technologyreseller.co.uk 19 OPINION Once seen as the secondary partner to servers, storage is rapidly becoming the backbone of IT infrastructure. With AI workloads, big data analytics and billions of IoT devices, our data is growing faster than we can store it - and it has to go somewhere. That’s why analysts now predict that by 2028, storage will overtake servers to become the largest segment of the IT hardware market. By making storage solutions a priority, business leaders can ensure they avoid operational disruption and spiralling costs when they suddenly run out of space to store their data. But storage can be expensive and energy-intensive - neither of which fits easily with today’s mandate for agility and sustainability. There is one trend, however, that’s emerging as an answer to that: refurbished technology. What’s driving the surge in storage? To understand the rise in storage and what it means for your business, we must first look at the demand – and it’s coming from every direction. AI is one of the biggest contributors with its insatiable appetite for training data and growing archives of generated outputs. Big data analytics, now central to decision-making across industries, also fuels demand by requiring both real-time and long-term retention of structured and unstructured information. Then there’s the rise of IoT and edge devices which generate a continuous stream of data that must be captured, distributed and stored securely. Meanwhile, the explosion of consumer and enterprise content – from streaming platforms to diagnostic imaging – is forcing organisations to handle file sizes that were unthinkable even a decade ago. And to top it all off, compliance and customer expectations are also accelerating the trend. Regulations like GDPR have strict retention requirements, while modern customers expect services to be instant, personalised and always available. The rise of storage is already underway, and the businesses that rethink their IT strategies now will be best positioned to thrive. Companies which fail to recognise this risk being blindsided by rising costs, infrastructure bottlenecks and missed opportunities to harness the value of their data. The challenge, of course, lies in how to prepare. How to avoid being caught off guard Building out new capacity at scale has traditionally meant major capital investments and significant operational disruption. That’s why many organisations are rethinking their approach. Instead of defaulting to costly rip-andreplace cycles, businesses are adopting more lifecycle-conscious strategies like refurbished hardware. Once overlooked due to misconceptions of its reliability, it’s come a long way and it’s time the perception of it caught up. Today’s refurbished IT components are rigorously tested and professionally reconditioned to perform as new. That’s why it’s increasingly being recognised as a pragmatic way to expand capacity without compromising quality or overspending on your budget. Balancing the demand for scalability and sustainability While refurbished technology is a credible and cost-effective alternative to brand-new equipment, the real benefit lies in its ability to scale and flex with whatever demands modern IT requires. Refurbished systems can be added incrementally to meet unpredictable demand, integrated into existing infrastructure or deployed alongside cloud and edge technologies. This gives IT leaders the freedom to design infrastructure that grows with the business. Plus, it extends the lifecycle of IT assets – an issue regulators, investors and customers are paying closer attention to as sustainability pressures rise. With global e-waste already estimated at more than 350 million tonnes, the pressure is on organisations to find smarter, more responsible ways to manage their technology and opting for refurbished is one way to do that. This shift is not just about keeping pace with data growth, it signals a fundamental change in how businesses view the role of IT infrastructure. Storage is not just where information lives, it’s where competitive advantage will increasingly be built. By 2028, storage will surpass servers as the dominant force in the IT hardware market. If organisations embrace flexible and sustainable models today, they can create the foundations they need to thrive in a data-driven future. Peter Miller, Sales Manager at ETB, makes the case for refurbished tech Storage demand will overtake servers by 2028: don’t be caught off guard Early warning Object First is extending its Ootbi range of immutable storage appliances for local Veeam backup data with a compact, desktop tower suitable for locations without a traditional data centre, including remote and branch offices, edge environments and small businesses. Giving Veeam users in smaller offices a simpler alternative to complex backup storage solutions, Ootbi Mini is available in capacities of 8, 16 and 24TB and can be acquired on a CapEx or new, consumption-based subscription model. In addition, Object First has announced a new Honeypot feature which, with two clicks, deploys a decoy Veeam Backup and Replication (VBR) environment on a securely segmented part of Ootbi to provide early warning of cyberthreats targeting Veeam backups. It has also announced a beta program for Ootbi Fleet Manager, a cloud-based application that allows customers to monitor their Ootbi fleet from a single dashboard. Chris Barr, Technical Director at Ootbi reseller Central Technology, said: “Across the UK, our Veeam customers face growing pressure to secure data across both core and distributed environments. Ootbi Mini opens new opportunities for us to deliver enterprisegrade immutability in a compact design, while the new Honeypot feature provides early warning of ransomware activity.” www.objectfirst.com Peter Miller
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