Hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) had been on a steady path of growth since the term was first coined at the turn of the decade. Now that more and more enterprises are looking to simplify their IT environments and move towards the software-defined data centre, HCI, which combines compute, storage, networking and virtualization resources in a single integrated software-based system, is fast becoming a popular architecture choice for businesses hoping to achieve that goal.
In fact, hyperconverged infrastructure is now the largest segment of software-defined storage and the fastest growing market of all the multi-billion-dollar storage segments. Just in the first quarter of 2017, IDC reported that sales for HCI increased by 65% year-on-year, accounting for about 25% (or $665 million) of the total market for all converged systems sales. Analysts expect the HCI boom to continue over the coming years, with IDC forecasting revenues to hit $7.15 billion in 2021. Therefore, it isn’t surprising that a growing number of infrastructure vendors and startups are getting into the HCI space.