Considering the important role that virtualization plays in contemporary application environments, HCI also plays a central role in data center modernization initiatives. According to research by TechTarget’s Enterprise Strategy Group, 82% of organizations agree that HCI is core to their data center modernization plans. In addition, 91% of organizations agree that data center modernization is a strategic competitive advantage.¹

As Figure 1 shows, when Enterprise Strategy Group asked users of HCI technology to identify the top benefits of the technology, the most common benefits they cited included improved scalability (42%), automation (41%), and productivity (39%). Ultimately, organizations invest in HCI technology to simplify their application infrastructure and make the lives of internal administrators easier. This need to simplify is often driven by a desire to simply keep pace with demands. Internal personnel are often overburdened—80% of administrators report that they have taken on added/new responsibilities to support their organization’s digital transformation goals and initiatives or they are under pressure to do so.

When it comes to making the life of IT administrators easier, HCI technology has been a significant help. Nearly every user of HCI (84%) identified that using HCI technology has helped them become more agile, and not just for lower-tier workloads: 90% of organizations agree that HCI is suitable for mission-critical workloads.

^1. Source: Enterprise Strategy Group Complete Survey Results, Navigating the Cloud and AI Revolution: The State of Enterprise Storage and HCI, February 2024. All data in this brief is from this study.