HDS Top Trends for 2013 by EMEA CTO Bob Plumridge

As we go forward into 2013, Hitachi Data Systems Corp.‘ EMEA CTO, Bob Plumridge, has identified key trends emerging in the industry, which will significantly impact businesses IT departments in the next 12 months.
 
In 2013 big data will remain at the forefront of the IT industry, but the way it is managed will fundamentally change. The beginning of the year will be the tipping point where the value gained from an enterprise’s data outweighs the cost of extracting and managing it, so businesses need to start mining their data to get the most out of it now.
 
The top trends are listed below.

1. The tipping point of big data: There is no doubt that big data poses one of the biggest challenges and opportunities for the IT industry in 2013. We’re already at the tipping point where the value gained from an enterprise’s data outweighs the cost of extracting and managing it – businesses just need to act on it.
2. Make room for CAPEX: The increase in the total cost of storage over the last decade has been mainly due to growing OPEX, while the cost of hardware (CAPEX) has been relatively flat. However in 2013 CAPEX will trend upwards due to an increase of functionality in hardware and the demand for storage capacity. Businesses need to make allowances for this.
3. Buying storage when needed: In 2013 businesses will be buying all their storage as they need it, rather than buying it five years ahead when it’s not always used. We expect to see enterprises using technologies and capabilities like dynamic storage provisioning, virtualisation and non-disruptive data migration in order to do this effectively.
4. It’s good to share: In 2013 more businesses will invest in ways to access compartmentalised data, all part of the drive to get value from big data. We expect more business to share data across departments and applications using content platforms for data archives and data sharing.
5. Going mobile, safely: The popularity of Bring Your Own Device in the enterprise will gain momentum in 2013; however IT departments will be challenged with how to manage the security of these devices. One solution we’ll start to see is the emergence of secure platforms for data sharing that minimise the security threat of mobile devices and further increase the productivity of mobile workers.
6. SSDs being adopted: The year 2012 has shown that significant changes were still possible around flash drives’ technologies. MLC (multi layers SSD) has taken over from SLC (single layer). Performances are soaring on some solutions (up to four times higher) with improved environmental characteristics (place and power). This trend will continue to improve with the densification of electronic media and a cost per gigabyte even more attractive. Already at HDS, all high end systems that are deployed for our clients are equipped with flash drives. Companies can no longer ignore this technology in their reflection on physical media for their data.