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As we went to press we received details of a new survey conducted by DataCore, which suggests that for many organisations, software-defined is becoming a more urgent priority than topics such as Big Data, flash and OpenStack. The survey indicates a level of 'disillusionment' among IT professionals with many of these much vaunted technologies.

"This survey sheds new light on how IT professionals approach storage-related innovations," said George Teixeira, president and CEO at DataCore. "The data reveals that many organisations are moving away from storage functions tied to specific hardware and are deriving real CAPEX and OPEX savings and additional purchasing power by not being locked to particular hardware or being forced to go 'all new buys' to modernise their storage infrastructure. It also points out that heavily promoted technologies, such as Object Storage, are more often found at the fringes in pilot programs, where IT is hoping to assess their value."

It would appear from this survey at least as if software-defined storage and storage virtualisation software are increasingly providing the features that the market is demanding right now - which DataCore summarise as 'continuous availability, faster performance and higher efficiency'. Over fifty percent of respondents said they expect software-defined storage to extend the life of existing storage assets and future-proof their storage infrastructure, enabling them to easily absorb new technologies. Close to half of respondents are looking to software-defined storage to avoid hardware lock-in from storage manufacturers, while lowering hardware costs by allowing them to shop among several competing suppliers. Operationally, they see SDS simplifying management of different classes of storage by automating frequent or complex operations.

"Two major surprises jump out at you from the findings," said Deni Connor, founding analyst, SSG-NOW. "The absence of near-term spending on Big Data and Object Storage among the majority of respondents, and the relatively small penetration of flash across these (nearly 500) organisations. Not surprising are the rising levels of investments on software-defined storage initiatives known to offer more immediate payoff."

Will software-defined storage really have this significant an impact on storage strategies? We'd love to know what you think - feel free to share your thoughts via the email address below.

David Tyler
david.tyler@btc.co.uk