Table of Contents
- Summary
- Market Categories and Deployment Types
- Key Criteria Comparison
- GigaOm Radar
- Vendor Insights
- Analysts’ Take
- Methodology
- About GigaOm
- Copyright
1. Summary
Data migration has evolved over the years. Simple use cases such as on-premises migrations linked to hardware lifecycle refreshes or geographical data migrations between data centers have been superseded by more complex endeavors.
Organizations have embraced the cloud, and modern applications—including big data analytics and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) processing—are now running directly in the cloud. For efficient data processing, datasets need to be adjacent to those cloud-based workloads, opening the door for on-premises-to-cloud data migration and replication.
The need to store large volumes of data is another driver of data migration. Cloud-based storage provides nearly infinite capacity at very affordable prices. In addition, the variety of tiers provides even greater flexibility from a pricing perspective, assuming the customer understands the caveats that come with it (notably retrieval times and fees).
However, data migration and replication should not be seen as a one-way road to the cloud. Data repatriation is far from an exception, whether organizations are trying to reduce uncontrolled cloud spend or they realize that local data processing makes more sense than cloud-based workloads. Even if data has gravity (in the sense that the more data is accumulated somewhere, the more complex and expensive it becomes to move it), there can be business or technical imperatives that outweigh the challenges.
The massive popularity of unstructured data drives demand for data management, and in turn for unstructured data management platforms. Even if data migration and replication are a standalone requirement for some organizations, the emergence of data migration as an unstructured data management use case is clear.
When selecting a data migration solution, organizations must consider whether they intend to perform only occasional migrations (in which case, simpler solutions are acceptable) or if the driver for migration and replication is a broader need for better data management at scale. A better understanding of their requirements will help organizations make better decisions.
This GigaOm Radar report highlights key data migration vendors and equips IT decision-makers with the information needed to select the best fit for their business and use case requirements. In the corresponding GigaOm report “Key Criteria for Evaluating Data Migration Solutions,” we describe in more detail the key features and metrics that are used to evaluate vendors in this market.
How to Read this Report
This GigaOm report is one of a series of documents that helps IT organizations assess competing solutions in the context of well-defined features and criteria. For a fuller understanding, consider reviewing the following reports:
Key Criteria report: A detailed market sector analysis that assesses the impact that key product features and criteria have on top-line solution characteristics—such as scalability, performance, and TCO—that drive purchase decisions.
GigaOm Radar report: A forward-looking analysis that plots the relative value and progression of vendor solutions along multiple axes based on strategy and execution. The Radar report includes a breakdown of each vendor’s offering in the sector.
Solution Profile: An in-depth vendor analysis that builds on the framework developed in the Key Criteria and Radar reports to assess a company’s engagement within a technology sector. This analysis includes forward-looking guidance around both strategy and product.