Cloud computing and similarly high-profile trends have generated a significant amount of industry buzz. While hype can sometimes make it difficult to find real value in new technologies, there is usually a reason for a trend’s popularity. In an interview with Channel Pro, Nexenta CEO Evan Powell predicted that the market will soon start talking more about software-defined storage.
“[2013] will be the year the IT world recognizes the need for a software-defined storage model that abstracts data from the hardware on which it resides, enabling the creation of a highly scalable logical resource that can be centrally (and automatically) provisioned and managed,” Powell told the news source.
Given the popularity of cloud storage solutions, many businesses have likely made hardware independence a higher priority. SDS infrastructure allows for a similar freedom by creating a pool of storage resources and facilitating data migration between numerous appliances. In December, Symantec also noted a push toward this model, suggesting that the software-defined data center will emerge as the next big industry buzz phrase in 2013. The SDS model may accelerate the adoption of cloud architecture due to a stronger emphasis on hardware agnosticism and greater flexibility in resource provisioning.
Keeping an eye on Nexenta’s moves may give some valuable insight into the storage ecosystem, as the company was recognized by Storage Newsletter as one of the fastest growing storage startups in 2012, based on revenue.
Nexenta is a Seagate Cloud Builder Alliance partner.
