Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2017. Read them in this 9th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed by Steven Lamb, co-founder and CEO, ioFABRIC
Storage as a Utility, Cloud Management, Security Top the Agenda for 2017
1. Storage-as-a-utility is enabled by software
2. Cloud storage management is a bigger challenge
3. Improved data security follows leaks and hacks
Storage management software delivers utility-model storage
Software-defined storage is allowing data center architectures to evolve into utility-based models that feed application workloads based on performance needs and bandwidth considerations. After combining all available capacity and performance resources into one pool, storage software becomes an autonomic system of the overall compute ecosystem, able to adjust and manage the services, monitor workloads, and analyze feedback.
With utility storage, part of a broader movement to infrastructure-as-a-service we'll see in 2017, organizations will find they are better able to adapt to change, compete, and meet market demands. Gartner classifies infrastructure and operations (I&O) solutions such as software-defined storage based on their ability to increase productivity, reduce errors, increase reliability, and improve cost-efficiency.
Ubiquity of cloud storage creates new data management requirements
There's no question cloud will continue to be king. AWS and Microsoft Azure will become part of most organizations' storage infrastructure. Physical data centers will shrink as larger volumes are moved to gigantic, on-demand, dedicated cloud centers.
More attention will shift to how cloud data is managed, moved, and protected. Data needs to overflow to the cloud, move back and forth as requested, and data policies and services (retention, replication, compression, deduplication, encryption) need to be applied appropriately and fluidly.
Improved management software will automatically distribute data where compute is, putting the right data at the right place for the right end user while controlling latency and performance. This data mobility orchestration will take place in real time, regulating and adjusting to the current objective, unlike many of today's technologies that only react based on yesterday's access patterns.
More data leaks showcase need for heightened security
It is simply more important to protect data in the cloud, and continued corporate data breaches will highlight that security is never where it should be. Data security in the cloud (and on site) is something of a moving target and will require artificial intelligence, analytics and automated monitoring of processes and activity.
Controlling data access by third parties brings added crackdowns and penalties for employees using file sharing and backup sites, mobile devices, and other unauthorized tools. In order to realize better alignment of data mobility needs and policy needs, and improve resiliency, the lines between security, storage, and general IT functions get increasingly blurry and these teams will need greater operational unity.
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About the Author
Steven Lamb forged himself as a data storage expert with server-side caching at Nevex Virtual Technologies and now with ioFABRIC, he has a game-changing product in the data storage arena. Steven is a successful serial entrepreneur on his fifth venture, bringing a broad range of strategic positioning, management skills, and leadership experience.
Steven's first company, Border Network Technologies, became the second largest firewall vendor worldwide. Others included INEX, Nevex Software and the most recent, NEVEX Virtual Technologies, a cache acceleration company.
