Entries categorized under “Cloud Computing”

Last week I wrote about Symantec's introduction of the Data Insight feature into its Data Loss Prevention (DLP) product. But afterwards a number of questions came to my mind as to how the DLP product itself worked, especially when compared to other solutions in the eDiscovery, search and storage management space, as well as how the Data Insight feature is implemented. So to get those questions answered, I got back on the phone with Robert Hamilton, Symantec's Senior Product Marketing Manager for DLP. (read more)

I have recently heard it said that server virtualization is to data centers what marijuana is to other drugs: a "stepping stone" or "gateway" drug. After all, once you start down the path of server virtualization, at what point do you quit and stop virtualizing the rest of the infrastructure? (read more)

Just a few years ago disk-based backup was considered the cutting edge of backup. No more as cloud storage is now all the rage. However a cloud-based backup strategy that works or using cloud storage for archival data is still the exception, not the rule. This is why CommVault's announcement today regarding its new cloud storage connector merits attention for those organizations looking to make cloud storage a viable part of their corporate data management strategy. (read more)

This week it was evident everyone is getting back to work - at least those individuals who still have jobs and received something other than pink slips over the holiday break. People starting returning my phone calls and emails, PR agencies started requesting my time again for briefings and, maybe most importantly, news releases started flowing again so I have something other than 2009 recaps and 2010 trends to write about. This week three news items caught my attention: FalconStor Software's FDS 2.0 release; a cloud storage announcement from Pillar and a new term (like this industry needed any more): Disaster Proof Hardware. (read more)

Small enterprises want to make technology changes but can't afford it. Large enterprises can afford to make technology changes but won't. That leaves it to midsized enterprises that are seeing the benefits, have the resources and are making the changes that are resulting in them emerging as the new IT leaders in 2010. This in a nutshell summarizes the 83-page 2010 State of the Data Center report just released by Symantec. (read more)

This week I wanted to pick up the discussion that I started a couple of weeks ago on the major trends of 2009. In that blog, I examined why deduplication was THE success story of 2009. But an equally compelling trend in 2009 was the emergence and growing acceptance of the use of cloud storage as a storage target among organizations of all sizes. (read more)

One of the barometers that can be used to gauge the popularity of a specific topic among readers on the Internet is the frequency for which they search for it on Google. In that sense, it is noteworthy that Google searches for "cloud storage" started to take off in late 2007 according to a Google trends report and have only increased since. But as organizations in 2009 move from searching for and reading about cloud storage to actually selecting cloud storage solutions, they need to ensure it offers flexibility to avoid public storage cloud lock-in. (read more)

To say that the concept of "cloud storage" has come out of nowhere to capture the fancy of organizations and individuals is a bit of understatement. Probably nothing better illustrates the heightened interest in this topic than a Google trends report that shows how searches for "cloud storage" took off on Google in late 2007 and have only increased since. (read more)

The big news in the industry this past week was around the private cloud announcement made by and between EMC Corp., Cisco Systems Inc and VMware. In brief, these three companies are aligning to provide integrated virtualization product bundles for midsize, large and enterprise organizations that are referred to as Vblocks. Conceptually and practically, this is a smart move on the part of these three companies to deliver this type of service. Though some reports cited fear of user lock-in if this configuration is deployed, one would think concerns about deploying a private cloud that does not work as expected would be far greater. (read more)

Cloud computing helps companies hide, intelligently allocate and take control of their IT infrastructure while also supplying users with the appropriate levels of application availability and performance. But, with this flexibility comes the inherent risks. One of the most pronounced risks is protecting the application data stored in the cloud because if you don't, cloud storage horror stories are sure to follow. (read more)

Every time I attend an SNW one particular technology captures my fancy and this one was no different. However what caught my attention this time has nothing to do with deduplication or solid state drives which I fully expected given the focus on these two technologies the past year or so. Instead it was a networking company called Asankya Networks from Atlanta, GA, that stands to revolutionize how companies think about cloud computing. (read more)

Every Storage Networking World (SNW) show has a certain theme to it and this year's fall show in Phoenix, AZ, is no different. Presenters are still talking about technologies like data protection, deduplication and WAN optimization but solid state drive (SSD) technology was front and center on Day 1. Every session on SSD that I attended was full with standing room only in some sessions and those in attendance were definitely engaging the presenters as they sought to gain as much information at they could about SSD. (read more)

You knew it was only a matter of time before it happened. Cloud storage is on everyone's radar screen and yet Symantec had not, to date, announced any formal cloud storage initiative or strategy. That all changed yesterday with its FileStore announcement. Not only did Symantec roll out a cloud storage strategy and a new product - FileStore - but FileStore's architecture puts Symantec in a position where it more directly competes head-to-head with storage hardware providers. (read more)

