The Future of Data: Unifying Disparate Data for Business Success
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, finding a way to unify disparate data is more essential than ever. Organizations are faced with the challenge of managing explosive enterprise data growth, mitigating cyberattack risks, and optimizing costs and performance. The need for a solution that can seamlessly integrate with distributed data ecosystems and provide a consistent user experience is paramount.
According to Sinclair, a data expert, “What you want is something that can sit on top of this distributed data ecosystem and present something that is intuitive and consistent that I can use to leverage the data in the most impactful way, the most beneficial way to my business.”
Enter the software-defined, virtualized data platform. This revolutionary solution offers a common data plane and control plane across hybrid cloud environments, providing organizations with the tools they need to effectively manage their data. Ian Clatworthy, head of data platform product marketing at Hitachi Vantara, defines a data platform as “an integrated set of technologies that meets an organization’s data needs, enabling storage and delivery of data, the governance of data, and the security of data for a business.”
Industry experts predict that consolidated data storage platforms will dominate the market by 2028, making up 70% of file and object storage. This shift underscores the need for infrastructure and operations leaders to prioritize storage platforms to meet evolving business demands.
The Need for Change
In the past, organizations stored different types of data—file, block, object—in separate silos. However, as digital transformation and AI become critical components of business operations, traditional data storage methods are no longer sufficient. The complexity of managing disparate data sources and workloads is hindering organizations’ ability to adapt to changing business landscapes.
Clatworthy highlights the challenges organizations face when moving to hybrid cloud environments, where data is spread across multiple silos and storage solutions. This fragmented approach results in increased complexity, costs, and inefficiencies within IT infrastructures. As organizations prepare for the future of generative AI and the exponential growth of data, simplifying data management is essential to ensure seamless data consumption by applications.
For a more in-depth analysis, download the full report produced by Insights, the custom content arm of MIT Technology Review. Stay ahead of the curve and discover how a unified data platform can revolutionize your business operations.