Tag: compliance

Business · Data

Understanding the value of data integration

Tim CrawfordLeave a comment

To understand the value of data integration, one has to first understand the changing data landscape. In the past few years, more data has been created than existed in all of time prior to that. In 2014, I penned a post asking ‘Are enterprises prepared for the data tsunami’? When it comes to data, enterprises of all sizes and maturity face two core issues: 1) How to effectively manage the sheer volume of data in a meaningful way and 2) How to extract insights from the data. Unfortunately, the traditional ways to manage data start to break down when considering these new challenges.

DIVERSE DATA SETS

In the above-mentioned post, there was reference to an IDC report suggesting that by 2020, the total amount of data will equate to 40,000 exabytes or 40 trillion gigabytes. That is more than 5,200 gigabytes for every man, woman and child in 2020.

However, unlike data in the past, this new data will come from an increasingly varied list of sources. Some of the data will be structured. Other data will be unstructured. And then there is meta data that is derived through analysis of these varied data sets. All of which needs to be leveraged by the transformational enterprise.

In the past, one might have pooled all of this data into a classic data warehouse. Unfortunately, many of the new data types do not fit nicely into this approach. Then came the data lake as a solution to simply pool all of this data. Unfortunately, this approach is also met with challenges as many enterprises are seeing their data lakes turn into data swamps.

Even beyond data generated internally enterprises are increasing their reliance on externally sourced data. Since this data is not created by the enterprise, there are limits on how the data is leveraged. In addition, simply bringing all of this data into the enterprise is not that simple. Nor is it feasible.

Beyond the concept of different data sets, these new data sets create ‘data gravity’ as they grow in size. Essentially, creating a stronger bond between the data set and the application that leverages it. As the size of the data set grows, so does its ‘gravity’ which prevents movement. All of these reasons create significant friction to considering any movement of data.

VALUE OF INTEGRATING DATA

The solution rests with data integration. Essentially, leave data where it resides and leverage integration methods to the various data sets in order to create insights. There are actually two components when considering how to integrate data.

There is a physical need for data integration and one that is more logical in nature. The physical component is how to physically connect the different data sources together. This is easier said than done. It was already challenging when we managed all of the data within the enterprise. Today, the data resides in the hands of many other players and approaches. This can add complexity to the integration efforts. Modern data integration methods rely on Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to create these integration points. In addition, there are security ramifications to consider too.

The logical integration of data often centers around the customer. One of the core objectives for enterprises today is customer engagement. Enterprises are finding ways to learn more about their customer in an effort to build a more holistic profile that ultimately leads to a stronger relationship. Not all of that data is sourced internally. This really is a case of 1+1=3 where even smaller insights can lead to a larger impact when combined.

THE INTERSECTION OF DATA INTEGRATION AND ADVANCED FUNCTIONS

Data integration is a deep and complicated subject that is evolving quickly. Newer advancements in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) space are leading enterprises to gain greater insights that even they didn’t think about. Imagine a situation where you thought you knew your customer, but the system suggested other aspects that weren’t considered. AI has the opportunity to significantly augment the human capability to create more accurate insights and faster.

Beyond AI, other newer functions such as Machine Learning (ML) and Internet of Things (IoT) present new sources of data to further enhance insights. It should be noted that nether ML nor IoT are able to function in a meaningful way without leveraging data integration.

DATA INTEGRATION LEADS TO SPEED AND INSIGHTS…AND CHALLENGES

Enterprises that leverage AI and ML to augment their efforts find increased value from both the insights and the speed in which they respond. In today’s world where speed and accuracy are becoming a strong differentiation for competitors, leveraging as much data as possible is key. In order to leverage the sheer amount of data, enterprises must leverage data integration to remain competitive.

At the same time, enterprises are facing challenges from new regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). There are many facets and complexities to GDPR that will only further the complexities for data integration and management.

While enterprises may have leveraged custom approaches to solve the data integration problem in the past, today’s complexities demand a different approach. The combination of these challenges push enterprises to leverage advanced tools to assist in the integration of data to gain greater insights.

