IT Briefcase Exclusive Interview with IBM: Managing Big Data through Storage

By 2020, researchers predict that the ongoing onslaught of data will catapult to 44 zettabyes – up from current 4.4 zettabytes. This data onslaught is challenging every corner of the data center creating widespread business concerns over efficiencies, performance and cost.

Increasingly, organizations are adopting a multi-pronged approach to help regain control of the data center and meet if not exceed intensifying demands for fast access to data, more efficient data management and easier scalability to support ever growing data volumes.

Bernie Spang, VP, Software Defined Infrastructure of IBM’s Systems & Technology Group speaks with IT Briefcase on how users are adapting to this by adopting a more agile software defined storage approach, and how this philosophy prepares them for 2015 and the future.

1.       IBM announced a new strategy for its storage business this year. Can you tell us in more detail what this strategy entails?

This spring, IBM announced a new strategy centered on providing organizations with a new model for enterprise data storage that is optimized for interoperability and flexibility across hardware and software platforms. The strategy is built to address shifts that IBM has been witnessing in the market—cloud, analytics, mobile and social technologies are causing a data deluge and organizations are struggling to manage and mine this data for business success.

An important step in executing this strategy, was the launch of our Software Defined Storage (SDS) portfolio, which provides our clients greater flexibility in how they consume, process and access data. This flexibility serves as a foundation for organizations to provide the speed and automation necessary to extract insights through analytics.

SDS virtualizes storage allowing multiple systems and applications to share common pools of storage. It also automatically and intelligently moves data to the storage system that meets service level requirements and optimizes cost efficiency. IBM’s approach to SDS uses open standards to access data stored on any vendor’s storage system and supports public, private and hybrid clouds to enable scalability, reliability and business continuity. As organizations see their data growth accelerate they will need to be able to rapidly scale storage as needed and provide quick access to data for real-time business processes and analytics.

2.       What prompted IBM to intensify its software-centric approach to storage? How does this help customers?

As organizations apply analytics to their ever growing data, and employees utilize personal devices to create and access business data, they needs smarter, automated storage solutions that ensure security while providing the full advantages of the cloud. By abstracting storage functions from the underlying physical storage devices, clients see a variety of benefits that help them manage their data more efficiently. In addition to providing optimization that delivers faster access to data, a software-centric approach can be easy to adopt because it works with existing infrastructure – there’s no need to “rip and replace.”    Software Defined Storage also gives organizations the ability to scale up or down and place data in the most appropriate storage – all done through policy-driven automation, embedded intelligence and analytics – optimizing performance and improving data economics. SDS also connects easily with cloud environments and can provide easy access to off-premise cloud storage to manage data overload.

3.       What are you seeing as the biggest trends for 2015?

We expect to see accelerated adoption of storage solutions that are cloud-enabled, data- and application-aware, and incorporate integrated data lifecycle management. These solutions will support continuous application and system availability that leave no gaps in data and provides minimally disruptive if not fully transparent recovery of failed components.

Also expect to see greater adoption of hybrid cloud deployment models. Software Defined Storage simplifies optimization of existing data infrastructure and integration of cloud storage to rapidly deploy new applications and scale transparently when needed, all while reducing expenses and total cost of ownership.

4.       Cloud has been a hot topic in IT for years now. As more organizations adopt to a hybrid cloud model, how does this affect storage needs?

Cloud means different things to different organizations, but no matter the approach one takes, it is critical to understand how it affect storage requirements. For example, factors such as whether your data is on a public or private cloud (or a hybrid model), where data centers are located and how the data is being used, all influence storage needs. Overall, organizations with growing amounts of data, and looking to access this data for near real-time insights, will need to consider where cost savings really exist for the long term.  Utilizing a flexible software defined storage solution that spans on-premises and “in-the-cloud” infrastructure enables an organization to leverage the value of different storage types, while using automation and analytics driven insight into how data is being stored for increased cost efficiency.

Software Defined Storage provides fast and reliable access to data on any device, at anytime, anywhere around the world. IBM’s approach uses open standards to access data stored on any vendor’s storage system and supports public, private and hybrid clouds to enable scalability, reliability and business continuity. For more information on how you can future-proof your business with IBM Software Defined Storage, visit: http://ibm.co/1o4L1hN

About Bernie Spang

Bernie Spang is currently IBM VP of Software Defined Infrastructure of IBM’s Systems & Technology Group. He has held various engineering, business development, strategy and marketing roles at IBM over 25 years. He also earned a Masters of Computer Engineering from Syracuse University during that time. Prior to joining IBM, he earned his Engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology.