One of the things I love about running is being able to see how I am performing in terms of pace, heart rate, distance and elevation. I have a running watch which gives me this information, although it was lacking in some of the latest features, so I decided it was for an upgrade.
There are numerous models in the market which vary in terms of cost and functionality. However what really attracted me to one brand was the management software. While the watch I chose was the best-of-breed in terms of features, it was the management software and how it integrates with the hand piece that got me over the line. For example, the management software stores all of my activity details online, including running maps and personal records. It also suggests training plans and new running tracks based on my fitness. And through social media, connects me with my friends and even professional athletes to compare performance.
Customers have told me that they have chosen EMC’s Data Protection solutions for similar reasons. They love our Data Domain storage systems because they are best-of-breed, enabling them to consolidate all of their backups, archives and snap images, while at the same time dramatically reducing their storage footprint. While this is great, what makes EMC an even more compelling solution is our Data Protection Suite management software, which enables them to do lots of cool things. Firstly, they can provide self-service data protection to their enterprise applications owners, virtualization hypervisor managers as well as storage administrators. Secondly and going back to the running watch software, they get total visibility and insight into how their entire operation is performing, including the ability to automate monitoring, analysis and reporting across backup and recovery environments while reducing complexity, lowering costs, and eliminating manual efforts.
And as Stephen Manley pointed out in a recent blog (The ‘Journey to Redefine’ Hinges on Meta Data), we are continuing to push the boundaries with our management software to deliver even greater value to our customers. Our goal is to enable IT to better align with the business, through new workflows including hybrid cloud mobility, analytics-driven automation, and cloud-centric data management.
Similar to the running watch software, we will enable our customers to tap into a vast ecosystem of IT environments across the globe. We will automatically compare the performance and utilization of their environment with other organizations, and through big data analytics provide recommendations for improvement. Our customers will gain invaluable insight into how they can further optimize their investments and deliver even greater value to the business. And beyond performance, as applications move into and out of the public cloud, we will enable the protection teams to ensure that the business applications are protected, the data is safe, and all metadata is available for search and analytics.
Combining great hardware with great software is a proven winner. It is no accident that Apple is the most valuable company in the world. (And yes, I will take a closer look at the new Apple Sports Watch when it is available)
Time to go for run and see if I can beat my virtual training partner, whish me good luck!