Organizations across virtually every industry are turning to data- including both structured and unstructured- to better address the demanding and dynamic needs of modern business. The goal is to analyze this data and incorporate data analytics insights into the value chain as quickly as possible for better business results. However, to harness the constant growth of data and derive actionable insights in real-time, having the right data infrastructure is critical.
To derive value from data, enterprises need a practical data strategy that aligns with their business. For example, an exceeding number of enterprises are investing in areas of data analytics to improve their ability of in real time. They are also incorporating historical data for a more complete picture of business scenarios. An EY study indicated that 93% of companies surveyed indicated that they plan to continue to increase investments in the area of data and analytics.
The goal of these investments is to increase operational efficiency, reduce costs, and scale the business. In fact, as per a white paper commissioned by ESG, 53% of organizations cited improving operational efficiency as one of the top business objectives that drive an organization’s data analytics strategies. Additionally, 47% of organizations view reducing the cost of business operations as a top objective, with 46% citing improved business decisions and strategy.
Before organizations can derive insights from data, they need to ensure the right data is available. However, disparate data sources of structured and unstructured data are preventing organizations from having a complete view of their data footprint.
While many organizations have invested in storage options that can satisfy structured data requirements, scale, cost, and flexibility are growing concerns. Moreover, there’s a demand to incorporate unstructured data into decision-making. Therefore, organizations are looking for ways to combine structured and unstructured data for a more complete view of data and potential insights.
Organizations are turning to data lakes to better integrate, store, and manage all data within the business. Data lakes can help organizations better organize, discover, analyze, understand, and gain value from their data. This is because it can serve as a centralized repository or collection of potentially relevant data that unites disparate data silos into a virtual single entity, regardless of structure, size, type, or dependency. The adoption of the data lake is on the rise, In fact, 60% of organizations are either using, planning to use, or exploring ways to use data lake technology.
As organizations are transforming to become more data-centric, they are seeking storage solutions that are flexible and scalable with high-density to drive down the overall cost of ownership. As a leader in the field, Western Digital offers enterprise-grade innovative data storage platforms. These solutions bring seamless scalability and efficiency while providing extreme performance, reliability, and manageability without compromising enterprise resiliency. For example, Western Digital Ultrastar storage platforms deliver scalable, composable, efficient, and cost-effective storage, in a unified storage system to handle exponential data growth while minimizing costs.
Data is the most valuable resource for an organization, and they are embracing it as a key asset for future success. However, they will continue to seek simpler and more cost-effective storage solutions to help them manage and extract insight from data. Consequently, the need for innovative storage solutions that offer high capacity, within a minimal footprint will continue to grow.
