ST2401

STORAGE 

MAGAZINE 

The UK’s number one in IT Storage 

January/February 2024 

Vol 24, Issue 1 

INDUSTRY FOCUS: 

How AI is transforming media & entertainment 

RANSOMWARE: 

Shielding your servers 

ROUNDTABLE: 

AI/HPC: 

Data management is 

crucial for success 

Software ushers in a new era 

of data storage 

COMMENT - RESEARCH - INTERVIEWS - CASE STUDIES - OPINIONS - PRODUCT REVIEWS

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The UK’s number one in IT Storage 

INDUSTRY FOCUS: 

How AI is transforming media & entertainment 

January/February 2024 

Vol 24, Issue 1 

CONTENTS 

STOR 

MAGAZINE 

STORAGE 

CONTENTS 

RANSOMWARE: 

Shielding your servers 

ROUNDTABLE: 

Software ushers in a new era 

of data storage 

AI/HPC: 

Data management is 

crucial for success 

COMMENT - RESEARCH - INTERVIEWS - CASE STUDIES - OPINIONS - PRODUCT REVIEWS 

COMMENT….....................................................................4 

Predicting the (AI) future 

STRATEGY: DATA MANAGEMENT…......................…….6 

Marco Pozzoni, EMEA Storage Sales Director at Lenovo, examines how data 

management is enabling organisations to reap the benefits of AI 

08 

CASE STUDY: BRITVIC…..........................................……..8 

Beverage producer Britvic is safeguarding its AWS cloud data and achieving 66% 

faster data recovery by deploying Veeam 

FEATURE: 2024 PREDICTIONS……........................……10 

The start of a new year brings another thought-provoking selection of suggestions, 

predictions and trends from our experts across the industry 

18 

TECHNOLOGY: DMA……..........................................……16 

Michael McNerney,VP Marketing and Network Security at Supermicro, examines how 

enterprises are optimising their GPU servers to better manage the massive data 

storage requirements of AI applications 

RESEARCH: VIDEO ANALYTICS……......................…….18 

New research shows AI is impacting smart video capabilities and will only continue to 

drive business optimisation 

CASE STUDY: CRUK CAMBRIDGE INSTITUTE………20 

Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute has sought to expand its unique storage 

infrastructure in order to better support the ever-increasing volume of data generated 

in its vital research 

20 

EVENT: TECH SHOW LONDON 2024………........………22 

The speaker lineup for Tech Show London 2024 and its five co-located events is now 

live, and features an impressive cohort of C-level leaders from some of the world's top 

companies 

ROUNDTABLE: SOFTWARE ………..........................……24 

Storage magazine gathered the views of industry experts on the drivers behind the 

evolution of software, its game-changing capabilities, its challenges, and how far 

along organisations are in realising the full potential of software over hardware 

24 

INDUSTRY FOCUS: MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT…..28 

Skip Levens, Director, Media & Entertainment at Quantum, explains how AI is 

transforming the industry, from creation to consumption 

STRATEGY: IT SPENDING………..............................…….30 

Mark Walsh, VP EMEA at Tintri, examines what the UK 2023 Autumn Statement's 25% 

tax relief for IT spending might mean for your organisation's storage environment 

MANAGEMENT: RANSOMWARE……..........................……32 

Aron Brand, CTO of CTERA, reminds us that the key lesson to learn from ransomware 

threats is that it is never a good idea to pay the ransom 

28 

RESEARCH: AI………..................................................……34 

Success with AI means going back to the basics of good IT management, says new 

research from the Cloud Industry Forum 

www.storagemagazine.co.uk @STMagAndAwards Jan/Feb 2024 

STORAGE 

MAGAZINE 

03

COMMENT 

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PREDICTING THE (AI) FUTURE 

BY DAVID TYLER 

EDITOR 

Welcome to the first Storage magazine of 2024, which includes our now 

regular round-up of predictions, trends (and perhaps some downright 

guesswork) from industry experts as to what they believe will be the big 

storage stories for this year. 

It should be no surprise to our long-term readers that one of the most discussed 

topics - albeit from a wide variety of perspectives - was the future of AI. More than one 

of our commentators pointed out that the rush to gain a business advantage from AI is 

likely to highlight data infrastructure issues that have been easy to ignore until recently. 

As Nasuni's Jim Liddle comments: "Before they can integrate AI effectively, 

organisations will first have to address how they collect, store, and manage their 

unstructured data, particularly at the edge. AI doesn't work in a vacuum and it's just 

one part of the broader data intelligence umbrella. In the coming year, companies 

across the board will be forced to come to terms with the data quality, governance, 

access, and storage requirements of AI before they can move forward with digital 

transformation or improvement programmes to give them the desired competitive 

edge." 

One area where AI is certain to be deployed more widely in 2024 is in threat 

detection and data protection, as Ctera's Aron Brand argues: "AI's advanced anomaly 

recognition capabilities will enable early detection of potential threats, offering a 

proactive defence mechanism. This will be complemented by built-in disaster recovery 

features, ensuring swift response and recovery in the event of a breach." 

Perhaps less obvious an application is the potential of AI to help with organisations' 

attempts to shift to a greener storage approach. Infinidat's Eric Herzog says: 

"Enterprises will increasingly turn to AI for the capabilities to optimise storage capacity 

and streamline management, resulting in more efficiency. Gartner predicts that by 

2025 half of all data centres will deploy AI/ML to increase efficiency by up to 30%. AI 

will also be used to optimise cooling." 

At the same time, AI might turn out to be part of the arsenal of the ransomware bad 

guys as well, as Tintri's Brock Mowry comments: "Bad actors are doing their R&D. 

2024 will see new and undiscovered attack vectors leveraging the intelligence and 

power of AI. This will be the new adversary of blue teams in the enterprise." 

Whatever happens, it is very clear that AI will be absolutely central to pretty much 

everything that happens in the storage industry in the coming years - and at the same 

time, that storage itself will have to be a crucial consideration in the future 

development of AI. 

04 STORAGE 

MAGAZINE 

Jan/Feb 2024 

@STMagAndAwards 

www.storagemagazine.co.uk

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STRATEGY: 

STRATEGY: DATA MANAGEMENT 

DATA MANAGEMENT CRUCIAL TO AI/HPC STRATEGIES 

MARCO POZZONI, EMEA STORAGE SALES DIRECTOR AT LENOVO, EXAMINES HOW DATA 

MANAGEMENT IS ENABLING ORGANISATIONS TO REAP THE BENEFITS OF AI 

Every organisation today lives and breathes 

data, and the pressure to unlock value 

from this resource is growing with each 

passing year. By 2025, the world will produce 

181 zettabytes of data each year, with online 

consumption having increased a staggering 30 

percent in the past year. 

For business leaders, the challenge they face 

is more complex than simply keeping control of 

the data constantly being harvested from 

everything from IoT devices to medical scans: 

it's the 

ability to sift through this tide of information for 

useful insights at speed. Successful business 

leaders will be those who can act quickly to 

eliminate data silos, deploying technologies 

such as AI and machine learning at the edge to 

turn this data into business value in real time. 

Data management is increasingly important in 

allowing business leaders to monetise data at 

speed, bringing together data from the cloud, 

on-premises machines and at the edge, and 

enabling business leaders to run AI workloads. 

It's also powering innovative research around 

the world, helping unravel some of the thorniest 

issues facing the human race. Data 

management, high-performance computing 

and artificial intelligence are coming together 

to enable a new breed of data-driven start-up 

which is helping to break down boundaries in 

emerging fields such as personalised medicine. 

Choosing the right data management and 

storage solutions has become increasingly 

important for businesses looking to reap the 

benefits of technologies such as HPC and AI, 

with the right solutions offering the simplicity, 

speed and security which can enable business 

leaders to forge fearlessly into the future. 

UNRAVELLING COMPLEXITY 

The data management landscape 

which most companies face has 

become incredibly complex, 

with data coming from 

everything from cameras in 

warehouses to customer 

relationship management 

(CRM) systems, and 

existing across cloud 

and on-premises 

systems. 

Business leaders 

also need to 

consider the security of customer data. Despite 

crackdowns by law enforcement in Europe and 

the U.S., ransomware levels have hit all-time 

highs in 2023, with 81% of organisations 

saying they have been affected at least once, 

according to SpyCloud. The ability to secure 

data, and defend against ransomware attacks, 

is increasingly important. 

Simplicity is key to securely extracting value 

from data. Customers require data 

management solutions which are interoperable, 

so that vital insights are not marooned in siloed 

systems or left vulnerable. It's important to find 

solutions that combine the simplicity and 

flexibility of cloud with the security and high 

performance of on-premises solutions. 

Storage is becoming an increasingly important 

consideration for business leaders, having 

grown from being an afterthought in the world 

of IT to being an essential part of company 

infrastructure. As the data generated by 

businesses continues to grow, IT leaders need 

to ensure they choose the right storage 

technologies. 

Standard hard disks are increasingly too slow 

to deliver the performance required, particularly 

when it comes to deploying AI workloads at the 

edge. Flash solutions can offer customers a 

rapid way to deploy AI. Lenovo's solution 

includes storage based on software-defined 

storage principles. This concept enables 

customers with data-hungry AI workloads to 

scale up storage capacity without sacrificing 

performance. Such solutions will continue to 

grow in importance in the coming years. 

A GAME-CHANGER FOR DATA 

MANAGEMENT 

Bringing AI to the data is increasingly vital for 

business leaders, enabling them to put data to 

work immediately. This difference is crucial: 

06 STORAGE Jan/Feb 2024 


www.storagemagazine.co.uk 

MAGAZINE

STRATEGY: 

STRATEGY: DATA MANAGEMENT 

"For business leaders, the challenge they face is more complex than simply keeping 

control of the data constantly being harvested from everything from IoT devices to 

medical scans: it's the ability to sift through this tide of information for useful insights at 

speed. Successful business leaders will be those who can act quickly to eliminate data 

silos, deploying technologies such as AI and machine learning at the edge to turn this 

data into business value in real time." 

think of a video camera (to take one example), 

monitoring a stock room. In previous decades, 

the information would have been accessible to 

review on the camera, or would have been 

sent to a data centre for processing. By 

bringing AI to the edge, or even to the camera 

itself, decisions regarding re-stocking (for 

example) can be made instantly, helping 

business leaders to make the right decisions to 

boost the bottom line. 

The right storage solution enables business 

leaders to bring cutting-edge AI capabilities to 

the source of their data, enabling the sort of 

rapid-fire decisions which keep businesses 

ahead of the competition. Effective data 

management can deliver insights which 

enable business leaders to deploy new 

services quickly, scale existing services, and 

even lead to new business streams or whole 

new business models. 

To enable this, business leaders need the right 

technology, and require IT teams to work 

closely with the rest of the business, ensuring 

that data is ingested promptly, AI is deployed 

rapidly, and that business users receive the 

insights they need. 

POWERING BREAKTHROUGHS 

Powerful data management solutions are 

enabling new ways to harvest insights which 

can change businesses, and even change the 

world. Biotech start-up Novo Genomics is 

harnessing AI to unravel the mysteries of 

human genes via genomics, a field of biology 

focused on unravelling the human genome 

(the complete set of human DNA). Genomics 

provides us with a more in-depth 

understanding of the root causes of illness 

and infectious diseases, helping to shift 

towards a new era of medicine. Many of the 

innovations powering today's cutting-edge 

genomics would have been almost 

unimaginable 10 years ago, and rely on 

industry leading data management solutions. 

Novo Genomics is harnessing the power of 

AI and data management to develop 

personalised treatments through genomics and 

multi-omics, not just for humans but also for 

animals and plants (agrigenomics) as well. 

Doing so involves harnessing and processing 

vast amounts of data, as the researchers 

perform genomics sequences for entire 

populations. The huge volume of data is 

managed through two Lenovo Genomics 

Optimisation and Scalability Tool (GOAST) 

nodes, which can process a batch of 32 

exomes (a specific part of the genome) in 

parallel in as little as three hours. 

The solution allows Novo Genomics to 

analyse an entire human genome in less than 

an hour. To put this achievement in context, 

doing so took up to 150 hours just a few years 

ago. Accelerating genome sequencing to this 

level could unlock a future of precision 

medicine, personalised to the individual, where 

genomic analysis is paired with data from 

edge devices including wearables to deliver 

personalised prescriptions and treatments, 

tailored to the individual's specific needs and 

genetic make-up. 

