IBM announces it is set to invest over $1 billion in software defined storage over the net 5 years as it announces Spectrum Storage, a "layer of intelligent software" the company says helps combat storage inefficiency.
According to Big Blue Spectrum Storage helps customers store data where they want it, how they want it. It features a single dashboard and allows the lowest-cost movement of data to the right location, be it flash storage, tape or the cloud.
One piece of the Spectrum Storage portfolio is Spectrum Accelerates, an open standards-based version of the software powering IBM's XIV storage alliance. It runs in any form (as-a-service, appliance or software) on commodity hardware, and promises a unique zero-tuning architecture ideal for use in data-driven industries looking to deploy new workloads on hybrid clouds.
As for the IBM software-defined storage investment, the $1bn will go towards R&D in cloud storage software, object storage and open standards technologies such as OpenStack.
“A new approach is needed to help clients address the cost and complexity driven by tremendous data growth. Traditional storage is inefficient in today’s world where the value of each piece of data is changing all the time,” Big Blue says. “IBM is revolutionizing storage with our Spectrum Storage software that helps clients to more efficiently leverage their hardware investments to extract the full business value of data.”
