Welcome to the era of data. We have entered into a time where knowledge is easily obtained but it can be difficult to manage. Luckily, advances in cloud storage technologies are helping to make this easier but, at the same time, the complexity of cloud storage solutions can be daunting.
Organizations now demand access to data storage options that are powerful enough to meet all of their storage needs as well as meet their demands for the agility and speed that comes with shared data.
A decade of cloud storage changes
The last decade has seen numerous changes in the world of storage options. Below are 3 of the more important cloud storage shifts to emerge this decade.
All-flash
2014 marked an important milestone for the cloud storage market. There was a shift from using disk storage to making products that are all-flash. A big reason for this shift is the falling cost of flash to the point where now flash storage is the enterprise standard. Moreover, flash storage is also the go-to for the cloud. As it stands today, nearly three-quarters of organizations utilize flash storage in their critical environments.
Flash-to-flash-to-cloud
Another change in storage this past decade was the shift from disk-to-disk-to-tape (D2D2T) to flash-to-flash-to-cloud (F2F2C). The first F2F2C platform was ObjectEngine and it worked to help with rapid data recovery and to save money by using cloud economics. ObjectEngine also is useful for streamlining data for reuse, specifically when used for workload and business priorities that go beyond simple backup (think analytics, AI and regulatory compliance).
Storage-as-a-service (SaaS)
Over the last decade, SaaS has emerged as a proven solution for the power needed to run data storage for data centers, regardless of the kind of data storage needed. This includes cloud-only, hybrid and on-premises.
The future of cloud storage
Given how positively the adoption of flash storage has been, experts suggest that it will only continue to improve over the decade to come. Expect to see flash storage get better, faster and more efficient.
Not only will the technology itself likely improve in the next 10 years, but customer experience should improve as well. There will likely be more storage options for customers as well as more flexibility.
For many, cloud storage isn’t only where their things are stored. Cloud storage is also a resource all of its own. In the future, it’s likely that cloud storage will emerge as a way to eliminate many of the limitations we find holding back the innovations of tomorrow.
If your business is looking for a better storage solution, consider utilizing a form of cloud storage. Luckily, being in the age of data, you have plenty of options.