Data management enables powerful 

combinations of HPC and artificial 

intelligence and machine learning, which are 

opening new frontiers of discovery around the 

world, and enabling humanity to deal with 

the 'big' questions from incurable diseases to 

climate change. 

WHY DATA MANAGEMENT MATTERS 

For any business, data management and 

storage will grow in importance in the 

coming years, as it becomes ever more 

crucial to be able to take advantage of data 

in real time. Deploying AI at the edge will 

become a key differentiator for forwardthinking 

businesses, as will the ability to 

navigate this increasingly complex data 

landscape while keeping customer data 

secure. Data requirements never shrink: they 

always grow. Business leaders must be able 

to guarantee to their users that this vital data 

is available quickly to employees and 

applications across the business. 

Cutting-edge storage solutions can help 

business leaders to cut through their data, 

eliminate siloed ways of working, and 

empower them to find business insights from 

edge to cloud. Storage and data 

management are growing in importance in 

the IT landscape, becoming something that 

will be central to powering the world's most 

innovative businesses. Effective data 

management will also spark breakthroughs in 

fields such as precision medicine that could 

redefine the future of humanity. 

More info: www.lenovo.com 


@STMagAndAwards Jan/Feb 2024 

STORAGE 

MAGAZINE 

07

CASE STUDY: BRITVIC STUDY: 

GETTING THE MIX RIGHT 

BEVERAGE PRODUCER BRITVIC IS SAFEGUARDING ITS AWS CLOUD DATA AND ACHIEVING 66% FASTER 

DATA RECOVERY BY DEPLOYING VEEAM 

Since its launch in 1930, Britvic has 

grown from a small soft drinks 

manufacturer in Chelmsford, UK, 

into one of the most successful 

international beverage companies in the 

world. Today, Britvic is home to many 

iconic brands, including Robinsons, J2O, 

Gatorade, Tango, Ballygowan, Mountain 

Dew, 7UP and more. 

As one of the largest producers of 

beverages in the world, Britvic has 

perfected the recipe for running a thriving 

international company. Data is a critical 

ingredient in Britvic's success and drives 

almost every aspect of the business. For 

example, the company collects consumer 

preference data from Internet of Things 

(IoT) sensors installed on vending 

machines and soda fountain machines 

used by bars and restaurants. It then uses 

these insights to tailor how much flavour 

is added to drinks by adjusting tap 

container weights. 

Britvic is also pioneering a 'touchless' 

drink experience where customers can 

scan a QR code on its unique flavour 

taps using their smartphone, allowing 

them to dispense their drink of choice at 

the touch of a button. To manage all this 

data and its operations seamlessly, the 

company harnesses a sophisticated stack 

of deeply integrated solutions, including 

manufacturing, data transfer, ERP and 

scheduling applications. 

"If any of our core applications, systems 

or servers go offline - either due to a 

technical issue or cyberattack - the 

negative impact would ripple across 

Britvic," said Peter Brown, Director of IT 

Operations and Infrastructure, Britvic. 

"Keeping our core systems online is vital 

to ensure that we can continue to mix, 

bottle and deliver the drinks that our 

customers love." 

While Britvic's existing fully managed, 

on-premises data centre supported 

around-the-clock availability and 

excellent business continuity, the 

NetBackup software solution was unable 

to support Britvic's pivot to hybrid cloud 

infrastructure. As a result, the company 

was being forced to choose between 

expensive hardware investments and 

reliable disaster recovery protocols. 

"Over the past four years we've been 

gradually moving our technology stack 

into pay-as-you-use cloud services like 

Amazon Web Services (AWS) to reduce 

the total cost of ownership of our IT 

estate," said Peter Brown. "We intend to 

move as much as possible to the cloud, 




MAGAZINE

CASE CASE STUDY: BRITVIC 

"Moving to AWS cloud means that we can reduce the recovery surface from an entire 

data centre to single servers. Veeam made this possible, and we expect to achieve a 

1-hour recovery for some of our key systems in the months ahead." 

except for a few manufacturing 

applications, so taking a hybrid cloud 

approach was the best option for us. 

Unfortunately, NetBackup couldn't 

support this, so we decided that it was 

high time to look for a vendor that 

could." 

A SINGLE POINT OF CONTROL 

To unlock the agility of a hybrid cloud 

strategy, Britvic selected Veeam Data 

Platform and Veeam Backup for AWS. 

The company's IT team evaluated a range 

of vendors with cloud-compatible 

solutions before making the decision. 

"Veeam stood out because it offers a 

user-friendly, simple and flexible way to 

manage both on-premises and cloud 

backups from a single point of control," 

said Peter Brown. "From the start, the 

Veeam technical team was very 

transparent and detailed when answering 

our questions, which assured us that they 

would be a reliable, trustworthy partner." 

Britvic now uses Veeam to back up over 

150 virtual servers hosted in the Amazon 

Web Services (AWS) cloud as well as 30 

physical servers spread across different 

manufacturing sites located around the 

world. Combined, these virtual and 

physical servers store all of Britvic's data, 

including mission-critical systems such as 

its ERP, data integration pipelines, 

manufacturing systems, and consumer 

preference databases. 

Moving to a hybrid cloud infrastructure 

has also enabled Britvic to back up many 

of its key applications to single servers in 

AWS. As well as reducing Britvic's IT 

footprint, this has helped the company to 

achieve recovery times of less than 8 

hours - 66% faster than with its onpremises 

data centre. 

With Veeam Backup for AWS, Britvic can 

now automatically schedule backups for 

its Amazon services and create immutable 

copies of all AWS data, too. "I can sleep 

soundly at night thanks to the immutable 

backup feature in Veeam," said Peter 

Brown. "Knowing that we can quickly 

recover data from any given point in time 

using Veeam also lifts a weight off my 

shoulders." 

Impressed with the reliability of the 

solution, Britvic is currently exploring 

other Veeam capabilities. Peter Brown 

explained: "Veeam makes my job easier, 

because I know that we can easily and 

quickly integrate additional Veeam 

products and features into our existing 

environment if we want to in the future. 

What's more, Veeam helps us save time 

and effort by simplifying backup activities, 

which gives us more time to focus on 

driving innovation by exploring how we 

can adopt new technologies to support 

the business." 

To better manage cyber-security risk, 

Britvic uses the National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST) 

framework as its guide. Veeam is helping 

the company implement the framework 

effectively to strengthen its security 

posture. 

"Learning more about great security 

features in Veeam such as password loss 

protection and robust encryption has also 

prompted us to be even more security 

focused as an organisation," said Peter 

Brown. "For instance, we now post 

regular updates on the Britvic intranet to 

educate all employees on how to identify 

and avoid common ransomware traps - 

boosting awareness and improving our 

cyber-resiliency." 

SAVING TIME AND EFFORT 

Britvic's operations and infrastructure 

team can now achieve an 8-hour service 

level agreement for data recovery - 66% 

faster. "Moving to AWS cloud means that 

we can reduce the recovery surface from 

an entire data centre to single servers," 

said Peter Brown. "Veeam made this 

possible, and we expect to achieve a 1- 

hour recovery for some of our key 

systems in the months ahead." 

The Veeam solution also boosts cyberresiliency, 

helping Britvic to conform with 

the NIST cyber-security framework and 

protect its business from interruption. 

"Ransomware attacks are now common in 

all industries," added Brown. "We know 

that it is a matter of when we are struck, 

not if. When an attack happens, Veeam 

will help us to prevent data loss and 

dramatically reduce the damage that 

criminals could cause." 

Overall, Veeam saves customers like 

Britvic time and effort with simplified 

point-in-time recovery capabilities, 

freeing IT teams to focus on 

technological innovation. Today, Britvic 

can manage cloud and on-premises 

backup processes all from Veeam and 

quickly recover data from any given point 

in time with just a few clicks. As a result, 

Britvic's IT team now has more time to 

focus on product development. 

More info: www.veeam.com 



STORAGE 

MAGAZINE 

09

FEATURE: 

FEATURE: 2024 PREDICTIONS 

PREDICTABLY UNPREDICTABLE 

THE START OF A NEW YEAR BRINGS ANOTHER THOUGHT-PROVOKING SELECTION OF SUGGESTIONS, 

PREDICTIONS AND TRENDS FROM OUR EXPERTS ACROSS THE INDUSTRY 

Our regular start-of-year roundup of 

predictions from across the sector 

usually ends up being something of 

a 'shopping list' of ideas around most of the 

emerging technology or business trends of the 

time. To an extent that has happened again 

this year, but it is safe to say that for 2024 

there has been a distinct focus on two areas 

that are attracting the attention of almost all of 

our commentators to the exclusion of 

everything else: AI and cyber protection. 

Storage of course is absolutely central to the 

growth of both of these topics, so it should be 

no surprise to see them mentioned so often. 

Nonetheless we have tried to also incorporate 

some other subject areas as well, so there is 

likely to be food for thought for everyone. 

INTELLIGENCE FAILINGS? 

"AI has certainly taken the world by storm in 

2023, and I think in the coming year we'll see 

more organisations embracing how they can 

use it to take the biggest advantage of their 

own data," says Guillaume Crapart of 

Quantum. "Organisations have vast amounts 

of data now, and according to Gartner, 80- 

90% of all new enterprise data is unstructured. 

Trying to find something specific within that 

data is like looking for a needle in a haystack. 

AI can help you do this, by tagging your data 

based on its metadata - it can then find any of 

these tags when you search in a matter of 

moments, saving hours and hours of manual 

effort from employees." 

Brock Mowry of Tintri notes: "Highly 

autonomous, evolved container platforms will 

play a crucial role in AI infrastructure in 2024, 

allowing for increased efficiency and flexibility, 

reducing total application TCO. However, the 

complexity of container infrastructure will pose 

a significant challenge for many enterprise IT 

teams. To bridge this knowledge gap, AI 

platform vendors will need to invest in userfriendly 

solutions and educational resources. In 

2024, the ability to manage and deliver 

resource granularity will be paramount. 




MAGAZINE

FEATURE: 


"Cyber protection - integrated cybersecurity and backup - has 

become table stakes for cyber defences. Given the widespread 

use of AI and automation, I predict that more multi-layered 

defence tactics will become the norm to avoid large-scale 

attacks that are customised through AI."- Gaidar Magdanurov, Acronis 

Monolithic, legacy-based platforms will be 

replaced by 'workload' architected public and 

private AI platform solutions." 

Jim Liddle of Nasuni adds: "The rush for an 

AI advantage is surfacing deeper data 

infrastructure issues that have been mounting 

for years. Before they can integrate AI 

effectively, organisations will first have to 

address how they collect, store, and manage 

their unstructured data, particularly at the 

edge. AI doesn't work in a vacuum and it's just 

one part of the broader data intelligence 

umbrella. In the coming year, companies 

across the board will be forced to come to 

terms with the data quality, governance, 

access, and storage requirements of AI before 

they can move forward with digital 

transformation or improvement programmes 

to give them the desired competitive edge." 

According to Patrick Smith of Pure Storage, 

the demand for generative AI solutions will 

spark a new surge in container adoption: "To 

cope with the demands of AI, data scientists 

and developers need an agile platform that 

allows them to keep pace with business 

demands. Increasingly, Kubernetes and 

containers are being seen as the ideal 

platform for this purpose. There's a growing 

realisation that containers are fundamental to 

AI at almost all stages, in that every AI tool is 

packaged in containers. They are also vital to 

the success of the hard part of AI - training 

Large Language Models." 

AI's Large Language Models (LLM) of course 

take up vast amounts of storage space, so it is 

no surprise that this is seen as a potential 

market differentiator for tape solutions 

providers. Matt Ninesling of Spectra Logic 

comments: "At the heart of AI are LLM 

algorithms that require massive amounts of 

data to mine, process, train and essentially 

'learn' from. In 2024, we will see LLM data 

archives become a new use case for digital 

tape… In addition to the massive amount of 

data required by LLMs, the output of AI must 

also be retained in case an organisational 

decision leads to possible litigation. With the 

introduction of object-based tape technology, 

organisations can implement LLM data 

archives that leverage the density, costeffectiveness 

and reliability of tape storage. 

Organisations would struggle to store these 

multi-petabyte archives on any other medium." 

