7 Factors Impacting Big Data Storage Solutions and Trends

We’re living in an era of big data. This year alone, organizations will generate 120 zettabytes of data. We are exponentially increasing the volume of data we generate, which raises a question: How much big data storage will we need in the coming years? What factors will impact the volume of storage we’ll need?

This article looks at big data storage solutions and the trends impacting how organizations – especially government contractors and agencies – leverage the data we’re generating this year and beyond.

Factor 1: The Cost and Complexities of Big Data Storage Solutions

For the past decade, we’ve discussed the benefits of cloud for big data storage. The cloud can feel almost infinite and government agencies are increasingly taking advantage of this scalability. Compared to an on-premises basement server room, the network of big data storage solutions from cloud providers may seem as vast as the universe itself.

The problem is we’re learning the true costs of big data storage in the cloud. This year, spending on the public cloud will top $597.3 billion, up by more than 21% from the prior year. Of this number, the average spending on computing and big data storage is more than $15 billion each quarter, on track to hit more than $60 billion this year. Predictions say federal spending on big data will grow across civilian, defense, and the intelligence sectors by 22%.

But costs are rising right along with the volume of unmetered big data, in part due to:

• The cost of cybersecurity for personally identifiable information (PII). There are increasing risks when running a hybrid or multi-cloud that require security across government and contractor environments, each with its own set of costs.
• An increase in end-to-end access points, which create a greater attack surface for cyber terrorists and increase IT departments’ labor and software costs. While organizations are switching to Zero Trust security models, look for rising costs across their big data storage solutions as they struggle to monitor these services.
• Increased compute cycles. The truth is we are not doing a good job of managing our big data storage solutions. There’s also a lot of garbage in/garbage out because organizations struggle to filter and manage data. These costs are complicated and, in many instances, unmonitored.
• Tracking on-prem vs. cloud data usage and storage. Organizations can keep the data most needed by employees in the cloud. Critical, confidential as-needed data can reside on premises, but we must carefully manage both approaches to reduce costs and maintain security.

These factors must be successfully managed to get big data storage costs back under control. But many government organizations lack the IT staff to handle these intricacies.

Factor 2: Big Data Storage for Analytics

Artificial intelligence (AI) is eating up our bandwidth. Most analytics software today uses AI, but the volume of data we’re chewing through drives up compute cycles. From a cost perspective, this makes machine learning and AI a blessing and a curse. Today, businesses collect, consume and store more data than ever. We collected the data in past years, but now we have the tools to analyze what we’ve captured. Gleaning actionable insights from our data is the next evolution in our digital transformation. It’s ironic; while we’re using our data to generate revenue, it’s also costing us big bucks in big data processing and storage. Organizations in every sector must leverage data to stay competitive, but without a solid plan for managing their information, their data could also hold them back.

Factor 3: Incorporating Faster On-Premises Data Storage

Today, 96% of enterprise organizations are pursuing hybrid data infrastructures. But on-premises big data storage competes with the cloud, requiring faster (and more expensive) on-site solutions. The requirements for on-premises big data storage solutions in this environment include PCIe Gen 4/5 data storage controllers, flash SSDs, higher data processing, and bigger bandwidth NICs. Organizations are spending more on these solutions and adding upgrades even as these technologies improve.

Factor 4: IoT in the 5G

This year there will be 14.4 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices online. 5G networks and IoT are like peanut butter and jelly; faster network speeds lend themselves to the immediacy of wearable devices. But IoT data requires even more storage, and these remote sensor devices are notorious for opening holes in our security strategies. Companies must prepare themselves for even more future IoT bandwidth requirements and the necessity of securing these devices.

Factor 5: Ransomware and Your Big Data

Raising ransomware attacks on big data illustrates the necessity of increasing cybersecurity across their transmission and storage architectures. Many companies seek out managed IT cybersecurity advisors because there isn’t enough IT talent to handle our increasing security needs. Frighteningly, every size business is a target now. From governments and hospitals to enterprise organizations and small companies, ransomware is an opportunistic tool capturing billions in revenues for bad actors around the globe.

Factor 6: Unstructured Big Data Storage Solutions

Unstructured data is an increasing drain on enterprise organizations. Government agencies and contractors are adding NoSQL databases to handle all the different sizes and types of information running through our IT infrastructures. NoSQL is a big data storage solution purpose-built for the variety of data we now capture. However, these special tools often accompany data lakes and warehouses, which all add complexity and cost to our big data storage budgets.

Factor 7: Growing Movement Toward Data Sovereignty

European geopolitical instability and growing consumer awareness led to the push for data sovereignty. Organizations must take steps to shore up their big data storage and create policies that follow growing privacy regulations. There’s a growing need for organizational policymaking and data management beyond compliance with existing regulations. Many consumers are keenly conscious of their data and how we use it. Companies of all sizes must carefully manage their big data storage to ensure regulatory compliance and foster consumer trust in their organizations.

How Can Your Organization Handle Big Data?

There are several leading providers in the big data space. One of the most popular is Dell PowerScale, a flexible and scalable NAS (network-attached storage) solution that can let enterprises handle large amounts of data, reliably, at any scale.

Red River offers managed IT services to help organizations handle their big data storage’s growing complexities and security. Talk with our team today about how we can help you stay prepared for the future of big data.

If you want to learn more about the future of Big Data and how organizations, especially federal agencies, can handle it, click the link below to read our free ebook.