Leveraging existing investments in premises-based storage resources is a financial necessity for most companies. But the cost efficiencies and technology advantages of modern storage technologies and cloud-based storage are increasingly compelling.
Today’s IT departments face competing demands to increase storage capacity, improve performance, and at the same time reduce costs per gigabyte. However, when using traditional spinning magnetic disk technology, these demands are impossible to meet—given the costs necessary to scale performance and capacity.
Not surprisingly, many enterprises are looking to implement a hybrid cloud integration strategy to optimize enterprise storage costs. By increasingly provisioning software as a cloud service, the enterprise can avoid the capital costs of purchasing additional storage platforms and the operational costs of powering and maintaining additional storage devices in an enterprise data center.
While cloud storage is increasingly more cost effective, premises-based storage resources that leverage deployed storage platforms will continue to play an important role—particularly for companies concerned about security and compliance. Hybrid cloud integration strategies allow the enterprise to enjoy the best of both worlds.
A hybrid approach allows organizations to continue to leveraging existing data center storage capacity while determining on a case-by-case basis when to capitalize on cloud storage. But developing a hybrid cloud integration strategy first requires an assessment of both current storage resources and expected storage demands over time.
Conduct a Storage Assessment
With tighter security regulations, increased records retention, and the need for better storage management, IT needs to develop greater insights into how existing storage resources are being utilized. For example, our Data Center Services can provide easy‑to‑understand information about data growth and usage.
Implement Hybrid Cloud Storage
Enterprise needs their data centers to effectively deliver end-user services from a traditional on-premises environment, public cloud, or a combination of both. The modern workplace thrives on efficiency—and to stay relevant, it’s important to capture measurable cost reductions through innovative technology or derive more value from the same IT expense.
Bottom line: The ability to bridge premises-based storage infrastructure with the always-on availability and dynamic scalability of the public cloud is much too promising to ignore. It’s just a matter of choosing the right private or hybrid cloud storage strategy to best meet unique requirements and deliver maximum ROI.
Kurt Hildebrand
Kurt has over 20 years of experience in storage, networking, virtualization, clustering, disaster recovery, and business consulting. He holds several professional certifications, including Citrix Certified Enterprise Administrator (CCEA), Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), Certified Novell Engineer (CNE), EMC Certified Integration Engineer (EMCIE), Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE), VMware Certified Professional (VCP). In his free time, Kurt enjoys strategy games, the outdoors, theater, and live music.