For Peer Software's Jimmy Tam, AI is not 

being adopted as quickly as the industry has 

been predicting, because of a lack of 

'productisation - but that will change in 2024: 

"Users simply don't know how to realise the 

technologies' full potential. Beyond ChatGPT, 

which is easy to use and incredibly popular, 

there's no real out-of-the-box product for 

enterprise storage customers. So unless 

organisations have a data scientist on hand to 

help them navigate the intricacies of AI and 

ML, they're very likely to hold off when it comes 

to implementing any kind of solution. This 

presents a great opportunity for the storage 

industry and the smart companies are already 

starting to think about it. Through 2024, we'll 

see the beginning of the productisation of AI 

and ML. Ready-to-use packages will be 

developed so that users can easily understand 

what the technologies can help them achieve, 

while being straightforward to set up and run. 

Then watch, as adoption increases." 

For others, that adoption is already well 

under way. "As AI becomes more sophisticated 

and its application more widespread - from 

consumer uses like ChatGPT to impactful 

enterprise implementations like automated 

service delivery and anomaly detection - it's no 

longer the presence of AI that's notable, but 

the application of it," says Jeff Stewart of 

SolarWinds. "Thanks in large part to impressive 

strides in the advancement of AI and machine 

learning this year, enterprises are better 

equipped than ever to solve, or even avoid, 

costly hits to their systems, services, or bottom 

line in 2024." 

Not everyone we spoke to was entirely 

convinced though, by the AI buzz. "There's a lot 

of hype right now around generative AI, to put 

it mildly," says Syniti CTO Rex Ahlstrom. 



STORAGE 

MAGAZINE 

11

FEATURE: 


"These advanced storage systems will prioritise 

continuous replication to air-gapped storage, effectively 

isolating critical data from potential cyber-attacks. This 

strategy will be key in safeguarding against 

ransomware and targeted cyber-attacks, ensuring data 

integrity and business continuity even during cyber 

incidents."- Aron Brand, CTERA 

"However, all of this hype means that for some 

organisations, adoption of this technology is 

more of a matter of 'keeping up with the Jones' 

rather than because it is truly the best solution 

for a specific problem they are trying to solve. 

As a result, we're likely to see a lot of money 

invested in failed generative AI projects. It's the 

shiny new object and many CIOs and other 

senior leaders may feel pressured to be able to 

say they have a generative AI program in 

place. The key to limiting these failed projects 

will lie in really ensuring that your organisation 

understands the specific reason for using 

generative AI, that it's tied to a defined business 

outcome and there's a method established for 

measuring the success of the investment." 

PROTECT AND SURVIVE 

The other topic on almost everyone's lips for 

2024 was, as we mentioned, cyber attacks 

and data protection. "IT admins will need to 

rise to new challenges in data protection with 

increased vigilance, for example, by improving 

infrastructure visibility with continuous IT 

monitoring tools, and strengthening access 

and identity controls across the infrastructure," 

says Sergei Serdyuk of Nakivo. "Organisations 

that achieve ransomware resiliency in 2024 

will have successfully applied anti-ransomware 

measures to backup data, including tiering 

and immutable storage, as well as anomaly 

detection tools to detect dormant malware in 

backup data." 

Jim McGann of Index Engines describes how 

storage vendors are bolstering their platforms 

with advanced cybersecurity features: "Going 

beyond conventional measures like 

immutability and authentication, these 

enhancements aim to restore data to 

operational status while minimising loss. This 

entails continuous data inspection, ensuring 

integrity, reporting on any signs of corruption 

in real time, and quickly restoring the last 

known unaltered version of data post-attack. 

This convergence of security and storage, 

'cyberstorage,' is emerging and gaining 

traction, not just in 2024 but for the 

foreseeable future." 

Nasuni's Jim Liddle comments: "Preventing 

the theft, encryption, misuse, or exposure of 

sensitive data will remain a daily concern for 

organisations indefinitely. Multi-layer 

protection has quickly become a matter of 

hygiene and even companies that invested in 

sophisticated, global ransomware protection 

products will need a belt and braces 

approach in the form of network, application, 

and access security, coupled with rapid data 

recovery solutions." 

We will start to see storage vendors pivot 

towards developing 'cyber-hardened' storage 

solutions in response to the escalating cyber 

threat landscape, says Ctera's Aron Brand: 

"These advanced storage systems will 

prioritise continuous replication to airgapped 

storage, effectively isolating critical 

data from potential cyber-attacks. This 

strategy will be key in safeguarding against 

ransomware and targeted cyber-attacks, 

ensuring data integrity and business 

continuity even during cyber incidents." 

Simultaneously, predictive threat detection 

powered by - you guessed it - AI, will 

become integral to these storage solutions, 

says Brand: "AI's advanced anomaly 

recognition capabilities will enable early 

detection of potential threats, offering a 

proactive defence mechanism. This will be 

complemented by built-in disaster recovery 

features, ensuring swift response and 

recovery in the event of a breach." 

In recent years, the tech industry has made 

tremendous strides in protecting data against 

all manner of threats, including increasingly 

destructive malware and ransomware, argues 

Giorgio Regni of Scality, exemplified by the 

rise of immutability in data protection and 

data storage solutions, especially for backup 

data: "While data protection and restoration 

are a major cornerstone that serves as a 

critical last line of defence in a layered 

cybersecurity infrastructure, new 

advancements in AI-generated ransomware 

detection capabilities will emerge in data 

protection and storage solutions in 2024." 




MAGAZINE

FEATURE: 


"There's a lot of hype right now around generative AI, to 

put it mildly. However, all of this hype means that for some 

organisations, adoption of this technology is more of a 

matter of 'keeping up with the Jones' rather than because it 

is truly the best solution for a specific problem they are 

trying to solve. As a result, we're likely to see a lot of money 

invested in failed generative AI projects." - Rex Ahlstrom, Syniti 

Gaidar Magdanurov of Acronis described 

what he calls 'holistic cyber protection': "Cyber 

protection - integrated cybersecurity and 

backup - has become table stakes for cyber 

defences. Given the widespread use of AI and 

automation, I predict that more multi-layered 

defence tactics will become the norm to avoid 

large-scale attacks that are customised 

through AI. This includes integrating various 

measures, such as prevention with vulnerability 

assessment and patch management, detection 

with Endpoint Detection and Response 

solutions, remediation including recovery from 

a backup, and forensics using the data from 

backups." 

Brock Mowry of Tintri adds a sobering note: 

"Bad actors are doing their R&D. 2024 will see 

new and undiscovered attack vectors 

leveraging the intelligence and power of AI. 

This will be the new adversary of blue teams in 

the enterprise." 

THE HARD DISK DEBATE CONTINUES 

What about the ever-present discussion of 

hard disk versus flash? Declining flash prices 

are at last likely to mean a broad-scale 

transition towards all-flash object storage 

systems. Steve Leeper of Datadobi says: "As 

flash storage becomes more financially 

accessible, its integration into object storage 

infrastructures is likely to become the norm, 

offering the swift performance that traditional 

HDD-based object storage and scalability that 

NAS systems lack. This evolution will be 

particularly beneficial for handling the large 

datasets integral to AI workloads, which 

necessitate rapid throughput and scalability. 

Consequently, a data mobility wave may be 

seen, with datasets and workloads being 

transferred from outdated and sluggish storage 

architectures to cutting-edge all-flash object 

storage solutions." 

Not everyone agrees though. Brett Davis of 

iXsystems comments: "Despite the wishful 

thinking from flash-only vendors, hard drives in 

the data centre will maintain their significant 

cost advantage and continue to store the most 

data. As a provider of both all-flash and hybrid 

storage, we believe hybrid disk/flash storage is 

still best suited in many circumstances.. Allflash 

and disk-only configurations definitely 

have their places, though we predict hybrid 

storage will continue to remain the most 

popular choice through 2024 and beyond. It 

could be another decade until flash storage 

can be produced in enough volume to rival 

the cost-effectiveness of hard drives." 

Toshiba's Rainer Kaese argues, perhaps 

predictably, for the hard disk: "Hard disk drives 

are a tried and trusted data storage technology 

that has stood the test of time… At present, 

HDDs maintain a gap in cost per capacity with 

flash storage of around a factor of seven. This 

advantage remains the lifeline of the HDD. 

There is little point in adding more capacity if 

costs rise exponentially. Indeed, these efforts 

mean HDDs may reach 40 or even 50 

terabytes without approaching comparable 

costs with flash storage." 

Giorgio Regni of Scality agrees: "While flash 

media and solid state drives (SSDs) have clear 

benefits when it comes to latency, are making 

major strides in density, and the cost per GB is 

declining, we see HDDs holding a 3-5x 

density/cost advantage over high-density SSDs 

through 2028. Therefore, the current call for 

HDD end-of-life is akin to the tape-is-dead 

arguments from 20 years ago. In a similar 

way, HDDs will likely survive for the 

foreseeable future as they continue to provide 

workload-specific value." 

GREENER OUTLOOKS 

Toshiba's Kaese also brought up a topic 

touched upon by several of our experts, 

sustainability and energy efficiency: 

"Regarding energy efficiency, if you want to 

spin a storage disk at a certain speed and 

access it at a specific rate, you inevitably 

come up against the laws of physics, typically 

requiring about 10 watts per unit. Helium 

technology launched several years back 

helped cut that figure to around 7-8 watts. 

But the only way to become more energyefficient 

than that is to introduce more 



STORAGE 

MAGAZINE 

13

FEATURE: 


"A growing number of data centres are full, and don't 

have the space or power available to deploy new 

platforms. To optimise the sustainability of existing data 

centre footprints, we'll see operators looking to switch to 

new, more power efficient technology, with smaller 

space and cooling requirements. This is in essence 

extending the life of the data centre - an essential factor 

when considering the need for new technologies in the 

wake of the rise of AI."- Fred Lherault, Pure Storage 

capacity for those 10 watts - which recent 

advances have helped deliver. Also, data 

centre engineers are thinking about how to 

use the HDD in a more power-optimised way, 

possibly through idle or power-down modes." 

More sustainable hardware such as highcapacity 

HDDs can help organisations design 

and operate a data centre with a lower 

environmental impact, argues Uwe Kemmer 

of WD. "The new generation of highest 

capacity drives that utilise shingled magnetic 

recording (SMR) are a significant step forward 

in meeting data centre customers' 

sustainability targets. Another benefit of using 

higher capacity drives is that data centre 

customers can install a smaller quantity of low 

power, higher-capacity HDDs rather than a 

higher quantity of smaller-capacity HDDs to 

store the same amount of data, which helps 

them reduce power and cooling costs." 

"AI and its downstream impact on data 

centre densities and power demands have 

become the dominant storylines in our 

industry," adds Vertiv's Giordano Albertazzi. 

"Finding ways to help customers both 

support the demand for AI and reduce 

energy consumption and greenhouse gas 

emissions is a significant challenge requiring 

new collaborations between data centres, 

chip and server manufacturers, and 

infrastructure providers." 

This idea is expanded on by Eric Herzog of 

Infinidat, who brings us back to AI: "The 

blossoming of green storage will be 

demonstrated in 2024 by reduced energy 

consumed to power storage systems, while 

still protecting data. We'll see bigger capacity 

systems being installed that take up less 

space than traditional arrays… Enterprises 

will increasingly turn to AI for the capabilities 

to optimise storage capacity and streamline 

management, resulting in more efficiency. 

Gartner predicts that by 2025 half of all data 

centres will deploy AI/ML to increase 

efficiency by up to 30%. AI will also be used 

to optimise cooling." 

Fred Lherault of Pure Storage says: "A 

growing number of data centres are full, and 

don't have the space or power available to 

deploy new platforms. To optimise the 

sustainability of existing data centre footprints, 

we'll see operators looking to switch to new, 

more power efficient technology, with smaller 

space and cooling requirements. This is in 

essence extending the life of the data centre - 

an essential factor when considering the need 

for new technologies in the wake of the rise 

of AI." 

Mark Molyneux of Cohesity goes further still, 

arguing that most if not all organisations need 

to go on a 'data diet' in 2024: "We know that 

we live in a time of climate emergency, and 

yet there are no concerted efforts amongst 

enterprises or the IT industry to drive down 

those volumes of Data. Efficiency and 

management alone do not solve the issues 

that we are just storing too much of 

everything, for too long." 

