The storage layer must continue to be the next focus for virtualization.
Not that there aren’t challenges to implementation. An adequate storage layer needs to scale for capacity and performance. Only a software-based approach offering seamless integration with backup and disaster recovery solutions will do. Such a system should have high availability, snapshot capability, replication, automatic failover and accelerated backup and recovery. It should also – of course – be easy to deploy, easy to use, reliable, secure and cost-effective.
And that’s not all. As businesses move toward storage as their next virtualization project, they should ensure any solutions they purchase can unify management of storage area networks and network-attached storage, as well as integrate with any existing direct-attached storage systems. And while we’re listing our demands for virtual storage, let’s also add open standards that enable complete independence from vendor lock-in.
Enterprises should demand all of this of virtualized storage. Doing so might require weeding out many inadequate options, but the results will be worthwhile, especially as virtual storage requirements continue to grow. This growth will come even more fast and furious as virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) takes off, creating greater needs for virtualized data storage. VDI – which offers IT departments the attractive ability to centralize control, simplify management and speed disaster recovery – is an exciting next step for the all-virtual enterprise, and one that will only increase the need for virtualized storage.
