Few predicted the events and tumult of 2020, and few predict how 2021 will finally shape up, but when it comes to storage-related developments, there’s a bit more clarity. Here are some forecasts for data storage trends of 2021 and beyond.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers adopt hybrid cloud
More enterprises and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers will adopt hybrid cloud strategies. The on-premise infrastructures in local datacenters offer better performance, control, and security than cloud repositories, but clouds are useful, and cost-effective, for handling workloads when demand spikes. Thus, the functional marriage between the two.

‍

‍

NVMe is here ready for 5G rollout
One doesn’t need a crystal ball to discern that IoT devices are proliferating and 5G is being increasingly adopted. What this means is edge infrastructures will need to feature high-performance, low-latency storage solutions. An example of best-of-breed solutions is our XF3126D NVMe Flash storage appliances.

‍

‍

100GbE and 400GbE gaining traction for 2021
From its earliest days, Ethernet speeds have grown relentlessly. Today, 100GbE has been commoditized, and demand for 400GbE is gaining traction for 2021. By 2024, over 25 percent of port shipments will be for 400GbE and faster. Storage better keep pace.

‍

‍

NVMe/TCP is gaining momentum
Upgrading 64GB and 128GB Fibre Channel networks is becoming too costly, paving the way for enterprises and cloud service providers to gain high-speed storage simply and efficiently by adopting NVMe/TCP. Soon, all major operating systems will supply NVMe/TCP inbox drivers to ensure scalable implementations.

‍

‍

QLC Storage is here now
Unsurprisingly, the growing adoption of quad-level (QLC) storage is making them more cost-competitive. As a result, more storage workloads will move from HDD (and TLC) to QLC-based solutions.

‍

‍

Object Storage is a good response to the volcanic data growth
For many, object storage is a good response to the volcanic growth of massive data stores. Whereas block storage is ideal for mission-critical applications that are latency sensitive, and file storage has been a mainstay of networking for decades, object storage offers superior scalability and metadata, and a flat, rather than hierarchical, data structure. We’ll also be seeing a new generation of applications that leverages both block and object storage to deliver scalability and performance. Additionally, some legacy file applications will move to object storage to capitalize on object storage’s economies of scale.

‍

‍

AI and Machine Learning continue to put pressure on storage
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) will continue to put pressure on storage. Enterprises are using advanced analytics to extract business information from archived data. Going forward, more data will need to be stored to train models, and formative AI increasingly will be deployed to mine data stores for insights, extending the usefulness of the data.

‍