The intersection of BYOD, Cloud, and Big Data

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Looking back over the past year’s worth of blog posts, it no surprise the topics I have covered most frequently are BYOD, Cloud, and Big Data. The truth of the matter is that these three trends are not occurring in a vacuum. When it comes to storage, they actually are feeding one another.

When we look at BYOD, Cloud, and Big Data independently we see 3 large changes affecting the marketplace for hardware, software, and services. But, when looked at collectively through the storage lens, we see an intersection.  BYOD is driving how data is accessed, Cloud is driving how data is stored, and Big Data is driving how data is utilized.

How Data is Accessed

“The rise of bring your own device (BYOD) is the single most radical shift in the economics of client computing for business since PCs invaded the workplace,” Gartner August 28, 2012. Given the fact that 75% of all compute devices will be phones and tablets by 2015, how data is accessed is changing. BYOD has ushered in a fundamental shift from local storage on your desktop, notebook, or even server to storage in some form of cloud available whenever, wherever, and however we choose to access it. Thus, this movement to a reliance on cloud is changing how data is stored.

How data is stored

“Cloud-based applications will replace 14.49% of all enterprise IT spending in 2020,” Deloitte Cloud Computing Forecast Change. Consider that according to Seagate, by 2020 over 60% of the storage will be shipped to cloud applications; where data is stored be it in public, private, or hybrid clouds is enabling organizations to focus less on managing data and more on how it is utilized.

How data is utilized

“Collecting and analyzing broad categories of data is becoming equally — if not more — valuable than the product itself,” Ken Oestreich, The Fountainhead Blog.  Symantec points out that digital information makes up 49% of an organization’s total value (Source: Symantec Survey commissioned by ReRez Research 2012). How data is utilized by any organization of any size is the key to gaining a competitive edge. Big Data is the key to driving the shift away from focusing on how to manage data growth, to how to leverage it.

Looking at the market trends and how they relate to each other, you can see things through an entirely different lens.  Not only do we have to address the needs of BYOD, Cloud, and Big Data individually, we must look at the bigger picture.  How does storage interact with applications we download to our smartphones and tablets?  How are said applications delivered and what requirements do cloud systems (public, private, hybrid, or personal) have on securely, reliably, and efficiently providing storage resources?  And, finally, as resources provided as-a-service gains acceptance, how do we better equip storage devices, systems, and software to maximize the power of information?

Just an example of the types of questions we are off to answer.

Feel free to add to the list.

Related Posts:

There’s Data in them there hills!

Data: The 21st Century Gold Rush

[Infographic:] Data — You Cannot Stop It

Is Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) the great equalizer?