It is commonly suspected that midsize organizations have the same priorities as their enterprise counterparts especially when it comes to managing their IT infrastructures. However a study released a few months ago removed whatever doubt may have existed as it revealed that the majority of midsize businesses place a premium on improving efficiency and increasing employee productivity. So today's announcement from RELDATA that it is releasing a private storage cloud offering that addresses those exact concerns for these size businesses could not be more appropriately timed. (read more)

More enterprise organizations are examining the possibilities of storing their data to a "cloud" and archive and backup data are heading the list of the two forms of data that they are most likely to store in the cloud. But managing these two types of data once they are in the cloud is anything but a straightforward process. Different archiving and backup software solutions create their own data silos with their own data management and retention policies. This situation can create new eDiscovery and legal hold challenges that organizations are ill-prepared to deal with. (read more)

To say that storage clouds are gathering in the distance is probably an understatement. Everyone is beginning to see the benefits - both technical and financial - that cloud storage provides, especially in the archiving and backup realms. But there are more factors to consider than just the underlying architecture of the provider's cloud storage offering or the price per GB. Managing and accessing data in the cloud presents entirely new risks that organizations either are still failing to address or may not even know exist. (read more)

VMworld 2009 is now well under way and considering that it is sponsored by a company (VMWare) that sells virtualization software, I have to compliment it for keeping its focus on the new business problems that its technology can solve. However my concern is that anytime a provider starts doing that, customers end up buying promises as opposed to software that can solve their day-to-day tactical problems. (read more)

The last month or so I have spent a lot of time doing research on cloud storage. Its terminalogy, who the providers are, its maturity (or lack thereof) and who (if anyone) is taking advantage of cloud storage and supporting it have all been questions I have been asking. "Why?" you may ask. Simple. A survey conducted by Applied Research at the behest of F5 Networks and released this past Monday finds that more than 80% of IT managers are discussing or implementing public or private cloud solutions. Now when's the last time you recall seeing a statistic like that? (read more)

Over the last couple of weeks my weekly recap blogs touching on the subject of cloud storage has prompted a lot of emails and phone calls to me in the background to discuss this topic so I wanted to touch on that again this week. In addition, I've also been doing a little research into some of Data Domain's claims (and the counterclaims of its competitors) in regards to the advertised performance numbers on its new DD880 and under what conditions enterprise users might expect to achieve those numbers. Finally, I wanted to comment on some of the statements that I made last week about a CEO change and a corporate acquisition and end up with a new rumor that is circulating in the storage industry. (read more)

Two topics - really on opposite ends of the storage spectrum - captured my attention this week. The first had to do with an announcement that Imation made this past Wednesday regarding it being the first and only company currently licensed to manufacture LTO-5 tape media. The other had to do with cloud storage and some of the conversations that I continued to have with various providers in terms of how ready (or not ready) cloud storage is for prime time. (read more)

Weekly I try to do a recap of what was on my mind this during the past week and this week cloud storage garnered my attention. Deduplication may be the BIG thing in storage right now but cloud storage is rapidly gaining momentum and looks to be the next big thing in storage sooner rather than later. But when I speak to cloud storage providers that are virtualizing cloud storage offerings from other providers, it tells me that cloud storage has a ways to go before it can be officially proclaimed ready for the main stream. (read more)

Let's face it - the concepts behind cloud computing and cloud storage are just plain cool. The whole idea that an organization can move any application to any hardware platform and pro-actively meet the constantly changing needs of an application is more akin to something you might see in an episode of Star Trek than something you might find in today's data centers. Yet cloud computing and cloud storage are becoming a part of today's reality for tech-savvy data centers because these feature are not just cool, they ease the complexity of common data center management tasks, drive down costs and increase profitability. (read more)

One time occurrences that are accompanied by spikes in capacity and performance requirements are the bane of data centers. While many organizations can excuse IT for their inability to respond to unexpected one-time or occasional demands, perceptions and attitudes change when organizations know a heavy load is coming and IT cannot adeptly respond. It is this type of challenge that Carrenza Hosting, a managed hosting company based in London, England, intended to solve when it began to start down the path of adopting cloud-based computing and storage services. (read more)

I was not the only one from DCIG attending SNW last week: Kelly Polanski, a Contributing Analyst with DCIG, was also in the SNW mix. While I took briefings and caught up on the latest advancements in specific products, Kelly attended the afternoon SNW Summits. Following these Summits, she provided me with some of her notes. I found some of the information significantly compelling, and so I'm sharing them now with DCIG's readership. Today's blog shares some of the insights that Kelly gained from the Cloud Computing Summit on April 6. (read more)

This morning EMC announced its new Virtual Matrix Architecture as well as it new third generation Symmetrix V-Max based upon the Virtual Matrix Architecture. Since EMC has been hyping this announcement for at least a couple of weeks if not longer, I felt obligated to pop in and listen to the pre-recorded webcasts by EMC's CEO Joe Tucci and EMC's Storage Division President, David Donatelli, that highlighted the major aspects of this new release from EMC. And while it is impossible to summarize all of the features that a high end system like the Symmetrix V-Max will deliver, my initial thoughts were: "It's about time". (read more)