30 01732 759725 Federica Monsone, from the agency behind the Technology Live! series of demo days for vendors in the data storage and related industries, highlights the growing role of software in data storage and quite often on software that may only work with this hardware. Software-defined storage (SDS) allows abstract storage resources from the underlying hardware platform and that results in greater flexibility, efficiency and scalability.” Another major factor, cited by Fred Lherault, Field CTO, EMEA and Emerging Markets for Pure Storage, is the emergence of cloud and hybrid infrastructure: “Almost every customer in the world uses hybrid infrastructure these days and that’s a big driver in terms of changes in software development and deployment.” This point is echoed by Enrico Signoretti, VP of Product and Partnerships at Cubbit, who says: “Everything is now about having the same platform on different clouds and on-prem, enabling users to move data and access it where/ when/how they need it.” Molly Presley, Head of Global Marketing at Hammerspace, also sees hybrid infrastructures as the key driver: “The advent of the cloud meant that hybrid environments were inevitable. Economies of scale are different. Hardware was commoditised faster. Then supply chains became constrained and customers could no longer be certain of getting hardware from preferred vendors. All these trends have led to an increased importance in software being the strategic differentiator in how a data strategy is architected. No longer are most new architecture initiatives storage hardware-centric and designed around storage features. There is an expectation that the software above the storage will provide the required data services across more than one vendor’s storage.” ‘Game-changing’ data storage capabilities So, what are the ‘game-changing’ capabilities of a software-led approach that are having such an impact? Tim Klein, President, CEO and Co-founder of ATTO Technology, is unambiguous in his analysis: “Without a doubt the two game-changing ‘characteristics’ would be cost and flexibility. The cost saving with softwaredefined storage versus hardware platforms speaks for itself. With flexibility, we’re talking about the ability to take relatively any storage platform and define what it is and how it can be used – virtually or otherwise.” Paul Speciale, Chief Marketing Officer of Scality, is another to highlight the cost benefit of software-defined storage: “Initially, the major game changer in With data increasingly stored in cloud-based architectures or in off-prem locations, discussions that were once focused purely on hardware have shifted noticeably towards software, from software-defined storage and virtualisation to the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to improve storage optimisation. Software in data storage is clearly a mainstay today, but what were the catalysts that triggered its development and what factors coalesced to drive its adoption? Randy Kerns, Senior Strategist and Analyst at Futurum Group, points out that its evolution was gradual and grew out of a perception that savings could be made utilising commodity hardware: “Data services in software were not an initial consideration but developed over time. The evolution drivers continue to be simplicity, stability/reliability, advanced data services and support/managed services options.” Alexander Ivanyuk, Senior Director, Technology at Acronis, highlights flexibility and convenience as prime drivers in its development: “Traditional storage is a monolithic bundle of hardware and software. You depend on this hardware How software ushered in a new age of data storage Deep Dive: Data Storage Enrico Signoretti Molly Presley Randy Kerns Alexander Ivanyuk Fred Lherault Federica Monsone
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