The predominant challenge of enterprise data storage is to build systems that can support the entire data footprint and enable intelligent and efficient data management to deliver appropriate insights and business value.
Organisations are more reliant than ever on their data and for the intelligence and insight it produces. The ability to quickly unlock the value of that data is key to competitiveness.
In 2020, the amount of data created and replicated reached a new high. The growth was greater than expected and caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as more people worked from home. Over the next three years up to 2025, global data creation is projected to grow to more than 180 zettabytes.
The big question for organisations now is what to do with social data, machine data and transactional data, all of it created by the increasing use of analytics, the proliferation of IoT devices and cloud migration initiatives. From email to documents, databases, spreadsheets, and so much more, all that data needs to be stored somewhere.
Data storage is crucial for businesses to run securely and profitably. In addition, data security, access control, and historical availability of data are all required for storage compliance. But many business leaders are concerned about the best ways to use all of the data that is now being stored, how to gain insights and value from this data, and whether it should be stored on- or off-site, or in a hybrid solution. A substantial chunk of this data remains under-utilised, due to challenges in data management and security. Budgeting, as always, remains a key worry.
The problem is that if enterprises don't overcome the challenges of data storage and implement solid data management techniques, they run the risk of hoarding data without extracting real value from it.
Business value conversations are vital for determining the right solutions for each customer. Only then can you start to develop a storage plan that supports the business needs of the organisation.
The first step to developing a proper data storage plan is to assess the needs of the business, which will depend on how much data needs to be stored online and how big the organisation is.
It is vitally important to discuss business priorities, pain points and storage needs with both business and IT in the room in order to develop a technology-led storage strategy that takes the organisational needs into account, first and foremost.
Consider what types of software and applications the company’s teams use to conduct operations. Many of these require some form of storage. Also keep track of which software programs and applications use the largest files and identify which applications run on which servers, how quickly workers can access the data on each server and from which locations they will need to be able to access it.
The business’s data management plan needs to include policies for what types of data will be stored, how it will be documented and organised, who will have access and how it will be backed up. Data must be easily searchable and usable for all workers who need access, and you will need to determine who should be granted access and sharing rights.
Modernised data storage can accelerate business operations and digital business initiatives. But the reality is that managing enterprise data storage grows more difficult daily. At the same time, rapidly growing data volumes and performance-hungry applications are making it increasingly challenging and more costly to make data available to users and analytics platforms.
Organisations that want to get the most from their data resources need powerful yet cost-efficient solutions that can help to simplify data management, reduce latency, enable stronger data protection and make data continuously available – all at scale
At Tarsus Distribution, our pre-sales teams are available to assist our channel partners and their customers to analyse their business environment, identify requirements and problem areas, and build the appropriate solutions.
Tarsus Distribution’s Dell storage experts are here to guide resellers and to ensure that their customers’ systems are configured and operating at peak performance. We provide personalised advice as well as analysis and evaluation to help our resellers solve the data storage needs of organisations of all sizes.
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