Cloud Storage 2.0 Set To Dominate Market

GovCloud Founder and Veteran’s 360 Showcased in US Veteran’s Magazine

By G C Network | June 13, 2014

Kevin L. Jackson, CEO and Founder of GovCloud Network, LLC, was showcased in US Veteran’s Magazine for his work with Veteran’s 360, a San Diego, California non-profit. With more than…

Cloud Environment Can Enable Fast, Secure Collaboration among Industries, Nations

By G C Network | June 4, 2014

NCOIC’s Kevin Jackson to present new process for creating interoperability via a cyber-secure multi-cloud environment at cloud computing conferences in the U.S. and China WASHINGTON—June 4, 2014—Cyber-secure cloud computing can…

The Federal Government Journey to Cloud Computing: Lessons Learned

By G C Network | June 3, 2014

[Republished from”On The FrontLines” magazine “Cloud Computing in Government: Lesson’s Learned” issue. Download the full 20 page issue online at https://digital.onthefrontlines.net/i/319551 ) In February 2011, Vivek Kundra announced the “Cloud…

Cloud Computing In Government Lesson’s Learned From On The FrontLines Magazine

By G C Network | May 29, 2014

Congratulations to my friends at “On The FrontLines Magazine” for an EXCELLENT presentation of important operational and managerial cloud computing transition lessons. This issues showcases cloud computing leaders from government…

From “Boots on the Ground” To “Heads in the Cloud,” Non-Profit aims to offer Cloud Training & business services to Corporate IT and HR teams.

By G C Network | May 28, 2014

From “military dedication” to “civilian success,”Veterans 360 Services is approaching the challenging transition of military service to civilian life with an innovative, focused and all-inclusive, 360 degree, process of education…

ICH Agile Cloud Consortium Completes Successful Event

By G C Network | May 22, 2014

Thank you to all that participated in yesterday’s ICH Agile Cloud Service Catalog event.    ICH Agile Cloud is an industry-wide effort targeted at developing an open and inclusive cloud service…

ICH Releases Agenda for Agile Cloud Service Catalog Session

By G C Network | May 20, 2014

The Agile Cloud consortium’s second event will occur on May 21, 2014 at TIA Headquarters in Arlington, VA. This event will focus on development of the Agile Cloud Environment Service…

PDNS Offers “Anchor” Cloud Services to Agile Cloud Consortium

By G C Network | May 14, 2014

Private Digital Network Services (PDNS) and partners will provide its national, Private Digital Network (PDN) core and a suite of highly sought after services to the Interoperability Clearinghouse Agile Cloud effort. Its…

ICH/ITAAC Announces Second Agile Cloud Environment Event

By G C Network | May 7, 2014

The 2nd Agile Cloud Environment event will be held on May 21, 2014 at TIA Headquarters. This event will focus on development of the Agile Cloud Environment Service Catalog. The…

Interoperability Clearinghouse Launches “Agile Cloud” Collaboration

By G C Network | April 28, 2014

Last Wednesday, Maj Gen, USAF (Ret) John T. Brennan, Interoperability Clearinghouse (ICH) Executive Director, kicked off the Agile Cloud collaboration. This industry-wide effort is targeted at developing an open and…

The enterprise data storage marketplace is poised to become a battlefield. No longer the quiet backwater of cloud computing services, the focus of this global transition is now going from compute to storage. An overview of recent storage market history is needed to understand why this transition is important.
 

 

Before 2007 and the birth of the cloud computing market we are witnessing today, the on-premise model hosted in large local data centers dominated enterprise storage.  Key marketplace players were EMC (before the Dell acquisition), NetApp, IBM, HP (before they became HPE) and Hitachi. Company employees managed information technology resources (compute, storage, network) and companies tightly controlled their data in facilities they managed. Data security, legal and regulatory concerns, for the most part, were very localized. The data itself was highly structured (i.e., Relational Databases and SQL) in support of serially executed mostly static business processes. This structured approach worked because consumer segments in most industries were homogeneous, segregated and relatively static.  Companies also felt relatively safe in their industry vertical due to the high financial and operational barriers prospective new competitive entrants would face.
 
