Wednesday 17 August 2011

Big Data, Just a Buzz Word?

Cutting Edge Technology to Turn Big Data into Big Value!

The term ‘Big Data’ has been coined by the IT industry and used extensively in recent times for commercial purposes. We appreciate that there is nothing like a new trendy buzz word to re-market an already existing notion, technology or trend. But is there more to “Big Data” than just a catch phrase?

According to Gartner, the term Big Data is “used to acknowledge the exponential growth, availability and use of information in the data-rich landscape of tomorrow.”*

Current and future extortionate data growth is an undeniable phenomenon; and how enterprises handle the challenges presented by such is a concern for all.

A recent report from McKinsey & Co states: “The increasing volume and detail of information captured by enterprises, the rise of multimedia, social media, and the Internet of Things will fuel exponential growth in data for the foreseeable future.” We at layer 47 tend to agree with McKinsey & Co who perceive Big Data as “The next frontier for innovation, competition and productivity.”**

As a full systems integrator, we at Layer47 have been there and done that and we like to think of ourselves as experts in the broad range of storage solutions available on the market. It is therefore fitting that we talk about market leading technology, designed for this trend, offering Big Data storage solutions for Scale-out NAS.

At this point some of you will be thinking, “What is Scale-Out NAS?” others are thinking, “I’m sure my NAS or SAN solution has our Big Data issues covered.” Let us give you a quick rundown on why Isilon is geared up for Big Data.

The technology vendor we are talking about is, Isilon Systems. In their own words “Big Data demands Big Storage,” and Isilon’s innovative technology is specifically designed to help users cope with data growth in a controlled and scalable manner. In fact, “Isilon is the leader in Scale-out NAS” Pushan Rinnen, Research Director, Gartner.

Isilon clustered storage solutions give companies fast access to critical business information, all the while enabling you to reduce the costs and complexities of storing expanding data sets.

Who is better to describe the technology than the experts themselves:

“With Isilon, you can aggregate massive data sets and consolidate a range of applications onto a single, shared, easy to use storage resource – giving you full control of big data assets. And, no matter how your needs change in the future, Isilon scales in lockstep, remaining as simple to manage at 15 petabytes as it was at 15 terabytes. In short, Isilon is on-demand storage for big data, when and where you need it.” Isilon

Still think that your average SAN or NAS is equipped to deal with the Big Data Dilema? Let’s leave you with some food for thought, it is estimated that by2020, data will grow 44x to 35 trillion gigabytes**– Big Data is not just a Big Phase, it is the shape of things to come!

There are plenty of resources available to help illustrate the importance and benefits of intelligent storage; we wanted to share a particularly interesting whitepaper with our readers - The Economic Benefits of Intelligent Clustered Storage.

We also have a webinar made available on-demand for those of you interested in learning more about scale-out NAS: http://www.layer47.com/webinar_center.html


* Gartner Press Release - Gartner Says Solving 'Big Data' Challenge Involves More Than Just Managing Volumes of Data – June 2011

** McKinsey Global Institute – Big Data: The Next Frontier for Innovation, Competition and Productivity - May2011

***Isilon The Era of Big Data has Arrived - current