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Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) Primer

Software-defined data center (SDDC) is one of the newest yet most discussed terms among enterprises today. Coined in 2012, SDDC positions software at the forefront of the data center against hardware. Futuristic as it may still sound, SDDC has become, alongside Cloud, IoT and virtualization, more and more of a reality as enterprises continue to look at scalability, security and self-sufficiency as guiding principles for their IT strategy and implementations.

What is a Software Defined Data Center (SDDC)?

According to Gartner, a software-defined data center (SDDC) is a data center in which all the data center infrastructure is virtualized and delivered “as a service.” The provisioning and operation of the entire infrastructure is thus automated by software. This enables increased levels of automation and flexibility that will enhance business agility through rising adoption of cloud services and enable modern IT approaches such as DevOps.

Why is a Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) Important?

Gartner Research predicts that by 2018, more than 80% of hardware and software infrastructure vendors will have changed their software development processes, moving from CLI and GUI to API-driven functionality, up from less than 20% today. Simultaneously, by 2020, the programmatic capabilities of an SDDC will be required by 75% of Global 2000 enterprises to successfully implement a complete hybrid cloud deployment and/or DevOps development model, up from 10% today. The analyst firm Research & Markets estimated that the SDDC market will achieve a compound annual growth rate of 22% over the next 5 years to reach a total market size of US$80 billion by the end of 2021. Combined, this means SDDC is here to stay and will likely impact most, if not all, aspects of IT planning and delivery of data center needs.