Chapter 12. Perfecting the Storage Engine

The preceding chapters supplied tactical and strategic advice applicable to storage infrastructure build-out. Approaching the completion of our optimized storage deployment roadmap, Chapter 12 drafts an outline of current and future trends in enterprise storage. This knowledge can help IT professionals chart a custom course for their respective companies.

Improvements on the technology roller -coaster ride never end. Already, emerging patterns appear towards the next waves of innovation ”across infrastructure, intelligence, and management. Taking a peek into the future, we examine these patterns more closely.

Perhaps the most important lesson to gain from witnessing the dramatic change in the planning, deployment, and management of storage is the need to continually evolve . The broad strategic goals of the book and this chapter will survive technology shifts. IT professionals should craft their own strategic missions to provide guidance across seemingly ambiguous landscapes . A clear, centered approach with agreed-upon objectives across the organization helps clarify complexity.

The tactical recommendations will also outlast short- term changes in underlying technology improvements. Think of the tactical objectives as the first level of strategic implementation. Storage teams ' goals should encompass the following examples, but should also be complemented by company-specific tactical initiatives.

Emerging technology patterns are just that ”visible glimpses of the future that will likely morph into concrete implementations . While we are not yet able to pinpoint the ultimate particulars, certain discernable patterns merit consideration today as part of our broader enterprise storage planning processes.