Enterprise IT Pros Say Storage is Changing, with Two-thirds Heading to Software-Defined Storage in Coming Year

Companies moving to software-defined storage because of compelling cost of ownership, increased flexibility and performance

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Apr 26, 2017, 10:30 ET

NUREMBERG, Germany, April 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Software-defined storage is rapidly becoming reality in the enterprise, as 95 percent of companies express an interest in the flexible storage approach, and nearly two-thirds – 63 percent – say their organization will realistically begin to adopt a software-defined storage approach in the next 12 months. That's according to an international study of IT professionals commissioned and released by enterprise open source infrastructure solution provider SUSE®.

Companies see business and technology advantages in software-defined storage, including:

Lower cost of ownership – Eighty-one percent of respondents find the business case for software-defined storage to be compelling, with 72 percent increasingly evaluating their storage based on total cost of ownership over time. Seventy-three percent agree every business is a storage business, amplifying the connection between data storage and critical business issues.
Higher levels of scalability – Ninety-six percent of companies like the business scalability of software-defined storage, and 95 percent find its time, performance, technical and cost scalability appealing.
Increased performance – The main benefit expected from software-defined storage is enhanced system performance, according to more than half of respondents (52 percent). Other expected benefits include facilitation of modern web, mobile and big data applications/services, reduced support/maintenance costs, support for innovation/open business models, and ease of deployment.
Keeping up with trending technology – More than half of respondents believe cloud adoption (54 percent) and big data analytics (50 percent) are significant trends that will accelerate the industry's move to software-defined storage.

Interest in software-defined storage also extends to the underlying technology, as 75 percent of companies would consider an open source approach to their storage infrastructure. Forty-two percent are already considering open source to meet their storage needs.

"It's no secret that data will continue to grow at an astounding pace, so it's imperative storage for that data be both scalable and affordable," said Gerald Pfeifer, SUSE vice president of Products and Technology Programs. "This study confirms that businesses are actively seeking solutions to address this phenomenon, and software-defined storage meets the challenge. SUSE is leading the charge by helping customers manage this data with open source storage software that scales, and with a pricing model that is extremely attractive."

SUSE is working with the Ceph open source project to deliver storage technology that's intelligent, scalable and leads the market in price and low-cost ownership. For more information about software-defined storage in the enterprise, visit www.suse.com/storage.

About the Study
The independent market research conducted by Loudhouse surveyed more than 1,200 senior IT decision-makers in 11 countries across a wide variety of industries. All respondents work for organizations with more than 250 employees, with 56 percent representing companies larger than 1,000. Study results can be found at www.suse.com/stateofstorage.

About SUSE
SUSE, a pioneer in open source software, provides reliable, interoperable Linux, cloud infrastructure and storage solutions that give enterprises greater control and flexibility. More than 20 years of engineering excellence, exceptional service and an unrivaled partner ecosystem power the products and support that help our customers manage complexity, reduce cost, and confidently deliver mission-critical services. The lasting relationships we build allow us to adapt and deliver the smarter innovation they need to succeed – today and tomorrow. For more information, visit www.suse.com.

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