He says firms should consolidate data on a 

common platform instead of operating dozens 

or even hundreds of separate silos. There, this 

data can be further reduced using standard 

techniques such as deduplication and 

compression, with reduction rates of 96% 

possible as a result. Then, he says: "Use AI to 

index and classify data according to its 

content and value for the company. Everything 

that is without value can be deleted. 2024 

should be the year when we don't end up with 

more, but take responsibility to reach the end 

of the year with less." ST 




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TECHNOLOGY: RDMA 

AVOID MEMORY BOTTLENECKS TO 

MASTER AI WORKLOADS 

MICHAEL MCNERNEY,VP MARKETING AND NETWORK SECURITY AT SUPERMICRO, EXAMINES HOW 

ENTERPRISES ARE OPTIMISING THEIR GPU SERVERS TO BETTER MANAGE THE MASSIVE DATA STORAGE 

REQUIREMENTS OF AI APPLICATIONS 

Modern enterprises are gaining 

considerable competitive advantages 

by embracing AI and machine 

learning. Large language models such as 

ChatGPT, machine learning analyses based on 

enormous sets of training and real data and 

complex 3D and finite element models and 

simulations have at least this much in 

common: They benefit significantly from 

expedited access to storage across any kind of 

tiered model you might care to use. 

That's one major reason why so many 

enterprises and service providers have turned 

to GPU servers to handle large, complicated 

datasets and the workloads that consume 

them. They're much more capable of handling 

those workloads and can complete such tasks 

more quickly than conventional servers with 

more typical storage configurations (e.g. local 

RAM and NVMe SSDs, with additional storage 

tiers on the LAN or in the cloud). 

The secret to boosting throughput is reduced 

latency and better storage bandwidth. These 

translate directly into improved productivity and 

capability, primarily through clever IO and 

networking techniques that rely on direct and 

remote memory access. Faster model 

training and job completion mean AIpowered 

applications can be deployed 

more quickly, and get things done faster, 

speeding time to value. 

GIVING GPUS DIRECT MEMORY 

ACCESS 

Direct memory access (DMA) has been 

used to speed IO since the early days of 

computing. Basically, DMA involves 

memory-to-memory transfers across a bus 

(or another interface of some kind) from 

one device to another. It works by copying a 

range of memory addresses directly from the 

sender's memory to the receiver's memory (or 

between two parties for two-way transfers). This 

feature takes the CPU out of the process and 

speeds transfer by reducing the number of 

copy operations involved (so that the CPU 

need not copy the sender's data into its 

memory, then copy that data from its 

memory to the receiver's memory). 

Indeed, DMA performance 

on a single system is limited 

only by the speed of the bus (or other interface) 

that links the sending and receiving devices 

involved in a data transfer. For PCIe 4.0, that's 

16 giga-transfers/second (GT/s), with double 

that amount for PCIe 5.0 (32 GT/s). Data rates 

are naturally slower because of encoding and 

packaging overheads, but the rated bandwidth 

for these two PCIe versions is 64 Gbps (4.0) 

and 128 Gbps (5.0), respectively. That's fast! 

Remote DMA (RDMA) extends the capability 

of DMA within a single computer to work 

between a pair of devices across a network 

connection. RDMA is typically based on a 

unique application programming interface 

(API) that works with specialised networking 

hardware and software to provide as many of 

the same benefits of local DMA as underlying 

network technology allows. 

There are three prevalent types of RDMA 

technologies: 

NVIDIA NVLink uses the highest-speed 

proprietary interfaces and switch technologies 

to speed data transfers between GPUs on a 

high-speed network. It currently clocks the 

highest performance on standard MLPerf 

Training v3.0 benchmarks for any technology. 

A single NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPU 

supports up to 18 NVLink connections for up to 

900 Gbps aggregate (7 times the effective 

speed of PCIe 5.0). 

For applications that require significant GPU 

to GPU communication, a server based on 

either NVIDIA NVLink or an OAM baseboard. 

In these setups each GPU can communicate 

with other GPUs without having to use the 

slower PCI lanes back to the CPU. 

Generative AI is the primary use of this type 




MAGAZINE

TECHNOLOGY: RDMA 

"The secret to boosting throughput is reduced latency and better storage bandwidth. 

These translate directly into improved productivity and capability, primarily through 

clever IO and networking techniques that rely on direct and remote memory access. 

Faster model training and job completion mean AI-powered applications can be 

deployed more quickly, and get things done faster, speeding time to value." 

access across all three preceding networking 

technologies. Each offers a different priceperformance 

trade-off, where more cost 

translates into greater speed and lower 

latency. Organisations can choose the 

underlying connection type that best fits their 

budgets and needs, understanding that each 

option represents a specific combination of 

price and performance upon which they can 

rely. As various AI- or ML-based (and other 

data- and compute-intensive applications) 

run on such a server, they can exploit the 

tiered architecture of GPU storage. 

of interconnect between GPUs. 

InfiniBand (IB) is a high-speed networking 

standard overseen by the InfiniBand Trade 

Association (IBTA) widely implemented on highperformance 

networks. Its highest specified 

data rates run up to 1,200 Gb/s (with 12 links) 

for the NDR specification as of 2022. 

InfiniBand is a primary network interconnect 

for applications where server to server 

communication is essential. Many HPC 

codes,which are distributed across many 

machines need the high performance 

bandwidth and low latency of IB. In the AI 

realm, IB would be used more from the 

training phase. 

Ethernet is a standard networking technology 

with many variants, including seldom-used TbE 

(~125 GBps) and more common 400 GbE 

(50 GBps). It has the advantages of being 

more affordable, widely deployed, and familiar 

technology in many data centres. 

Ethernet is an option for data centres where a 

variety of servers are used. For example, large 

amounts of data for AI on GPU specific servers 

is needed, but the storage servers networking is 

ethernet. Ethernet is more universally available 

from multiple vendors than InfiniBand and the 

performance of ethernet is growing. Ethernet 

can be used in many environments, including 

standard office environments where AI 

inferencing is being used, and connection to 

laptops and client devices is important. 

RDMA technologies can support GPU data 

Because AI and ML applications need both 

low latency and high bandwidth, RDMA 

helps extend the local advantages of DMA 

to network resources (subject to the 

underlying connections involved). This 

feature enables speedy access to external 

data via memory-to-memory transfers across 

devices (GPU on one end, storage device 

on the other). Working with NVLink, 

InfiniBand, or some high-speed Ethernet 

variant, the remote adapter transfers data 

from memory in a remote system to memory 

on some local GPU. 

The real advantage of using GPU servers for 

AI, ML, and other high-demand workloads 

(e.g., 3D or finite element analysis, 

simulations, and so forth) is that they enable 

the separation of infrastructure components 

from application loads. This saves 20% to 

30% of CPU cycles currently devoted to 

infrastructure access and management, frees 

up resources and speeds access by pushing 

IO functions into hardware. 

More info: www.supermicro.com 



STORAGE 

MAGAZINE 

17

RESEARCH: VIDEO ANALYTICS 

AI TRANSFORMS SMART VIDEO ANALYTICS 

NEW RESEARCH SHOWS AI IS IMPACTING SMART VIDEO CAPABILITIES AND WILL ONLY CONTINUE TO 

DRIVE BUSINESS OPTIMISATION 

Smart video analytics is a powerful 

technology that processes and analyses 

video data to gain insights and make 

data-driven business decisions. With the rise of 

artificial intelligence and AI-driven features, 

smart video is becoming increasingly popular 

in Europe. According to Western Digital's latest 

study on the use of smart video systems in 

European organisations, more and more local 

businesses will adopt this technology in the 

next 12 months. 

Of the 1,362 companies surveyed in the UK, 

the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France and 

Spain, a quarter (25%) are willing to implement 

the technology and invest a significant amount 

(43%: up to $100,000) in their new systems. 

It does not come as a surprise that the interest 

in AI-enabled smart video and its use cases has 

increased significantly in recent years and has 

led to a surge in companies' data requirements. 

Interestingly, AI is already having a significant 

impact on smart video capabilities, especially 

when it comes to advanced system features. 

When asked how the proliferation of AI has 

changed the elements of 

smart 

video, respondents cited scalability of operations 

(44%), system efficiency (44%), customisation of 

surveillance (44%) and analytics (43%) as the 

most important factors. To meet these changed 

factors and keep up with the evolution of 

cameras, AI-advanced features, and data 

storage innovations, companies must adapt and 

scale their storage systems accordingly, 

depending on the use case. 

"Today, cameras not only record in 4K and 

deliver multiple video streams, but also support 

real-time data analysis at device level thanks to 

on-camera AI chips. They are increasingly 

delivering media-rich, detailed and sharp data 

recorded at a minimum of 24 frames per 

second, doubling or even tripling the storage 

capacity required by organisations", says 

Darragh O'Toole, Product Marketing Manager 

of Western Digital, Europe. 

At the edge, where most of European 

businesses' data lives (50%), the adoption of AI 

and 4K video is driving demand for high 

capacity, high performance, and high 

endurance storage solutions to store everincreasing 

amounts of data and enable long, 

always-on recording - especially necessary in 

the case of security, which remains the most 

relevant use case for European businesses. 

Many cameras operate 24/7, 365 

days a year to prevent theft (34%), 

investigate incidents (33%), and 

monitor employees' health 

and safety (32%). In recent 

years, however, there is 

also an increasing 

number of newer use 

cases at the edge, 

like real-time 

alerts (23%) and 

heatmapping 

(22%), that 

enable customers to optimise their business. 

In retail, for example, smart cameras can 

help in many ways - from shop layout to 

improving the customer experience by 

detecting in-store movement. 

With AI-powered insights, shops can accurately 

count and record the number of people 

entering or leaving a shop, helping them to 

better plan their business and optimise displays. 

These examples show that edge data is 

becoming even more business-critical and calls 

for longevity and reliability. In addition to this, 

this information is also prompting European 

companies to back up their camera data in 

case of a sudden loss of network availability. To 

this end, companies in the region prefer a local 

storage solution such as a central data centre 

(48%) to the cloud. 

When looking at the core, high-quality data 

streams require storage that is engineered with 

advanced capabilities to improve ATA 

streaming, reduce frame loss, and improve 

overall video playback. To support AI 

workloads and allow customers to tap into the 

power of deep learning applications, data 

centres and the cloud require specialised and 

robust storage that delivers high-capacity and 

high performance. 

O'Toole concludes: "Every organisation has 

different requirements for its smart video storage 

depending on the use case. What they all have 

in common, however, is that they must meet the 

new capacity and scalability demands of their 

systems for the future. Unsurprisingly, the 

majority of organisations surveyed (53%) are 

increasingly opting for high storage capacity of 

between 13 and 22 TB. This way, they can 

equip their systems for future data needs and 

optimise their businesses to meet challenges 

and opportunities posed by AI." 

More info: www.westerndigital.com 




MAGAZINE

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www.qnap.com 

Copyright © 2022 QNAP Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

CASE STUDY: 

CASE STUDY: CANCER RESEARCH UK CAMBRIDGE INSTITUTE 

ENABLING WORLD-CLASS SCIENCE 

CANCER RESEARCH UK 

CAMBRIDGE INSTITUTE HAS 

SOUGHT TO EXPAND ITS 

UNIQUE STORAGE 

INFRASTRUCTURE IN ORDER TO 

BETTER SUPPORT THE EVER- 

INCREASING VOLUME OF DATA 

GENERATED IN ITS VITAL 

CANCER RESEARCH 

Cancer Research UK Cambridge 

Institute is a leading research 

institution dedicated to advancing 

our understanding of cancer and 

developing innovative solutions for 

cancer prevention, diagnosis, and 

treatment. 

As one of the largest cancer research 

facilities in Europe, CRUK Cambridge 

Institute provides an unrivalled 

biomedical research environment, 

bringing together the world-class science 

of the University of Cambridge with 

clinical and industrial partners at the 

Cambridge Biomedical Campus. 

Core funding from Cancer Research UK 

enables the institute's twenty research 

groups to drive forward research into 

critical questions about the prevention, 

diagnosis and treatment of cancer. 

As part of its ongoing efforts to enhance 

research capabilities, CRUK Cambridge 

Institute sought to expand its unique 

storage infrastructure to support the everincreasing 

volume of data generated in 

cancer research. Zstor GmbH 

collaborated successfully with the institute 

to find a tailored solution that met their 

specific requirements. 

CRUK Cambridge Institute faced a 

pressing challenge: the need to extend its 

storage infrastructure, specifically for its 

Lustre Object Storage Servers (OSSs). 

With the growing demand for storage 

capacity and data processing speed, the 

institute sought a solution that could not 

only provide high performance but also 

ensure data redundancy for data integrity. 

