Different applications demand different things from the infrastructure – performance, resiliency, capacity, security and cost. A software-defined data center is driven by automation that matches an application’s policies to an infrastructure pool that will deliver the right capabilities to satisfy policy requirements. In 2014, we will see an explosion in software-defined storage discussions around the IT industry and we will see the discussion focus on a few distinct aspects of software-defined storage.
First, we will see what is most commonly thought of as software-define storage – software-based data services that can be purchased separately from hardware and deployed on any whitebox storage. This software-based storage architecture is already being seen in hyperscale environments and will increasingly be deployed in the enterprise for cost-optimized file, block and object workloads that don’t need extremes of resiliency or performance.
Second, we will continue to see complete storage systems ship with integrated hardware and software for workloads that demand the extremes of performance and availability. These systems are still software-defined because it is the software that drives the value, but they will be shipped as complete systems, fully tested for the extremes they can meet.
Finally, we will see a layer of heterogeneous storage management develop around these two storage deployment models. This heterogeneous management layer will expose service levels from both architectures to the virtual platforms, allowing an automated, policy-based approach to storage.
Throughout 2014, we will see proprietary implementations of storage policy descriptors with increasing traction towards industry standards. As we roll towards 2015, we will be closer to the fully automated, software-defined data center by leveraging these industry standards.
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More Tech Predictions for 2014
SDx (Software-Defined Everything) by Amitabh Srivastava, President, Advanced Software Division
A Battle Cry for Protected Storage by Stephen Manley, Chief Technology Officer, Data Protection & Availability Division
Bringing Hadoop to Your Big Data by Bill Richter, President, Isilon
A Whole New World by CJ Desai, President, Emerging Technologies Division
Targeting the Value Office to Transform IT Business by Rick Devenuti, President, Information Intelligence Group
IT’s Ability to Evolve Quickly by Vic Bhagat, Chief Information Officer
As BYOD Matures, BYOI is Waiting in the Wings by Art Coviello, President, RSA
Service Orientation, Big Data Lakes, & Security Product Rationalization by Tom Roloff, Senior Vice President, Global Services
