars. Their migration effort from data centers to edge computing was lagging. With the aid of Z-IMPACT’s frame migration solutions, methodologies, and expertise, the company could reduce the overall data center footprint and grow the business within the same facility.

"While other HCI vendors are growing your data center footprint, Z-IMPACT is compressing the same"

Additionally, SysTMS provided PSO consulting services with high level DoD and Wall Street clients. The solution is based on their FEA (Fluid Enterprise Architecture), data center migration methodology iDAMS, known on Wall Street as DCMP. These migration solutions and sizing tools were used by some of the largest world banks and Wall Street firms. “Through original thought, architecture, and design, we are enabling Fortune 50 companies and the Department of Defense to reduce CAPEX/ OPEX by 40 percent to 80 percent via FEA (Fluid Enterprise Architecture). Our primary value is in innovative and progressive solutions, consolidation, migration, and transformation of technology landscapes,” states Jensen.

Ready to Downsize Your Requirements?

To prospective clients, Z-IMPACT has a clear-cut message: “Let us find out how much savings your company would get from true HCI.” By means of a unique “Data Center Reduction Calculator” on its website, Z-IMPACT is inviting potential customers to key in the technical specifications of their current servers and appliances for a prompt quotation of HCI appliance, space savings, power savings, and other recommendations.

With the zeal to innovate and an illustrious track record of providing innovative solutions, Z-IMPACT is truly becoming the one-stop shop for any IT organizations hamstrung with legacy hardware and their less-than-adequate HCI solutions. Z-IMPACT is determined to continue its streak of developing disruptive solutions that reduce, replace, or eliminate data center requirements by more than half, addressing the fluidity of the business..

It’s about the ecosystem—hardware, software, and the environment—operating within the ecology, in geographic synchronicity with the fluidity of the business dynamics. Z-IMPACT is the only scalable hyperconverged solution that scales with today’s data loads. Start doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; then suddenly you are doing the impossible.

- SAI MOHAN
March 06, 2019