Information is one of the most important assets available to companies and users, but the amount of information and data that is currently managed is expanding exponentially and will continue to do so each passing day. Exabytes will be used in planning discussions and petabytes will be the new norm for data centers.

There are currently many devices that are capable of connecting to the internet and collecting information. Mobile devices, wireless networks, social media, sensors and machines are some of the sources that generate the critical mass of data. Depending on where they come from, their characteristics may vary significantly.

The challenge to companies and the IT industry is finding a way to efficiently manage the large amount of information available, which requires a larger storage capacity.

The storage of this information is not only in hardware, intelligent solutions (software) are necessary for your storage, that can be used at all levels of companies and include tools that allow developers to implement more advanced security and encryption algorithms  for all application types. Storage management can be simplified and automated in this manner,  as well as satisfying user needs that require automation, automatic storage management, stability, quick access, great performance and business continuity.

The IT industry is already working on this, simplifying the storage of information and data, placing it in the hands of clients at the business level as well as PyMES, as solutions that will allow them to be more efficient and competitive in terms of managing the data of their companies.

In 2012, software architectures for storage started to take shape. And during this year it is expected the adoption of these series of indispensable trends to remodel business storage and changing the data center, keeping in mind the protection of data and the profitability of the investment.

Some of the trends that NetApp proposed for this year are:

 

• Adopt All Flash-Array technology, for big and small businesses.

 

Apply Flash technology widespread to accelerate a broad range of workloads, from servers and virtual work positions to online transactions process (OLTP) or file services. Integrate the use of Flash technology in all areas of storage architecture, from the memory cache at the host level and storage arrays to the All-Flash Array technology.

 

• Move some part of the business applications to the Cloud.

 

Due to IT budget limits, some companies will opt to increase the use of cloud services. At least, some of the data center workload, on top of installing general cloud services for recovery from disasters, security copies or data files.

 

• Adopt a double standard in hypervisors.

 

Customers can have more hypervisor option for their virtual environments. In most cases, they will be able to work with more than one hypervisor; Microsoft Hyper-V will have an increasingly stable position in the market. Also, it will be possible to opt for open source alternatives like CloudStack and OpenStack.

 

• Substitute one provider only stack models for converging infrastructures.

 

Converging infrastructures will substitute one provider only stack models. Choosing the flexibility of converging infrastructure models makes it possible for faster innovations. The platforms of the Cisco and NetApp FlexPods are good options if companies are looking to reduce energy costs when integrating their infrastructures.

 

• Choosing “software defined infrastructure” will become something more tangible.

 

To increase the agility of data centers, a design that converges virtualized servers, storage cluster and software defined networks will be available.

 

• Business alternatives to public smart mailboxes will gain market share.

 

Mobility and use of multiple devices will increase in importance, giving rise to alternatives that offer “in situ” access to corporate data. These in situ access solutions will offer companies the data security and control that they ask for, satisfying at the same time the needs of end users for mobile access and collaboration.

 

• Content storage will be done in the company itself.

 

As a consequence to the growth of the internet (smart devices, remote sensors) and mobile devices, there is a large increase in the storage of content. Companies will begin to store their content in the consumer cloud.

 

• The battle in the PaaS will lead to cooperation and transparency between providers.

 

Platform provides of PaaS (OpenStack, CloudStack, Eucalyptus, etc), have a more open compatibility in offers (compatibility with Amazon Web Services, OpenStack, CloudStack, etc).

 

• Use Big Data.

 

The use of Big Data is based on the use of a whole range of dimensions in the search of significant sponsors and the results constitute the base for modeling new business solutions that allow them to adapt to the changing conditions of the market.

 

• Cluster storage pushes efficiency in storage operations.

 

At the level that cluster storage is being used in companies, the notion of 100% uptime and eliminating unforeseen downtime will be a reality.

We can conclude, due mainly to demand and needs of new structures for information, its exponential growth, operating and hardware costs that change quickly as new demand is created, the evolution of new technologies, etc; create the need for a radical change in the way we store data and information.

The change from hardware to a model based on virtualized software is an appropriate option for the requirements by business applications, which had to change the server architecture, networks and storage levels, from being “static” to “dynamic”. Now it is software that defines agile bases, user interaction and the construction of long term virtual infrastructure, to adapt to the changes. The final objective being to increase user productivity and improving the application experience.