 
On March 13, 2006, Amazon Web Services launched Simple Storage Service (S3). Although not widely appreciated at the time, that announcement was the launch of Cloud Storage 1.0 and heralded a gradual but steady global adoption of cloud-basedstorage services. Surveys show that by 2016 approximately 30% of all businesses had transitioned to cloud-based storage.  Although cloud compute service and application management were the primary reason for migrating to the cloud, the rapid growth of unstructured data (Social media, Hadoop, Big Data Analytics) significantlyheightened the importance of cloud-based storage. Rapidly changing business processes that increased the need to target smaller consumer segments (localization, online retail) also contributed to rapid data growth and breadth.  Over time Google, Microsoft, Rackspace, and other cloud storage vendors entered the market. Coincident with the transition to cloud storage, international data security, legal and regulatory concerns also grew. Even though the daily news greeted everyone with multiple high profile data breaches and data loss incidents, fines were minimal and very few mandatory notification laws existed. Cloud storage technology was characterized by:
  • Implemented through a 2005-2008 technology base;
  • Primarily being hosted on Linux or Windows operating systems;
  • The use of proprietary, incompatible and competing APIs;
  • The vendor selection also threatened vendor lock-in;
  • Additional charges for data manipulation activity (puts, gets, deletes);
  • A continuing requirement to manage multiple storage options and pricing tiers.

 

As if this was not challenging enough, vertical industry barriers were shattered by digital transformation and the elimination of significant startup capital investment requirements.
As we all prepare the champagne and noisemakers for the birth of 2018, Cloud Storage 2.0 is already with us. Massive transition to cloud computing has commoditized storage.  Industry observers’ expectations storage to become an IT utility.  Increased data volumes and the sourcing of unstructured data (Crowdsourcing, Social Media Analytics) have elevated the importance of previously benign enterprise storage technology decisions. Many business processes are now expected to be dynamically executed in a parallel fashion (Agile business, Social Media Customer Service). Blended consumer segments and need to target and satisfy individual consumers is common. There are also significant changes on the data security front. These changes include:
  • Significant fines for data loss or breach;
  • Mandatory data breach reporting laws; and
  •  Heightened international data security, privacy, legal and regulatory concerns (i.e., National data sovereignty Laws, BREXIT and EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR))

 

Corporate risk introduced by these dramatic changes means that cloud storage vendors need to drastically up their game as well. Customers no longer want to deal with continually balancing between the cost to store data and the risk associated with intentional deletion. In fact, expanding legal and regulatory requirements are now the driving force behind operational needs to execute real-time retrieval of complex data assets (i.e., biometrics, social media analytics, dynamic data streams). These needs mean that Cloud storage 2.0 minimum requirements now include:
  • Using new and improved purpose-built operating systems;
  • Native control of storage disk for higher density and faster access speed;
  • Solutions optimized for the storage and analysis of unstructured data;
  • Significant reduction of multiple storage tiers and options;
  • Elimination of separate charges for data manipulation activity (puts, gets deletes);
  • Storage immutability (data or objects cannot be unintentionally modified after creation);
  • Significantly reduced pricing; and
  • Use of standards-basedinterface APIs.

 

 

 

These are the many reasons why enterprises must think before accepting storage services from the current cloud industry leaders. Don’t settle for a Cloud Storage 1.0 band-aid when you should buy a Cloud Storage 2.0 solution. When your team is evaluating options:
  • Compare access speeds and select the vendor that can offer the fastest possible access;
  • Use storage with a pricing structure that allows you to retain all of your data for as long as needed;
  • Make sure your company is ready to meet the new data security regulations;
  • Choose cloud storage that is inter-operable across the most extensive ecosystem (partners, storage applications, formats); and
  • Always evaluate the solution’s scalability, durability, immutability, and legal compliance capabilities.

 

 

Change is happening now so don’t get fooled!


( This content is being syndicated through multiple channels. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of GovCloud Network, GovCloud Network Partners or any other corporation or organization.)

 

Cloud Musings

( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS – © Copyright Kevin L. Jackson 2017)

Follow me at https://Twitter.com/Kevin_Jackson
Posted in

G C Network