Member post by Sameer Danave, Senior Director of Marketing at MSys Technologies

Do you know half of the global storage capacity will be deployed as Software Defined Storage(SDS)? It is a remarkable number! And it’s not just enterprises moving towards it; small companies are making this shift too. So, what does SDS mean in practical terms, what are the IT benefits, and how is it transforming hybrid-cloud architectures? 

Well, the answer to these questions came to me when I recently met 20 IT professionals at the 2024 Conference and fourth annual Storage Technology Showcase. These interactions gave me some insightful information about software-defined storage and how it transforms hybrid cloud architectures in organizations worldwide. And that’s what we’ll discuss today. 

In this blog, you’ll learn:

What is Software Defined Storage?

Software-Defined Storage (SDS) encompasses various interpretations depending on the vendor. However, Wikipedia provides a concise definition; “the abstraction of storage software from the underlying hardware, along with the provision of a unified management platform and data services across heterogeneous or homogeneous enterprise storage assets.

In simpler terms, SDS separates software and hardware, enabling efficiencies in cost and performance. For instance, organizations can leverage cost-effective industry-standard servers instead of expensive proprietary storage solutions. This decoupling empowers IT departments to accomplish several significant objectives.

Three Ways Software Defined Storage is Transforming Hybrid Cloud Architectures

Here’s how SDS is Transforming the Hybrid Cloud Architectures and what are the IT benefits of software-defined storage that are leading organizations to make this shift.

Better Disaster Recovery and Cloud Backup

Consider the example of a natural disaster; Hurricane Sandy, which caused the closure of thousands of IT companies due to disruption in their operations. This is an extreme example, to begin with; however, it demonstrates the disastrous results of natural disasters on IT infrastructure. So, what can businesses do to achieve continuous operations even during such incidents and develop disaster recovery solutions?

Well, the answer is SDS solutions hosted in the cloud. Such cloud solutions can provide a separate disaster recovery region without investing in the creation, installation, and maintenance of said DR regions. Data is also replicated to the cloud infrastructure from on-prem systems and resources can also be automatically scaled up on demand.

Such solutions can also help in off-site cloud backups and provide a viable solution for cold storage which is kept off-site and automatically scales without any additional investment in hardware. The SDS management plane also allows data management that enables an administrator to implement these critical DR functions from a single interface.

Improved Data Mobility

Companies need to move data without disruption among storage systems for many reasons, such as lease expirations, performance optimization, tiering to place the correct data on the proper hardware, and technology or vendor changes. With hybrid cloud storage solutions with the latest technologies and capabilities, companies can move data sets between cloud providers and on-premises resources almost instantaneously to improve their data economics. In a better word, it also means that companies can manage data both on-premises, public cloud, hybrid–cloud, multi-cloud environments from a single pane of glass. 

Better Storage Efficiency 

Software-defined storage solutions come with enterprise-grade features like provisioning, deduplication, and data compression, enhancing storage efficiency and reducing costs. SDS storage solutions also abstract the underlying storage in cloud environments, allowing for the provisioning of cloud storage and infrastructure similar to on-premises settings. This capability is valuable when leveraging storage tiers within cloud environments, such as between Amazon EBS and Amazon S3 storage in AWS or between Azure disks and Azure Blob storage.

The cloud SDS solution automates the tiering process, further reducing storage costs. Additionally, it provides technical agility across cloud, mobile, social, and analytics infrastructures.

Conclusion

After meeting with 20 IT professionals, I learned how software-defined storage solutions are transforming hybrid cloud architectures. Moreover, I learned about adopting best practices, including leveraging SDS solutions for heterogeneous IT environments, which assist organizations in surmounting the challenges associated with storage management. 

To address these data management challenges effectively, we at Msys Technologies present cutting-edge SDS solutions to help companies in data storage management. We provide automated and on-demand storage management services to organizations across the globe. 

Connect with us to learn how Mysys can revolutionize your data storage and cloud management practices.

Author

Sameer Danave, Senior Director of Marketing, MSys Technologies

Bio

Sameer is a seasoned technology marketing professional with 16 years of full-stack marketing experience. He believes in the two Cs—‘Customer Value’ and’ Communications’—and all his Marketing campaigns and projects are packaged with them.

He drives phygital (physical + digital) campaigns that attract and pull customers towards the brand’s value. His marketing strategies apply omnichannel, conversational marketing tactics (Storytelling, social, and chatbot), and AI-enabled inbound marketing, backed by solid analytics and insights with ‘content’ as a core part of the strategy.

Sameer is a team sport with meticulous planning, attention to detail, and the ability to perform effortlessly under pressure.