Unstructured Data Management for the Cloud Erav1.0

1. Summary

Unstructured data growth is hardly news anymore. In fact, the challenge is no longer exponential growth, which we are now accustom to and have solutions for, but it is all about keeping data safe while giving access to users, applications, and devices distributed globally, as well as having control over it.

The scenario has been evolving very quickly. In the last ten years we have gone from storing data mostly locally on premises, to storing it in several repositories which are diverse in nature and in the way they are accessed. This trend is not going to change any time soon. Multi-cloud strategies are becoming quite common and data is created and consumed depending on application or user requirements, no matter where it is stored.

Moreover, in this multi-cloud scenario, new regulations like GDPR demand a totally different approach to data management and, without the right tools, it is practically impossible to comply with changing laws.

Most common questions asked by CxOs and IT managers now include:

• What type of data is stored in our systems?
• What are we really doing with this data?
• What are the access patterns?
• Who has access to it?
• Who is really using data storage? And why?
• Is it all protected according to our policies?
• Is data stored in the right place?
• Can we reduce the infrastructure costs?

And the list keeps growing. Data has no value if you can not take advantage of it. Indexing it properly and making it searchable radically changes its value. Making it reusable and consumable by a larger group than the individuals that created it, or just their teams, open up several opportunities including:

• Big Data analytics
• E-discovery
• Compliance and security audits
• And much more

The right strategy and modern tools can help take back control of data and exploit its value, transforming it from a liability to an asset and contributing towards increasing competitiveness.

Furthermore, by analyzing stored data in all its aspects, you can have a better understanding of the logical organization of large and complex IT infrastructures and what area to invest or intervene in to cut costs. The goal is to achieve a better overall TCO and faster ROIs.

In this report we will analyze several aspects of unstructured data management including:

• Different approaches to unstructured data management
• Index, search, and metadata augmentation
• Security and compliance
• Data and metadata management
• Chargeback and Showback
• How data management helps to improve business and infrastructure processes
• Cloud Vs. On-premises solutions

Key findings:

• Unstructured data management is key to having a better understanding of what is saved in growing storage repositories. It can help cut costs and also augment its value.
• The benefits of unstructured data management affect everyone; even small organizations now work with petabytes and need to deal with scenarios that are becoming more complex.
• Understanding content and how it is organized helps to improve data protection, retention, compliancy, security policies, and more. In fact, unstructured data management is key to enabling big data analytics and next generation applications, powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence.