Microsoft continues hybrid cloud push with Windows Server 2016

MANILA, Philippines – The release last month of Microsoft’s Windows Server 2016 along with System Center 2016 is expected to help transform the infrastructure that can support future-ready cloud applications in the enterprise.

Windows Server, a group of operating systems designed by Microsoft that supports enterprise-level management, data storage, applications, and communications, was last updated about three years ago.

The predecessor to the new Windows Server 2016 is the Windows Server 2012 R2, which already started to emphasize cloud support with features such as improved IP-addressing, updated Hyper-V, as well as enhancements to virtualization, management, networking, virtual desktop infrastructure and many others.

But the Windows Server 2016 unveiled at Microsoft’s Ignite Conference in Atlanta, Georgia last September is the most cloud-ready version of Windows Server that the company has introduced and also the most secure, which gives IT professionals new and unprecedented layers of security.

Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, Microsoft, said it is a major enhancement of the Windows Server, as it is not only cloud ready but also incorporate some of the company’s own deep learnings running its own cloud in Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform and the foundation of its many cloud offering, including the core capabilities that enterprises need to run a software-defined data center.

Windows Server 2016 supports an organization’s current workload while introducing new technologies that make it easier and safer to transition to cloud needed for digital businesses. It delivers innovations including advanced multi-layer security to prevent cyber-attacks and detect suspicious activities; software-defined compute, storage and network features; and a cloud-ready application platform to deploy and run existing and cloud-native applications.

System Center 2016, on the other hand, makes it easy for organizations to deploy, configure and manage virtualized, software-defined data centers and hybrid cloud infrastructures. When complemented with Operations Management Suite, organizations will be able to simplify and manage multiple cloud solutions from a single console.

Guthrie said at the conference that Microsoft has extended its partnership with Docker Inc. to make the commercially supported Docker Engine available to Windows Server 2016 customers at no additional cost. “This makes it incredibly easy for developers and IT administrators to leverage container-based deployments using Windows Server 2016,” he said.

Microsoft believes that Windows Server 2016 and System Center 2016 accelerate the transition to a digital business and the hybrid cloud is so far the best option.

Scott Guthrie, Microsoft’s executive vice president, said at the Ignite Conference in Atlanta, Georgia last September that Windows Server 2016 is the most cloud-ready and most secure version.

In the Philippines, business leaders are already making firm steps towards transforming their approaches to complement the organization’s digital transformation requirements despite having to also manage legacy IT infrastructure.

Microsoft said the next few years will be critical to enterprise decision makers as they execute on plans for a transition to a modern cloud-based IT infrastructure needed to serve their digital business needs.

A recent Microsoft Asia-Pacific survey showed that 38 percent of business leaders in the country are prioritizing hybrid cloud over public only or private only cloud solutions for their organizations in the near future.

Herns Hermida, Microsoft Philippines cloud & enterprise business lead, said the hybrid cloud is a natural progression for all enterprises in the Philippines, regardless of size and budgets, to digitally innovate their processes to make their businesses highly competitive.

“The cloud holds rich new applications which will enable better management tools, intelligent applications, and advanced analytics to not just reduce cost and increase efficiency but to also innovate and enable faster time to market. As such, it can’t be ignored but it needs to be managed,” he said.

The study, however, showed that most IT department leaders in the Philippines have traditional views of the cloud. While 83 percent said they would be comfortable hosting all their business applications on the public cloud in the future, respondents are only using it for basic applications such as email (74 percent) and customer facing applications (43 percent). Only 22 percent of respondents are using the cloud for application development and operations.

“There are four areas where businesses need to step up to enable digital transformation. First, they need to get up to speed with the modern tools of managing increasing security and complexity. Second, gain control of your infrastructure with software management tools spanning across public, private, and multiple branded clouds. Third, move quickly to an integrated hybrid cloud which will allow them to benefit from the best of both worlds. And last, they need to drive more sophisticated workloads in the cloud to innovate, shorten time to market and maximize the potential which new digital technologies have to offer,” Hermida explained.

Enterprise decision makers need to start the planning of their organization’s digital transformation journey today, and it starts with a clear hybrid cloud strategy. By bringing a cloud model to the business, IT department leaders can add scalability and flexibility to their current model, without sacrificing control or security.