DATA MANAGEMENT
Making data pay With businesses producing more data than ever before, the need to manage it effectively to ensure it can be harnessed and deliver value is imperative and resellers have an important role to play in this.
As more business is undertaken online, so more data is produced by organisations of all sizes. Indeed, the global population generates 30 zettabytes of data each year, notes Andrew Palmer Seagate's UK channel lead for Enterprise Data & Cloud Solutions Group. But with such incredible amounts of data being produced, it needs to be effectively managed if it is to deliver value. “Data is an invaluable asset for businesses as it drives growth, fuels innovation, and improves the customer experience,” says Andrew. “But it is growing faster than the world's ability to store it: only two zettabytes of storage capacity are manufactured each year. “As the volume and velocity of data increase, many businesses across a multitude of sectors are unable to tap into the full potential of today's data-driven world. Not only do they capture and use just a fraction of the data they generate, but they also struggle with data management strategies. “One of the key management challenges stems from the complexities of storing and managing scattered data. Residing in multiple locations, data often sprawl – spreading through endpoints, the edge and multiple clouds. This means businesses are missing out on new opportunities and potential revenue. “Data is no longer created solely within a data centre. The amount of data generated in the cloud, as well as by emerging technologies – such as IoT and edge computing – continues to grow. How and where data is stored can greatly affect the value that organisations can derive from it. Yet, organisations are only collecting 56% of the data potentially available through operations. “Attempting to capture all available data, however, would strain the existing IT infrastructure and increase costs. That's one of the many reasons why businesses of all sizes must rethink data management. For example, identifying and classifying data at the start of its lifecycle enables faster data pruning, and that translates to lower costs.”
Sascha Dobbelaere from Tweave agrees that data management is the core of any business. “It’s the basis of all success if managed well, and the root of all evil if managed poorly,” he says. “The right foundation with core business data can propel a business forward. “Whether we’re talking about products, customers, services or suppliers, treating your data correctly and updating it meticulously are really core values that a business should maintain. The data is here to be leveraged, used and expanded so that businesses can serve customers better, offer better suited products, improve supplier relations, use new marketing techniques, or expand into new territory. With the right data in place, it’s a child’s play. Without, an uphill battle.” Steve Haines, chief commercial officer of Embridge Consulting, adds that businesses must be able to manage data effectively and efficiently. “Bringing it together to provide intelligence that supports operational efficiency and informed decision making,” he says. “The growing importance of data management can be seen in the recent paradigm shift. Before, companies were focused on people and processes. Now, it’s data, people and processes, as without data, informed decisions that have serious business impacts, simply cannot be made. “To ensure employees have the right data for decision-making, companies in all sectors must invest in data management practices and solutions that improve visibility, reliability, security and stability. “As the scope and scale of data generated by organisations grows, data management practices and solutions become essential, making essential business functions easier and less time consuming. Good data management practices are important for businesses of all sizes, as those without significant in-house data capabilities have the option of using integration as a service solution to level the playing field and compete with larger organisations in terms of
Andrew Palmer
seagate.com
One of the key management challenges stems from the complexities of storing and managing scattered data. “
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Sascha Dobbelaere
tweave.tech
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