UNIQUE REQUIREMENTS 

In order to address this challenge, CRUK 

Cambridge Institute turned to Zstor 

GmbH, a renowned technology solutions 

provider, to find an optimal solution. 

Zstor recommended a comprehensive 

storage solution that could satisfy the 

unique requirements of CRUK 

Cambridge Institute. 




MAGAZINE

CASE STUDY: 

CASE STUDY: CANCER RESEARCH UK CAMBRIDGE INSTITUTE 

"By partnering with Zstor & DapuStor and implementing a high-performance, 

redundant storage solution, CRUK Cambridge Institute successfully addressed 

their storage infrastructure needs. The solution not only met these needs but also 

allowed for more flexible analysis and workflows to be considered due to the 

higher IO throughput." 

The CIB224NVG4 2-Node Server, 

designed by Zstor, features a 2-node 

server configuration in a dense 2U format 

with 24 DapuStor NVMe Gen4 SSDs. This 

configuration enhances storage capacity 

and redundancy for CRUK Cambridge 

Institute, ensuring data availability even 

during hardware failures. 

In the high-performance computing 

(HPC) domain, this technology is wellsuited 

for providing the Lustre OSS/OST 

layers. It facilitates fast NVMe switched 

access to the Object Storage Targets on 

the storage array from the two internal 

Object Storage Servers. These servers 

are accessible over a 200Gb/s 

InfiniBand network, optimising data flow 

within the system. 

Zstor's selection of DapuStor Roealsen5 

NVMe Gen4 SSDs aligns with the 

customer's requirements for speedy and 

robust data storage. The DapuStor 

Roealsen5 series, designed on DapuStor 

DP600 controller firmware with 3D eTLC 

NAND Flash, results in industry-leading 

SSDs. These SSDs offer high speed, 

superior reliability, low latency, and 

excellent power efficiency, contributing to 

an optimised total cost of ownership 

(TCO) for enterprise IT, cloud facilities, 

manufacturing, and AI applications. 

Alfred Chase Hui of DapuStor 

commented: "Excited to be part of the 

team with Zstor in the formation of the 

tailored storage solution for CRUK 

Cambridge Institute. The unique 

combination of DapuStor Roealsen5 

series features with high speed, superior 

reliability, low latency, and excellent 

power efficiency, bringing optimised TCO 

to the solution." 

POSITIVE OUTCOMES 

The implementation of this storage 

solution at CRUK Cambridge Institute 

yielded significant results, positively 

impacting the institute's research 

capabilities and infrastructure. Key 

outcomes include: 

 

Improved Research Tasks: The 

integration of the CIB224NVG4 server 

with DapuStor Roealsen5 NVMe Gen4 

SSDs significantly improved data 

processing and storage performance. 

This enhancement enabled researchers 

at CRUK Cambridge Institute to 

accelerate their HPC research tasks, 

process larger datasets, and perform 

more complex analyses. 

Redundancy and Data Integrity: The 2- 

node server configuration provided 

redundancy, ensuring data integrity 

and reducing the risk of data loss in 

case of hardware issues. This 

enhanced the reliability of their storage 

infrastructure. 

 

Satisfaction with Consulting, 

Implementation, and Support: CRUK 

Cambridge Institute expressed their 

satisfaction with the consulting, 

implementation, and support services 

provided by Zstor and DapuStor. The 

collaboration and expertise offered by 

Zstor & DapuStor were integral to the 

successful implementation of the 

storage solution. 

THE VALUE OF TAILORED 

SOLUTIONS 

By partnering with Zstor & DapuStor and 

implementing a high-performance, 

redundant storage solution, CRUK 

Cambridge Institute successfully 

addressed their storage infrastructure 

needs. The solution not only met these 

needs but also allowed for more flexible 

analysis and workflows to be considered 

due to the higher IO throughput. 

This successful implementation highlights 

the value of tailored technology solutions 

in research institutions and the positive 

impact such solutions can have on the 

efficiency and effectiveness of research 

activities. Collaboration with expert 

technology providers, like Zstor, plays a 

crucial role in supporting cutting-edge 

research initiatives. 

Helmut Kopel of Zstor concluded: 

"Collaborating with CRUK Cambridge 

Institute on this project was a rewarding 

experience. Our tailored storage solution 

not only met but exceeded their 

expectations. We are proud to contribute 

to the advancement of cancer research 

through innovative technology solutions." 

More info: www.zstor.de 



STORAGE 

MAGAZINE 

21

EVENT: 

EVENT: TECH SHOW LONDON 2024 

A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS 

THE SPEAKER LINEUP FOR TECH SHOW LONDON 2024 AND ITS FIVE 

CO-LOCATED EVENTS IS NOW LIVE, AND FEATURES AN IMPRESSIVE 

COHORT OF C-LEVEL LEADERS FROM SOME OF THE WORLD'S TOP 

COMPANIES 

Registration is live (see URL below) for the 

award-winning Tech Show London, which 

brings together five leading events: Cloud 

Expo Europe, DevOps Live, Cloud & Cyber 

Security Expo, Big Data & AI World, and Data 

Centre World. 

CLOUD EXPO EUROPE 

Cloud Expo Europe will explore the evolving 

landscape of cloud computing, which is set to 

become a business necessity by 2028. The event 

will highlight the importance of multi-cloud and 

hybrid strategies, which 85% of large-sized 

companies are expected to adopt by 2024. 

Speakers at Cloud Expo Europe will include: 

Georgina Owens, Chief Technology Officer at 

William Hill, Ange Johnson De Wet, Head of 

Engineering at NatWest, Rowan Preston, Cloud 

Platform Manager at Kingfisher, Niklas 

Gustavsson, Chief Architect and VP of 

Engineering at Spotify, and Katya Denike, Chief 

Product Officer at Holland & Barrett. 

DEVOPS LIVE 

DevOps Live will focus on the benefits of 

enhanced collaboration and automation, 

including the integration of AI and Machine 

Learning in software development, a trend that 

has set the stage for more predictive analytics 

and automated testing. 

The event will also address the alignment of 

DevOps with cloud and microservices 

architectures, and the continuous evolution of 

quality assurance practices in the DevOps 

workflow. 

Speakers at DevOps Live will include: Leo 

Kraan, Director of Developer Experience at 

Booking.com, David Keane, former Global 

Head of DevOps Transformation at HSBC, 

Giada Binelli, Global Product Owner at 

Heineken, Mike Walker, Head of Cloud and 

DevOps at Canada Life, and Julia Khromova, 

DevSecOps Excellence Lead at Pepsico. 

CLOUD & CYBER SECURITY EXPO 

Evolving threats will be addressed at Cloud & 

Cyber Security Expo, including the increasing 

use of zero-day vulnerabilities in extortion attacks 

and the integration of Generative AI into social 

engineering campaigns. 

The widespread adoption of passwordless 

authentication methods, such as biometrics, as 

well as the closer collaboration of CSOs, 

CISOs, and CEOs in budgeting for cybersecurity 

will be key topics of discussion. 

Speakers at Cloud & Cyber Security Expo will 

include: Zechariah Akinpelu, CISO at Unity 

Bank plc, Mike Bray, CISO at Monzo Bank, 

Richard Plumb, former Head of Cyber Threat 

Operations at the UK Home Office, Chris Traill, 

Head of Information Security and IT Operations 

at Kurt Geiger, Dorian Skeete, Head of 

Information Security at Boohoo Group plc, and 

Ed Parsons, Director (UK and Europe) at ISC2. 

BIG DATA & AI WORLD 

The AI age will be unpicked, with conversations 

on Generative AI, data optimisation, decisionmaking, 

and regulations. The trend towards 

open source AI, enabling organisations to build 

on existing code to reduce costs and expand 

access, will also be a significant point of focus. 

Speakers at Big Data & AI World will include: 

Alexis Jean-Baptiste, Chief Data & Analytics 

Officer at L'Oreal, Imran Shafi OBE, Director of 

AI Policy at the Department for Science, 

Innovation and Technology, Hany Choueiri, 

Interim Head of Data at Sainsbury's Bank, and 

Kinnari Ladha, Chief Data Officer at Manchester 

Airport Group. 

DATA CENTRE WORLD 

Data Centre World will address the increasing 

demand for AI expertise in data centre 

operations, as well as the looming 'silver 

tsunami'. 

The growing real-world application of quantum 

computing technologies, adoption of edge 

computing, sustainability imperatives, and the 

evolution of data centre designs to 

accommodate large AI workloads and 

cybersecurity demands will also be covered. 

Speakers at Data Centre World will include: 

Dame Dawn Childs, CEO at Pure Data Centres 

Group, Courtney Popp, Director of Education 

Programs at Infrastructure Masons, Riccardo 

Degli Effetti, Chair of the techUK Skills Data 

Centres Programme and VP for EMEA 

Operational Readiness & Site Delivery at VIRTUS 

Data Centres, Tor Björn Minde, Head of ICE 

Datacenter unit at RISE Research Institutes of 

Sweden, and Stephen Bowes-Phipps, Vice 

President for EMEA Data Centres and Cloud at 

State Street. 

MORE TO COME 

Even more globally-recognised names are set to 

be revealed for the Tech Show London 

Mainstage in the coming weeks. Tech Show 

London 2024 promises to be an essential 

platform for professionals to discover how the 

biggest technology trends will impact various 

sectors, offering a glimpse into the future of 

business. 

More info: www.techshowlondon.co.uk 




MAGAZINE

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ROUNDTABLE: SOFTWARE 

SOFTWARE USHERS IN A NEW 

AGE OF DATA STORAGE 

STORAGE MAGAZINE GATHERED THE VIEWS OF INDUSTRY EXPERTS ON THE DRIVERS BEHIND THE 

EVOLUTION OF SOFTWARE, ITS GAME-CHANGING CAPABILITIES, ITS CHALLENGES, AND HOW FAR 

ALONG ORGANISATIONS ARE IN REALISING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF SOFTWARE OVER HARDWARE IN 

THE DATA STORAGE INDUSTRY 

With data increasingly stored in cloudbased 

architectures or in off-prem 

locations, discussions that once 

purely focused on data storage hardware have 

notably shifted towards software. This includes 

software-defined storage, software managing 

virtualisation, and automation capabilities 

utilising artificial intelligence and machine 

learning integration to improve storage 

optimisation. 

THE EVOLUTION OF SOFTWARE IN 

DATA STORAGE 

Software in data storage is clearly a mainstay 

today, but what were the catalysts triggering its 

development? Opinions across the industry 

reveal a variety of disparate factors coalesced 

to drive the adoption of data storage software. 

According to Randy Kerns, Senior Strategist 

and Analyst at Futurum Group, "The trend of 

software in data storage initially arose from a 

perception that savings could be made utilising 

commodity hardware." He adds, "Interestingly, 

data services in software were not an initial 

consideration and developed over time. The 

evolution drivers continue to be simplicity, 

stability/reliability, advanced data services, and 

support/managed services." 

Alexander Ivanyuk, Senior Director, 

Technology, at Acronis agrees: "Convenience 

and cost are the drivers behind software 

evolution. Traditional storage is a monolithic 

bundle of hardware and software. You depend 

on this hardware and quite often on software 

that may only work with this hardware. 

Software-defined storage (SDS) allows abstract 

storage resources from the underlying 

hardware platform and that results in greater 

flexibility, efficiency, and scalability." 

Another major driver in the development of 

software in data storage is, of course, the 

emergence of cloud and hybrid infrastructure. 

As Fred Lherault, Field CTO, EMEA and 

Emerging Markets, Pure Storage, comments, 

"Almost every customer in the world uses hybrid 

infrastructure these days and that's a big driver 

in terms of changes in software development 

and deployment." Enrico Signoretti, VP of 

Product and Partnerships, Cubbit, agrees: 

"Everything is now about having the same 

platform on different clouds and on-prem. 

Enabling users to move data and access it 

where, when, and how they need it." 

'GAME-CHANGING' CAPABILITIES 

In exploring the capabilities of a software-led 

approach that have the greatest industry 

impact, Sergei Serdyuk, VP of Product 

Management at NAKIVO eulogises the 

performance potential enabled by software, 

"The most ground-breaking capability is 

perhaps the ability to optimise performance - 

both by using a logical layer for inter-operable 

hardware for data movement and processing 

and an additional 'intelligent abstraction' of AImanaged 

storage provisioning and 

management. In combination, these two 

capabilities show the greatest potential for 

enabling cost-efficient operations." 

