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Software-Defined Storage (SDS) is an approach to data storage where storage resources are abstracted from the underlying physical hardware to maximise performance and utilisation efficiencies.

In SDS environments, data storage management solutions utilise software that usually virtualises physical storage resources and manage the data that resides on this storage. Since storage software is decoupled from its hardware, organisations have greater flexibility to expand storage capacity and even upgrade or downgrade hardware whenever they see fit. In short, this approach provides the flexibility, cost-effectiveness and agility in storage that will enable businesses to respond to the complexities of digital transformation and hybrid cloud migration.

Some common storage management processes that would be expected of any software-defined storage management software includes:

• Provisioning – allocating storage capacity to servers or applications.
• Virtualising – pooling storage hardware into software-defined logical volumes that can be pooled together.
• Replication or Snapshots – storing data in multiple locations for redundancy and recoverability.
• Automation – removing the need for manual intervention on various storage management functions.
• Data Compression or Deduplication – To maximise drive space and performance.

These are the basic fundamental features of any software-defined storage management solution.

IBM add highly valuable extra features into their data storage management offerings. Coming under the banner of the IBM Spectrum Storage Suite. IBM’s approach to software-defined storage management extends to the following areas:

• IBM Spectrum Control – Manage, monitor and automate your entire storage infrastructure from software-defined, physical, file, object, cloud and even storage from third-party vendors.
• IBM Spectrum Virtualize – Eliminate storage siloes and drive efficiencies by creating virtual pools of storage across disparate storage devices.
• IBM Spectrum Protect – Comprehensive backup capability that can scale to huge volumes and supports backup targets from cloud to tape.
• IBM Spectrum Archive – Leverage low-cost storage for long term data retention, enable air-gapped protection with support for tape.
• IBM Spectrum Scale – Configure high-performance, scalable storage to support intensive applications such as Big Data Analytics.
• IBM Cloud Object Storage – Configure cloud-based object stores to cater for modern workloads such as AI, IoT, video streaming and image repositories.
• IBM Spectrum Protect Plus – Modern data protection with an emphasis on instant recovery capability for disaster recovery use cases.
• IBM Spectrum Discover – Provide data discovery and insights across enormous data sets for analytics or even data retention capabilities.

IBM’s approach to data storage management goes far beyond managing disk and array resources; it is a comprehensive path to value for your storage assets and data, built on years of development across multiple storage disciplines. Click here to find out more.

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