For a lot of people, there is nothing more valuable than the convenience of a combined solution. In today’s demanding business world, professionals place a lot of emphasis on expediency and strive for optimal processes. But even outside of work, we all love it when a purchase is simple and when everything you need can be obtained with ease. That is why integrated products are so popular.
Parents with little ones certainly understand this perspective. A mom or dad’s day can quickly fill with tedious tasks, which makes products that cut out preparation very appealing. This is why pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a hit—having that preparation completed ahead of time allows parents to focus on what is important instead of assembling sandwiches.
Products across all categories have adopted this better together sentiment. Billiards manufacturers release tables that feature ping pong and pool; skiers and snowboarders look for coats or helmets that have headphones built-in; wide-eyed party goers ogle at the pulsating light of a bulb that doubles as a speaker. And of course, the school cafeteria is home to more examples than just those converged sandwiches – the Spork may be the most well-known integrated product out there. The cafeteria staff knows they can simplify their purchasing if kids can use one utensil to eat either their soup or chicken nuggets.
As Guy Churchward has highlighted on this blog, the iPhone is hyper-converged. Smartphones are all-in-one digital products, combining a cell phone with media player, a GPS unit, a digital camera, etc. Smartphone accessory makers have carried this thought process into the physical world, producing many popular smartphone cases that double as wallets. Those who use these cases are integration super fans, opting to carry all of their most important physical and digital assets in one simple package.
Whether buying a smartphone or a pre-made sandwich, what these smart shoppers have in common is the appreciation of simplicity. In the world of IT and data protection, many generalists share this appreciation and prefer to buy integrated solutions. When a product can be shipped fully integrated to a customer’s site and deployment is made easy, less time is spent on operations.
Those of you nodding along are likely familiar with converged infrastructure. If you are not familiar, convergence is an IT trend driven by the desire for simplicity. Converged systems integrate compute, storage, data protection and/or network technologies for simple deployment. Convergence breaks down silos in the data center and allows organizations to purchase transformative IT solutions that are easy to deploy.
VCE, the Converged Platforms Division of EMC, leads this industry trend by offering an unmatched portfolio of converged infrastructure platforms, trusted by over 1,000 businesses and enterprise organizations around the globe. VCE creates converged systems and integrated appliances—and no matter what facet of IT you focus on, undoubtedly the idea of purchasing a solution that combines hardware and software is exciting. For those who appreciate this philosophy and are looking to transform their data protection, EMC and VCE have created a new integrated data protection appliance. Built on EMC’s leading protection storage and software, the new VCE Data Protection Appliance is factory-integrated to cut deployment time by 75 percent and deliver the simple deployment experience desired by those looking to transform data protection now.
If you are a wannabe inventor, take a look at the products that you use together the most and post a suggestion for a new combo-product in the comments below. Who knows – if your concept can truly simplify people’s lives, perhaps your idea will be the next big thing!