Cubbit's Signoretti stressed the importance of 

visibility across environments with a single 

domain approach, adding: "On the other 

hand, you want flexibility (multiple tiers) for 

better data placement and cost optimisation." 

Paul Speciale, Chief Marketing Officer, Scality, 

highlights another attribute: "Initially, the major 

game changer in software-defined storage was 

the ability to deliver enterprise levels of data 

durability and high-availability, but way below 

the multi-million dollar price points required for 

custom built legacy systems. This made it 

possible to deploy systems at cloud-scale that 

could be trusted with enterprise and user data." 

Pure Storage's Lherault agrees: "All storage 

needs the ability to work in a hybrid and multi 

cloud manner. For vendors, this allows them to 

release new software faster and adopt new 

generations of hardware faster. It's important to 

make the distinction that 'software defined' 

doesn't necessarily mean software only with 

commodity hardware. Modern storage arrays 

are defined and driven by their software 

capabilities but leverage hardware innovation 

to enhance the software and deliver greater 

efficiency." 

Indeed, software has taken data storage 

capabilities to another level. As Tim Klein, 

President, CEO, and Co-founder, at ATTO 

Technology states, "Without a doubt the two 

game-changing 'characteristics', would be cost 

and flexibility. The cost savings with softwaredefined 

storage versus hardware platforms 

speaks for itself. With flexibility, we're talking 

about the ability to take relatively any storage 

platform and define what it is and how it can 

be used - virtually or otherwise." 

And there is yet another key advantage, as 

Shawn Meyers, Field CTO at Tintri highlights 

the value of software to gather data insights: "A 

software-led approach can provide valuable 

insight into each managed object and each 

I/O to help determine the best way to service 




MAGAZINE


"Convenience and cost are the drivers behind software 

evolution. Traditional storage is a monolithic bundle of 

hardware and software. You depend on this hardware and 

quite often on software that may only work with this 

hardware. Software-defined storage (SDS) allows abstract 

storage resources from the underlying hardware platform 

and that results in greater flexibility, efficiency, and 

scalability." - Alexander Ivanyuk, Acronis 

these with the available hardware." 

However, when it comes to software's 

potential in data storage, there is much more 

still to be explored and realised, as Roy Illsley, 

Chief Analyst at Omdia reminds us: "In a 

software-defined world the potential is for 

storage to be deployed where it is needed to 

meet the customer demand. The real 'game 

changer' would be if this was universal and 

could support any technology and include with 

it the ability to find and secure all data." 

NAVIGATING 'SOFTWARE-DEFINED' 

The term 'software-defined' is being used to 

describe so many storage solutions today (with 

generally some aspect of commodity hardware 

at the platform level), but when it comes to 

software, there are many varying degrees. With 

software-defined, open-source, and 

infrastructure-as-a-service, how are data 

storage vendors differentiating their solutions at 

the software level? And how do customers 

navigate the path of data comparison, when 

there are so many overlapping capabilities 

between storage software solutions? 

According to Omdia's Illsley, "This is the 

million-dollar question: if it is done correctly 

and is truly agnostic then it is differentiated. Too 

many software defined solutions are only able 

to work with a sub-set of infrastructure and are 

not universal - which is a reality we have to live 

with." Illsley suggests the key to ascertaining 

how software is differentiated is to ask: "How 

easy is it to extend its capabilities by the 

customer to meet their specific needs?" 

NAKIVO's Serdyuk recommends that 

customers analyse approaches and outcomes: 

"The offerings can look similar as they address 

the same pain points. However, the solutions 

themselves use different approaches, which 

might be a good starting point. For example, 

storage virtualisation and ML-powered storage 

provisioning are both defined as a part of the 

software-defined storage concept. Focusing on 

the outcomes of specific solutions could help 

differentiate between vendors and their 

solutions." 

Tintri's Meyers goes a step further: "Vendors 

need to differentiate by reducing complexity 

and lowering labour costs for their customers. 

This is done by ease of use, automation, and 

leveraging AI and ML to automatically tune IT 

infrastructure based on active usage patterns." 

"The only sensible way to differentiate," argues 

David Norfolk, Practice Leader, Development 

and Governance at Bloor: "is by capability 

(performance, functionality, security etc.). It 

doesn't matter much what you call it, it is what 

it does that matters - and even if it has a flashy 

new acronym, you have to evaluate its actual 

capabilities and whether they are fit for your 

purposes." 

Jeff Whitaker, VP of Product Strategy and 

Marketing, Panasas, points out the reality that 

there is often a balancing act between 

attributes of a solution, where one must be 

forfeited for another: "Software-defined is a 

very nebulous term… Customers often ask for 

three things: flexibility to choose the best-inclass 

solution, with the highest reliability, and at 

the best price point. But these three elements 

don't always work together." 

THE IMPACT OF TRANSFORMATION 

The shift from hardware to software has had a 

tremendous impact on the industry, 

encouraging innovation and causing 

traditional vendors to continue to rethink their 

product lines and approaches. 

Spectra Logic's Director of Product Marketing 

Deanna Hoover reflects: "Prior to the adoption 

of software-defined storage, we saw fewer new 

vendors entering the market. The engineering 

and development of storage hardware is more 

complex and costly than that of softwaredefined 

storage," She adds, "The shift has 



STORAGE 

MAGAZINE 

25


"Prior to the adoption of software-defined 

storage, we saw fewer new vendors entering the 

market. The engineering and development of 

storage hardware is more complex and costly 

than that of software-defined storage. The shift 

has motivated many hardware-centric vendors 

to modernise their offerings by focusing on a 

software-led approach." - Deanna Hoover, Spectra Logic 

motivated many hardware-centric vendors to 

modernise their offerings by focusing on a 

software-led approach. The adoption of 

software-defined storage has enabled more 

vendors to enter the storage market. The 

increase in storage vendors is raising the bar 

for competition and driving innovation." 

Jimmy Tam, CEO of Peer Software, shares 

other advantages, "Decoupling hardware and 

software has enabled freedom and flexibility for 

customers adopting software-defined storage 

technologies. Included in these benefits are 

independence from proprietary systems from a 

single vendor, enhanced scalability, and 

increased data mobility across arrays locally as 

well as geographically dispersed." 

Molly Presley, Head of Global Marketing, 

Hammerspace, raises an important point: "The 

advent of the cloud meant that hybrid 

environments were inevitable. Economies of 

scale are different, hardware was 

commoditised faster. Then supply chains 

became constrained and customers no longer 

can be certain they can get hardware from 

preferred vendors. All of these trends have led 

to an increased importance in software being 

the strategic differentiator in how a data 

strategy is architected. No longer are most new 

architecture initiatives storage hardware centric 

and designed around storage features. There is 

an expectation the software above the storage 

will provide the required data services across 

more than one vendor's storage." 

The shift has also resulted in a balancing act 

for vendors between offering freedom of choice 

vs. complexity for customers, as Scality's 

Speciale clarifies: "For vendors, it does force 

some choices in the degree of hardware 

freedom. The more degrees of freedom 

offered, the higher the complexity in software 

development and testing. Customers ultimately 

value freedom of choice, not only for the initial 

deployments - but to be able to buy the most 

cost effective hardware at any later time when 

scaling out the system, or to be able to get 

preferential pricing from other platform 

vendors." 

ATTO Technology's Klein takes a broader view 

and sees the transition as opening up 

opportunities for vendors and customers alike, 

"It's like any other aspect of technology - 

vendors and customers adapt. For vendors it 

presents a path to create and develop new 

products. For customers it presents new 

solutions that potentially work better for them 

and at lower cost." 

SOFTWARE CHALLENGES 

It is clear that the journey from data storage 

hardware to software is not an entirely smooth 

one, as it means choices need to be made on 

the part of customers as to how much 

complexity they wish to manage in exchange 

for the freedom of choice inherent in software. 

Here, we delve further into this conundrum, 

and other issues that the transition presents. 

According to Whitaker at Panasas, "The 

impacts will be felt the strongest across 

reliability, performance, and supportability. 

The challenge with software-defined is with 

performance. Being abstracted from the 

underlying hardware means there are 

limitations on how that hardware can be 

utilised." 

Acronis' Ivanyuk shares further pain points: 

"Software is also more prone to vulnerabilities, 

so theoretically software-defined storage is 

more vulnerable to cyberattacks. This is 

something to look for, but not a showstopper." 

Scality's Speciale raises the importance of 

staff knowledge during the transition from 

hardware to software, "Mainly, there is a shift 

in skill sets in going from legacy and 

proprietary systems management to newer 




MAGAZINE


"For vendors, it does force some choices in the degree of 

hardware freedom. The more degrees of freedom offered, 

the higher the complexity in software development and 

testing. Customers ultimately value freedom of choice, not 

only for the initial deployments - but to be able to buy the 

most cost effective hardware at any later time when scaling 

out the system, or to be able to get preferential pricing from 

other platform vendors." - Paul Speciale, Scality 

solutions." Kerns from Futurum Group agrees 

as to the impact on staff, and feels forward 

planning is required: "Ultimately it becomes a 

staffing issue. There are increased support 

requirements and it may require someone with 

more capabilities than a storage 

administrator." 

Andy Buss, Senior Research Director, IDC, 

also sees training is required: "For softwaredefined 

storage to be a success, companies 

need to be driving the full benefits of 

automation and AIOps that come with it. IDC 

research shows that only around a quarter of 

companies in Europe today have the skills as 

well as sufficiently transformed IT infrastructure 

to be able to achieve this today. To change this 

takes time, investment and training and highlevel 

management support." 

FUTURE OUTLOOK 

As software's evolution has caused much 

disruption thus far, we ask: "What does the 

future of software in data storage look like?" 

Bloor's Norfolk sees further disruption as 

positive, and foretells, "Established players will 

need to evolve fast; new players will have 

opportunities - and may then get bought by 

the big established players." 

IDC Europe's Buss sees a shift from data 

storage to data management: "As storage 

becomes more software defined, we also 

expect to see more emphasis on data 

management and manipulation rather than 

focusing on architecting complex storage 

systems." 

Similarly, Spectra Logic's Hoover foretells the 

further growth of systems capable of unifying 

data, whatever the location: "The option for 

organisations to deploy a one-vendor software 

storage solution for applications running in 

multiple locations will simplify the procurement 

and management of storage, while reducing 

costs. This will in turn drive storage vendors to 

be competitive by focusing on innovation and 

more rapidly delivering advanced features. 

With the increased adoption of softwaredefined/software-based 

storage, we will likely 

notice a decline in hardware-only storage 

solutions." Acronis' Ivanyuk agrees, "The 

industry has to evolve and the hardware 

solutions market will shrink. Software-defined 

solutions will grow in numbers and features, 

dominating the market." 

Peer Software's Jimmy Tam predicts, "As 

much as most companies want a one-size-fitsall 

approach for enterprise storage the reality 

is that the future of storage will be even more 

distributed across edge, data centre, and 

cloud since for performance reasons the data 

will need to be close to where the end-user or 

application resides or where the data is either 

created or analysed." 

Hammerspace's Presley sees this future as 

already here, "Most organisations are already 

running workloads and applications in 

multiple locations. The evolution of these 

software packages from vendors will help 

reduce the manual work needed to be done 

by IT, automate a lot of the data placement 

decisions, and reduce the need for custom/inhouse 

built data orchestration scripting." 

We are on a journey to fully explore the 

capabilities of software in data storage and 

there is no going back. Software in data 

storage has been a disruptive force thus far, 

causing dynamic competitive shifts resulting in 

significant innovation, the liberation of 

resources, greater efficiency, and the freedom 

to access and manage data from any 

location. Vendors and end users alike will 

need to adapt to the impact this brings. As for 

the challenges, it seems they will naturally 

equalise - as Aristotle wrote, "Water finds its 

own level." ST 



STORAGE 

MAGAZINE 

27

INDUSTRY FOCUS: MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT FOCUS: 

LET M&E ENTERTAIN YOU 

SKIP LEVENS, DIRECTOR, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT AT QUANTUM, EXPLAINS HOW AI IS 

TRANSFORMING THE INDUSTRY, FROM CREATION TO CONSUMPTION 

The media and entertainment industry is a 

long-standing advocate of technologybased 

innovation. Recently, its growing 

use of AI has given an indication of where the 

future may lie, with the likes of Indiana Jones 

and Marvel movies combining AI with CGI to 

enhance the impact and effectiveness of each 

production. 

