Traditionally, CIOs have found it tough to secure a place for IT on the boardroom agenda. Too often, IT is seen simply as a solution to back-end problems. Yet in our Big Data era, business leaders are increasingly cognizant of the masses of crucial information flowing in and out of the organization. The technology and systems put in place to collect, analyze and manage that information are starting to more attention at board level. In addition, many departments rely on mission-critical applications, the loads on which are becoming more demanding.
Gartner predicts that new, on-premise software licenses, including applications, will continue to be an important priority in emerging regions, with 69 percent of respondents expecting new software license budgets to increase in 2014.
As CEOs begin to realize the benefits of harnessing Big Data and Business intelligence solutions, they’re inadvertently calling for higher levels of performance. While business leaders may not be tasked with implementation of these solutions at the back end, they do need to ensure that the data and information which resides in these systems remains safe, secure and out of competitors’ hands. Managing this complex web of data and information poses a plethora of data management challenges to IT decision makers in the enterprise.
Data overload is putting pressure on storage systems
IT managers have been focused on storage system consolidation to minimize expenditure and complexity. Yet consolidation cannot come at the cost of performance and quality. As a general rule, system performance starts to decline as soon as available storage capacity hits two thirds. In addition, there is a higher risk of data loss or data corruption stemming from read and write errors. IT managers will have to consider the performance for Big Data operation under maximum loads, flexibility and efficiency when choosing a storage solution.
Increased server virtualization heavily impacts storage
Virtualization was a top priority for CIOs in 2012 according to Forrester, and we saw a huge up-tick in the number of enterprises using virtualization across the organization. Whether virtualizing a server, a desktop, or an entire workplace, �?going virtual’ enables enterprises to reap the benefits of streamlined IT and increased cost efficiency. Yet virtual servers have a serious knock-on effect on storage systems, which means that having an integrated server and storage management is crucial for efficient and reliable operation of virtual servers, and continued high performance.
Disaster recovery concepts are now a must-have
Over the past ten years, a number of significant natural and man-made disasters have hit our headlines, throwing into sharp focus the need for a watertight disaster recovery plan. While analysts struggle to calculate the exact costs of major disasters to businesses, the cost of losing all your data runs much deeper than financial damage, impacting reputation, brand and your competitive edge. As such, storage managers need to prepare for their worst nightmares and develop comprehensive back-up plans which include care for data copies at more than one site, flexibility and a firm focus on affordable, efficient technologies.