We have been talking data for a while now, and we believe that people are really starting to think in terms of data abundance versus data scarcity. Here are our top 5 predictions for a world with a whole lot of data.
China will emerge as the new cloud computing powerhouse
Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent, Xiaomi and 21vianet are leading a pack of cloud service and data center providers that are investing billions of dollars in infrastructure to serve the massive demand for cloud services in China and abroad. Driven by the exponential growth in data, government initiatives, such as “Internet Plus,” and the country’s rapid accent as an economic and modernization superpower, China is poised for rapid investment into next generation technologies and data center architectures. 2016 promises to be a breakout year for the world’s most populace country as it continues its transformation.
The tug-o-war rhetoric between Flash and HDD is over
The market is finally stabilizing and the rhetoric of “All-Flash or nothing” will finally die. As the market bifurcates into fast-data and big-data solutions to contend with the volume, velocity, variety and longevity of data, the industry and users will acknowledge that both solid-state and spinning disks are essential to the future of a data-centric world.
The use of disk will surpass tape for modern archive solutions
Reliance on tape has snapped. Today, we live in a world of data abundance versus data scarcity. To capture its value, we can no longer have our data sit and be idle to capture its value. The need for rapid access to data across locations and platforms are exacerbating inaccessibility problems. Organizations will require persistent and easy access to data archives. Archives will become accessible in near real-time, ending the reliance on tape and ushering in a place for active archives on disks that are always accessible.
Federated data will drive your competitive edge
While we’ve spent the better portion of 2015 talking about the obscene growth of data, many of these datasets continue to grow in isolation. The ability to aggregate, share and blend data sets will enable smarter algorithms for more powerful insights and real-time response. Those companies that can set a direction toward a collective knowledge base with a federated data infrastructure will truly extend their competitive edge.
The value you harness from your data will be judged by the Street
Similar to how investment analysts assess competitiveness and performance potential through insights on asset utilization, we will begin to see a new focus on how organizations leverage their data to drive growth, profitability and shareholder value. Think of it as the new Data Leverage Index or Return on Data. 2016 will see a shift as wise investors demand that companies become increasingly data driven.