At present, the use of AI in this context has 

become somewhat polarising. On the one 

hand, producers are keen to benefit from the 

creative and efficiency benefits that the 

technology can bring. On the other, there is 

significant concern among industry 

professionals about the potential impact of AI 

on jobs, with the recent Screen Actors Guild 

contract winning some protection for actors. 

From a technology standpoint, however, 

what's clear is that AI is bringing huge new 

possibilities to organisations of all sizes and 

types across the M&E sector. Creative and 

immersive visuals that were once the preserve 

of the major studios are becoming increasingly 

available to everyone in the content creation 

business. But the opportunities don't begin and 

end there: AI is also being used to automate 

and improve efficiency across a range of 

functions and processes, from audience 

engagement to distribution. 

For instance, AI-powered analytics are being 

employed to automate what had previously 

been labour-intensive processes, including 

speech-to-text, and the generation of subtitles 

and their synchronisation. In each case, the 

objective is to improve the overall quality of the 

production and make budgets go further. 

EFFICIENCY GAINS ENABLE MORE 

CREATIVE PRODUCTIONS 

Behind the scenes, AI technologies are also 

being used to manage enormous content 

libraries, with AI making it much easier to 

search archives, including unstructured and 

raw data - a challenge that has always proved 

enormously difficult. In this context, users can 

search using a comprehensive set of 

parameters, from people and places to more 

nuanced requirements such as sentiment. The 

point is that AI is helping industry professionals 

save huge amounts of time and effort, which 

can then be spent elsewhere. 

The list of capabilities doesn't end there, with 

organisations and individuals alike bringing 

new ideas and innovations to market all the 

time. Take Harry Potter, for example, which in 

recent weeks has been the inspiration for a 

whole range of AI-inspired projects, from the 

creation of "remarkably good" fan fiction to the 

recreation of 'real life' Harry Potter characters 

based on their original written descriptions and 

even the development of an entire concept 

movie trailer based on 'The Cursed Child' 

stage play. 

AI is also being used across post-production 

use cases, such as teams working 

collaboratively in the cloud using tools that 

make processes more efficient and integrated. 

Elsewhere in the M&E industry, AI technologies 

are being applied to the restoration process to 

bring poor-quality archive footage back to life 

and even to 4K broadcast standards with 

processes that are much more cost-effective 

than ever before. From movie producers and 

game developers to independent studios and 




MAGAZINE

INDUSTRY FOCUS: MEDIA FOCUS: 

& ENTERTAINMENT 

"Behind the scenes, AI technologies are also being used to manage 

enormous content libraries, with AI making it much easier to search 

archives, including unstructured and raw data - a challenge that has 

always proved enormously difficult. In this context, users can search 

using a comprehensive set of parameters, from people and places 

to more nuanced requirements such as sentiment. The point is that 

AI is helping industry professionals save huge amounts of time and 

effort, which can then be spent elsewhere." 

even individual fans, AI is having a 

transformational impact on content creation - 

a trend which is only going to accelerate 

further as the technology matures. 

AI'S ROLE IN PERSONALISING VIEWER 

EXPERIENCES 

However, AI's influence in the media and 

entertainment industry also extends significantly 

to how content is presented and consumed. 

One of the most innovative applications of AI 

in this domain is the personalisation of viewer 

experiences. Through sophisticated algorithms, 

AI can analyse viewer data and preferences, 

offering personalised content 

recommendations and adaptive streaming 

experiences. 

For instance, streaming services use AI to 

curate content for individual users based on 

their viewing history, search patterns, and even 

the time they spend on particular genres or 

shows. This level of customisation not only 

enhances user engagement but also 

significantly increases viewer retention rates. 

Moreover, AI-driven personalisation goes 

beyond mere content recommendations. AI 

technologies are being employed to enhance 

narratives or storytelling techniques based on 

viewer preferences. An emerging trend, for 

example, is the development of interactive, AIdriven 

content where viewers can influence the 

storyline or outcome of a show, making each 

viewing experience unique. 

This personalisation extends to advertising as 

well, where AI algorithms can serve targeted 

ads based on user profiles, thereby increasing 

the relevance and effectiveness of advertising 

campaigns. By leveraging AI, advertisers can 

create immersive and interactive ad 

experiences, potentially increasing conversion 

rates and viewer engagement. 

CUTTING-EDGE INFRASTRUCTURE 

STREAMLINES CREATIVE WORKFLOWS 

In many of these use cases and applications, 

the adoption of the right technology 

infrastructure is central to how effective AIpowered 

applications can be, particularly data 

storage requirements which are needed to 

deliver high performance capabilities. 

For example, the integration of AI with data 

storage systems is revolutionising media 

production by introducing unprecedented 

speed, efficiency, and innovation into the 

workflow. These AI-powered systems not only 

expedite the rendering and processing of 

videos and images but also enhance them with 

advanced features like automated content 

tagging and object recognition. This 

integration significantly diminishes the time 

spent on mundane tasks, streamlining content 

movement and archival processes. 

Moreover, these solutions cater to 

organisations of varying sizes, enabling the 

rapid adoption and implementation of new AIdriven 

applications. They offer the capability to 

concurrently manage multiple production 

workflows, coupled with real-time customisable 

automated content management features. This 

technological progress also liberates creative 

professionals, allowing them to focus on their 

core competencies. 

AI-augmented data storage systems offer 

huge benefits for creative teams, enabling them 

to complete projects in dramatically shorter 

timelines and at reduced cost. These systems 

offer a range of functionalities, from generating 

automated text, images, and videos to fostering 

deeper collaboration among creative teams. 

They also play a pivotal role in refining content 

used across various media sectors like 

broadcasting, post-production, and sports. 

By equipping creative teams with cutting-edge 

AI tools, the current generation of content 

management and storage solutions is not just 

enhancing the efficiency of content delivery, it's 

also empowering these teams to produce more 

engaging and innovative content with greater 

speed and cost-effectiveness. Armed with these 

capabilities, the M&E industry will be ideally 

positioned to harness the enormous range of 

possibilities that AI is creating. 

More info: www.quantum.com 



STORAGE 

MAGAZINE 

29

STRATEGY: IT SPENDING 

TAXING TIMES 

MARK WALSH, VP EMEA AT TINTRI, EXAMINES WHAT THE UK 2023 

AUTUMN STATEMENT'S 25% TAX RELIEF FOR IT SPENDING MIGHT 

MEAN FOR YOUR ORGANISATION'S STORAGE ENVIRONMENT 

The UK's 2023 Autumn Statement 

has brought forth a wave of 

excitement for businesses, 

particularly those investing in Information 

Technology. One standout announcement 

is the permanent implementation of a 

25% corporation tax break on IT, plant 

and machinery spending that was 

originally introduced earlier in the year 

as a temporary measure set to end in 

2026. In effect, companies will be able 

to reclaim 25p off their tax bills for every 

£1 that they invest. In this article, we'll 

delve into what this means for IT storage 

and data management. 

DRIVING IT INNOVATION 

The decision to make permanent a 25% 

corporation tax relief on IT spending is a 

strategic move by the UK government to 

encourage businesses to invest in 

technology and long-term innovation. 

Recognising the pivotal role IT plays in 

the modern business landscape, the 

government aims to stimulate economic 

growth, enhance productivity, and 

maintain global competitiveness. 

So what does this mean for your 

storage environment - and how can you 

make the most of the tax relief? Below 

are five areas to consider when assessing 

your priorities for your storage 

infrastructure. 

1. Upgrades and modernisation 

Outdated storage solutions can impede 

performance, hinder scalability, and pose 

security risks. For example, it took two 

months for the NHS to recover from a 

data centre failure due to the complexity 

of navigating 371 legacy IT systems. With 

financial incentives in place, the budget 

for state-of-the-art storage technologies 

can go further. Discuss your current and 

future workloads with trusted advisors to 

find a future-proof solution that can grow 

with the business. 

2. Cloud/hybrid cloud adoption 

Cloud and hybrid cloud storage is a 

cornerstone of modern IT strategies. The 

new tax measures make it more 

financially feasible for businesses to 

invest in the most appropriate solution 

for their requirements. This shift not only 

improves flexibility and accessibility but 

also helps accelerate digital 

transformation. 

3. Cybersecurity measures 

Cybersecurity is a critical concern for 

businesses dealing with sensitive data. 

With the tax relief, companies can 

allocate additional funds to bolster their 

cybersecurity infrastructure, including 

advanced storage solutions with 

enhanced security and data recovery 

features. This proactive approach is 

crucial in safeguarding against evolving 

cyber threats. 

4. Data analytics initiatives 

As businesses harness the power of data 

analytics for informed decision-making, 

the demand for robust storage solutions 

intensifies. Investing in storage systems 

that can efficiently handle, manage, and 

intelligently predict the growing volumes 

of data generated through analytics, will 

ensure that actionable insights are 

readily accessible. 

5. Green IT practices 

Sustainability is an increasingly important 

aspect of corporate responsibility. The 

new measures introduced in the Autumn 

Statement provides an opportunity for 

businesses to invest in energy-efficient 

and environmentally friendly solutions. 

Legacy technology stacks can frequently 

be very energy-intensive and by looking 

at vendors that can integrate the stack 

into a minimal number of appliances 

(including storage), will enable 

businesses to not only align with 

sustainability goals but also reduce 

operational costs over the long term. 

The 25% corporation tax relief on IT 

spending unveiled in the UK Autumn 

Statement is a pivotal development for 

businesses balancing the need for digital 

innovation and delivery against 

overwhelming commercial pressures. 

In the realm of IT storage, this move 

translates to increased opportunities for 

innovation, efficiency, and resilience. As 

organisations embrace the potential 

offered by advanced storage solutions, 

they are better positioned to adapt to the 

evolving demands of the digital age. 

More info: www.tintri.com 




MAGAZINE

Case Study 

Object Archive and Tape 

Our Back-Up Wash Service Guarantees Data Security 

As a trusted IT and Technology partner, Bluetron assembles high-tech systems and data centres 

and is able to execute each phase of their life cycle optimally. This includes repair and maintenance, 

refurbishment, remanufacturing, reuse, and recycling. Bluetron provides sustainable profitability, 

quality, and risk mitigation in three digital domains: Electronics, IT-Infra and Data. 

The Challenge 

The idea was born out of the recurring news that the number 

of ransomware attacks on companies is continuously increasing. 

“We were searching for a software which could support a long 

retention period and a way to prevent vendor-lock-in”, Edwin 

Theunisse, Business Consultant at Bluetron explains. Bluetron 

as a data centre, was looking for a data storage solution for their 

customers – as solid as an offline vault but still very proactive, 

flexible, and easy to use. The tailor-made solution that Fujifilm 

and Bluetron developed in cooperation enables Bluetron to offer 

customers their patented 100% Data Guarantee solution. 

The Solution 

The unique solution feature is that data stored on tape can be 

checked for viruses and versioned, which means it’s replaced 

by older versions if infected. Based on Bluetron’s idea, Fujifilm 

developed a backup-wash-service, which checks data for viruses 

before it’s saved on tape. The whole process is coordinated by a 

master control programme. The data is then stored on FUJIFILM 

Object Archive as the storage back-end. Every time a file is 

changed at the client’s site, the appliance front-end sends a newer 

version to Bluetron. The previous version is stored in the FUJIFILM 

Object Archive system. This means that if a virus is found in the 

latest version of a file, FUJIFILM Object Archive is used to retrieve 

the older version of the file and scan that version. This implies a very 

long retention period at the file level. 

To protect their customers’ data as much as possible, another 

appliance front-end is installed at Bluetron, which replicates data 

to Fujifilm’s high-security datacentre, where a copy of the data 

is stored with an air-gap, disconnected from any network. The 

customised solution ensures that Bluetron’s clients are quickly 

operational again after a ransomware attack, with their IT and 

operational data fully screened for malware and viruses with the 

latest definitions. By storing data on tape using FUJIFILM Object 

Archive, Bluetron is equipped to provide its customers with the 

security and reliability required. 

Innovative Data Storage Solution 

03 

01 

1st Copy 

02 

04 

05 

Backup Wash 

FUJIFILM Datacentre 

(FAS) 

Customer 

06 

2nd Copy 

01 

02 

03 

04 

05 

06 

Data is received from a hard disk environment, via the 

appliance front-end at the customer’s site. 

Whenever there is an update on the anti-virus definitions, the 

system will automatically restore the latest dataset from tape 

and rescan the data to find potential threats that were not 

previously discovered. 

If the result doesn’t show any signs of a virus, this data is 

stored on tape on Bluetron’s storage system with FUJIFILM 

Object Archive. 

