IBM outlines storage trends in 2012

The pace of business growth and the requirement to store data for legal or analytical purposes means that smarter storage solutions will become necessary throughout 2012, according to IBM.

A study by the tech giant found that IT decision makers agree that storage will be a primary concern in 2012, with 57 per cent saying they need a fresh approach to storing data; one that is suitable for their demanding requirements.

On eWeek.com, Steve Wojtowecz, vice president of storage software development at IBM, outlined five storage trends that will emerge in 2012, and potentially revolutionise how firms view storage solutions.

The first is addressing how old technology stores data. Wojtowecz says that without improving the physical storage methods of disks, or moving to the cloud, computer users could find themselves staring into a "digital dark age", where data has literally corroded off old, or now incompatible hardware.

Data curation and storage analytics will play defining roles in how firms manage their data. They will not only need to learn what data to stockpile and for what reasons, but they will also need to "deploy the best possible storage analytics options in order to aid businesses in data curation," as IT Pro Portal puts it.

Such data curation and analytics of course could be carried out by comprehensive systems and data management solutions like IBM Tivoli, one of the firm's own packages designed to "evolve" business priorities.

New storage solutions will also be driven when the issue is in the spotlight. Digital films made in Hollywood and the global health care industry, for example, both have extraordinarily large storage requirements which may bring the issue to the fore, said Wojtowecz.

Finally managing hoarder data better will improve business efficiencies. Deleting unnecessary data and avoiding duplication can significantly improve data processing and analysis.

"In the era of big data, more is not always better, especially when every byte of data costs money," explained Wojtowecz. "Businesses are becoming data hoarders, spending too much time and money collecting useless or bad data that can lead to misguided business decisions."

Chris Taylor