We want our data and we want it now! That is the mantra of Enterprise Storage today. Businesses today are data driven and as part of the digital transformation process, companies are finding innovative uses to utilize their data. Those companies that can best employ their data to spur greater innovation will achieve a competitive edge over their competitors.
Think about how much data your company created in 2016. According to IDC, the world collectively created about 16.3 zettabytes (yes, a zettabyte is a billion terabytes). They also predict that the world will create 10x that amount by the year 2025. Approximately 90% of that data will be stored in file and object storage. While consumers have traditionally created the bulk of the data up to now, enterprises will create 60% of the world’s data in 2025. At that time, ten percent of all data will be created by IoT. This brings with it a number of challenges as a result of this exponential growth.
Data plays a critical role driving decisions today for your company and your competitors. Having the ability to access your data as quickly and efficiently as possible can provide a competitive edge in a crowded and disruptive marketplace. The demand to acquire the data you need, when you need it, is why many companies are turning to all-flash storage systems that are smart, fast and efficient. Your enterprise storage system is about more than just storing your company data. It is about making your data work for your business and the customers it serves.
There seems to be a lot of hype these days within the IT industry. IT manufacturers herald “this time it’s different,” with every new generation of products. Each subsequent generation of products boasts the same claims such as lower support and maintenance costs, reduced TCO and greater ROI, and greater agility, flexibility and scalability in deployments and management. Newly introduced generational products in the IT industry often do deliver these promised benefits to some extent. However, the overwhelming amount of industry buzz often times makes it hard to sift through accurate claims concerning enterprise equipment. This is especially true concerning enterprise data storage.
Imagine for a moment that you are calling technical support for a traditional storage solution. You are first greeted by a customer service representative whose job is to take basic information about your problem at hand and forward it on to the appropriate technical support technician or engineer. The representative will ask for the usual product ID numbers, your name, contact information, and remind you of the expiration date of your current service contract. Once your customer profile is established, the barrage of questions begins:
For automobile owners, nothing probably generates as much uncertainty as the “Check Engine” light on the dashboard. A stream of questions commences through your mind once that ominous amber light announces its presence.
There’s a sea of change afoot in enterprise data centers, focused on identifying the best storage media for the mountain of application data. As opposed to the loyal, hard disk drive (HDD), enterprise storage is being transformed by the use of persistent flash memory for primary workloads. Yet, with all the good flash storage can do, there are a few misconceptions that can derail an otherwise solid flash storage investment. If you plan to deploy flash storage, read on for three cautions and considerations from a technology partner.