At the same time, the data is sent to Fujifilm’s high-security 

datacentre where it is stored on tape. 

After Fujifilm has imported all of the data, Bluetron receives 

a signal that the storage process is complete. The customer 

will be notified about the 100% Data Guarantee via the 

appliance front-end once the above-mentioned process is 

successfully carried out. 

When data recall is requested, the data will be scanned with 

the latest virus definitions using Backup Wash. The data is 

safely recalled to the customer. 

The reason for choosing the FUJIFILM Object Archive software was not only made on price, but on the total solution we built together with 

the team. Fujifilm’s sales and technical teams were very creative and flexible in getting our total solution built. The support from Fujifilm was 

professional and flexible and the installation of the OA system was without any big hiccups. The collaboration was and is very pleasant. 

Ronald Niënhaus, Strategic Growth Manager 

How can we support you? 

Please contact us 

Sarah Taylor 

07785 505992 sarah.taylor@fujifilm.com 

Scan to visit the 

Object Archive website

MANAGEMENT: RANSOMWARE 

SHIELDING YOUR FILE SERVERS: 

AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE 

ARON BRAND, CTO OF CTERA, REMINDS US THAT THE KEY LESSON 

TO LEARN FROM RANSOMWARE THREATS IS THAT IT IS NEVER A 

GOOD IDEA TO PAY THE RANSOM 

Ransomware has been a significant hazard 

in the digital world for a number of years, 

impacting various industries with 

devastating effects. Manufacturing, 

construction, healthcare, and financial services 

are especially at risk, not just due to the nature 

of their operations but also because of their 

stringent time sensitivities and compliance 

obligations. The disruption caused by 

ransomware in these areas can lead to severe 

consequences, affecting both operational 

continuity and regulatory compliance. 

The need for robust and effective ransomware 

defence strategies is urgent. To protect against 

ransomware attacks, organisations need to 

take a proactive approach, one that is more 

comprehensive and layered than simply 

updating and securing all networked devices. 

DOES PAYING FIX THE PROBLEM? 

In short, no. The risks associated with paying 

ransoms are considerable and often 

misunderstood. When organisations agree to 

ransom demands, they inadvertently set 

themselves up for future attacks. Ransomware 

actors don't play fair and frequently target their 

previous victims, not just because it's convenient 

but also because they know these victims are 

willing to pay. Paying may, in fact, increase 

ransom demands in subsequent attacks rather 

than solving the initial problem. 

ENDPOINT PROTECTIONS ALONE ARE 

NOT ENOUGH 

Traditional signature-based defences are often 

ineffective against evolving ransomware threats 

specifically designed to bypass static security 

measures. In environments with outdated 

operating systems or embedded IoT devices, 

this is further intensified as they often can't 

support client-based ransomware protection 

tools like Endpoint Detection and Response 

systems. Such devices, if not adequately 

secured or updated, can easily become 

vulnerable entry points for ransomware attacks. 

Advanced measures are the only effective way 

to safeguard against the sophisticated and 

constantly evolving nature of such attacks. 

NOT ALL BACKUPS ARE CREATED 

EQUAL 

Backups are a vital safety net in the event of an 

attack. However, their effectiveness in 

ransomware scenarios is heavily dependent on 

how they're managed and protected. By 

targeting backups, ransomware attackers aim 

to incapacitate an organisation's ability to 

restore data independently, thereby increasing 

the likelihood of a ransom being paid. 

That is why backups require air-gapped, 

immutable storage, i.e. a physical gap 

between the backup data and the network that 

blocks attempts to access or alter that data 

through network-based attacks. This ensures 

both the integrity and availability of backups, 

enabling organisations to recover critical data 

without succumbing to ransom demands, a 

crucial deterrent that significantly reduces the 

leverage ransomware attackers hold over their 

victims. 

EARLY DETECTION AND PROTECTION 

Adding effective early detection methods to 

your security workflow is key to identifying and 

mitigating threats at the file-server level, even 

before they necessitate data recovery. This is 

where advanced ransomware detection 

methods come into play. They're designed to 

identify suspicious activities and potential 

threats via three primary approaches, namely: 

1. Threshold-based detection: This method 

involves monitoring and defining thresholds on 

file activities. They focus particularly on 

operations such as file modifications, renames, 

and changes in entropy, common indicators of 

ransomware activity. Their effectiveness lies in 

early detection, allowing for prompt response. It 

should be noted that they're sensitive to users 

performing atypical, non-malicious tasks, which 

can lead to frequent false positives. 

2. Signature-based detection: A method that 

detects known ransomware signatures within 

user behaviours or files, providing a reliable 

line of defence against known threats and 

nearly zero false positives. Where this method is 

limited, however, is its ineffectiveness against 

new, unknown ransomware strains - also 

known as zero-day threats. 

3. Behavioural AI detection: AI-driven tools in 

this method analyse user access patterns, 

matching them to known ransomware tactics, 

and offering a sophisticated, proactive 

approach to identifying potential ransomware 

attacks. Leveraging the adaptability of machine 

learning, this method continuously evolves to 

counteract advancing techniques used in 

modern ransomware. And since it detects 

tactics used by ransomware rather than 

signatures or thresholds, it reliably catches new 

ransomware strains and provides solid 

resilience against false positives. 

FILE SYSTEM VS. BACKUP-BASED 

DETECTION 

In the realm of ransomware defence for file 

servers, detection methods are broadly 

categorised into two variants: post-discovery 

tools that analyse the content of periodic 

backups, and real-time detection tools that 

monitor user behaviour and file operations. 

This distinction is critical in understanding the 

strengths and limitations of each approach in 

safeguarding data against ransomware attacks. 

POST-DISCOVERY BACKUP-BASED 

DETECTION 

This method focuses on analysing backups 

after they have been created, scanning for signs 




MAGAZINE

MANAGEMENT: RANSOMWARE 

"Backups are a vital safety net in the event of an attack. However, 

their effectiveness in ransomware scenarios is heavily dependent on 

how they're managed and protected. By targeting backups, 

ransomware attackers aim to incapacitate an organisation's ability 

to restore data independently, thereby increasing the likelihood of a 

ransom being paid. That is why backups require air-gapped, 

immutable storage, i.e. a physical gap between the backup data 

and the network that blocks attempts to access or alter that data 

through network-based attacks." 

of ransomware. The main advantage of postdiscovery 

backup-based detection is its 

integration within existing backup software, 

making it a non-intrusive addition to data 

protection strategies. But its retrospective nature 

makes it somewhat limited. 

Since it relies on periodic snapshots of the 

system and lacks visibility into actual file 

operations, for example, being completely blind 

to read operations, backup-based detection 

can miss nuanced details of file operations and 

changes. This oversight can lead to missing 

early signs of an attack, potentially rendering it 

insufficient in preventing significant data loss, 

especially in the case of fast-moving 

ransomware strains. 

REAL-TIME FILE SYSTEM-BASED 

DETECTION 

In contrast, real-time detection methods 

operate directly on the live file system. They 

continuously monitor file operations, user 

behaviours, and system changes, offering a 

more dynamic and immediate response. The 

advantages of this approach are many: 

Immediate threat identification: Real-time 

monitoring allows for the rapid detection of 

suspicious activities, crucial in intercepting 

ransomware before it spreads extensively. 

Blocking suspicious activities: This method 

proactively blocks users or machines 

performing suspicious activity, preventing 

the ransomware from executing its payload. 

Granular data for machine learning: By 

monitoring each file operation in real-time, 

this approach provides a wealth of detailed 

data, which is invaluable for AI-driven 

models, enhancing their accuracy and 

ability to adapt to new ransomware tactics. 

Comprehensive coverage: Real-time 

monitoring ensures protection for all files, 

including those excluded from backup. 

While backup-based detection plays a crucial 

role in identifying ransomware post-attack, realtime 

file system-based detection offers a more 

proactive and comprehensive defence. 

By enabling immediate identification and 

response to ransomware activities, and by 

providing high quality, detailed data for 

advanced AI models, file system-based 

detection stands as a more robust and effective 

solution for protecting file servers against the 

evolving threat of ransomware. 

NEVER PAY THE RANSOM 

Ransomware is a continuously escalating threat 

that demands a multi-layered approach. It's 

critical to focus on early detection, integrate 

reactive and preventative measures, and 

implement air-gapped, immutable backups - a 

robust safety net in case of an attack. 

The stand-out solution in the current 

cybersecurity landscape is the adoption of realtime 

file system-based detection. Unlike its 

backup-based counterpart, real-time detection 

immediately identifies threats and blocks 

suspicious activities as they happen. The 

granular activity data gathered by this method 

enhances the efficacy of AI-driven models, 

leading to more accurate and adaptive 

ransomware defence strategies. 

The fight against ransomware is an ongoing 

battle that requires vigilance, innovation, and 

adaptation. organisations must stay ahead of 

potential attackers by employing a combination 

of backup strategies, real-time detection 

methods, and continuous evolution of their 

cybersecurity practices. 

But if you take only one thing from this guide, 

it should be this: never pay the ransom. 

More info: www.ctera.com 



STORAGE 

MAGAZINE 

33

RESEARCH: AI 

BACK TO BASICS FOR AI 

SUCCESS WITH AI MEANS GOING BACK TO THE BASICS OF GOOD IT MANAGEMENT, SAYS NEW 

RESEARCH FROM THE CLOUD INDUSTRY FORUM 

is crucial." 

According to Terrar, cloud - alongside 

many other technologies - has an important 

role to play in helping organisations make 

the best of AI. This is borne out by the 

research: 90% of respondents in the CIF 

report say that cloud has helped their 

company improve in its digital 

transformation efforts and become more 

effective as a business, while 96% assert that 

their cloud strategy has delivered against 

their expectations for their IT estate. 

Currently, there is no shortage of 

stories discussing the seemingly 

inexorable rise of AI. While most 

tend to talk about what AI can do now and 

what it could do in the future, there is less 

focus on how organisations using it can 

actually maximise its potential. To achieve 

this, companies must take things back to 

basics, and ensure all the technology 

underpinning their AI strategy is as effective 

and as efficient as it possibly can be, says 

the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF). 

The appetite to take on AI is clear. 

Research conducted by CIF this year found 

that 86% of respondents consider AI either 

very important or critical to their business, 

while 14% have completed the process of 

migrating applications to the cloud and are 

now using cloud to develop their AI 

strategy. The research was carried out a few 

months after the launch of ChatGPT, with 

interest in AI growing even further since 

then. It is imperative, however, that 

organisations do not lose sight of the 

challenges ahead. 

David Terrar, CEO of the Cloud Industry 

Forum, commented: "We're very much at 

the start of a new wave of technological 

advancement, encompassing AI and other 

emerging tech, such as the metaverse, 

mixed reality, robotics and IoT. It's vital for 

organisations to ride this wave rather than 

be swamped by it. Technologies like AI 

might promise to revolutionise businesses, 

but getting the best out of them takes time 

and effort, so businesses must think hard 

about the journey as well as the 

destination." 

"This means taking the time now to put in 

the groundwork and ensure your AI strategy 

is built on solid foundations and accurate, 

trusted training data," Terrar went on. "This 

covers not just your ability to develop and 

deliver the technology itself, but making 

sure your house is in order in every other 

aspect. Having comprehensive cybersecurity 

adapted to the age of AI, for example, 

"Once the above has been achieved, 

organisations must, as an absolute priority, 

ensure that the training data they use to 

build their AI algorithms is of the highest 

quality. 'Garbage in, garbage out' is an oftused 

phrase when it comes to data-related 

pursuits, and it's more relevant than ever in 

AI," says Terrar. "The allure of AI lies in its 

autonomous power, but it can't reach its 

potential if the less glamorous work isn't 

done in the background to help it succeed." 

He concludes: "There are lots of 

challenges to address in becoming an AI 

frontrunner in any given industry, and cloud 

remains a powerful enabler in this respect. 

As an established technology that continues 

to grow in sophistication, it offers an 

accessible and hugely effective way of 

streamlining IT and building a more resilient 

organisation. With stability in IT, ambitious 

AI projects become much easier to realise." 

CIF's 2023 research report, 'Breaking new 

ground with cloud', can be downloaded 

here: 

https://cloudindustryforum.org/knowledge_ 

hub/breaking-new-ground-with-cloudresearch-report/ 

More info: www.cloudindustryforum.org 




MAGAZINE

ST2401

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