 

This post sponsored by:

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https://www.sap.com/intelligentdata

Business · Cloud · Data

Rubrik continues their quest to protect the enterprise

Tim Crawford1 Comment

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Data protection is all the rage right now. With data moving beyond the corporate data center to multiple locations including cloud, the complexity has increased significantly. What is Data Protection? It generally covers a combination of backup, restore, disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity (BC). While not new, most enterprises have struggled for decades to effectively backup their systems in a way that ensures that a) the data is protected, b) can be restored if needed and c) can be restored in a timely fashion when needed. Put a different way: BC/DR is still one of most poorly managed parts of an IT operation. Add cloud to this and one can see where the wheels start to fall off.

The irony is that, while not new, enterprises struggle to effectively balance the needs of DR/BC in a meaningful way. The reasons for this are longer than this blog will permit. This is an industry screaming for disruption. Enter Rubrik.

RUBRIK BRINGS A FRESH PERSPECTIVE TO AN OLD PROBLEM

A couple of weeks back, I caught up with the Rubrik team at Tech Field Day’s Cloud Field Day 3. Rubrik came into the market a few years back and has continued their drive to solve this old, but growing problem.

Unlike traditional solutions, Rubrik takes a modern approach to their architecture. Everything that Rubrik does calls an API. By using this API-centric architecture, Rubrik provides modularity and flexibility to their approach. API-centric architectures are a must in a cloud-based world.

At Cloud Field Day, the Rubrik team went through their new SaaS-based solution called Polaris. Knowing that enterprise data is increasingly being spread across multiple data centers and cloud providers, they need a cohesive way to visually manage their data. Polaris is a SaaS-based solution that does just that. Polaris becomes the overarching management platform in which to effectively manage the growing complexity.

COMPLEXITY DRIVES THE NEED FOR A NEW APPRAOCH

There are two dynamics that are driving these changes: 1) the explosion in data growth and 2) the need to effective management data. As applications and their data move to a myriad of different solutions, so does the need to effectively manage the underlying data.

An increase in compliance and regulatory requirements are just adding further complexity to data management. As the complexity grows, so does the need for systemic automation. No longer are we able to simply throw more resources at the problem. It is time to turn the problem on its head and leverage new approaches.

DATA PROTECTION IS NOT IMPORTANT…UNTIL IT IS

During the discussion, Rubrik’s Chief Technologist Chris Wahl made a very key observation that everyone in IT painfully understands: Data protection is not important…until it is. To many enterprises, the concept of data protection is seen as an insurance policy that you hopefully will not need. However, in today’s world of increasingly regulated and highly complicated architectures with data spreading out at scale, the risks are simply too great to ignore.

While data protection may have been less important in the past, today it is critical.

GOING BEYOND SIMPLY BACKUP AND RECOVERY

If the story about Rubrik were to stop with just backup and recovery, it would still be impressive. However, Rubrik is venturing into the complexity that comes with integration into other systems and processes. One of the first areas is their integration with ServiceNow. Rubrik integrates with ServiceNow by ingesting CMDB data into the system. By doing so, it provides a cohesive look at the underlying components that Rubrik has visibility into.

Looking into the crystal ball, one can start to see how Rubrik is fully understanding that backup and recovery is just the start. The real opportunity comes from full integration into business processes. However, in order to do that, integrations like ServiceNow are needed. Expect to see more as Rubrik continues their quest to provide a solid foundation to the enterprise when they need it most.

Business · Cloud · Data

Delphix smartly reduces the friction to access data

Tim Crawford1 Comment

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Today’s CIO is looking for ways to untap the potential in their company’s data. We have heard the phrase that data is the new oil. Except that data, like oil, is just a raw material. Ultimately, we need to refine it into a finished good which is ultimately where the value resides.

At the same time, enterprises are concerned with regulatory and compliance requirements to protect data. Recent data breaches by globally-recognized companies have raised the concern around data privacy. Historically, the financial services and healthcare industries were the ones to watch when it came to regulatory and compliance requirements. Today, the regulatory net is widening with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR), US Government’s FedRAMPand NY State DFS Cybersecurity Requirements.

Creating greater access to data while staying in compliance and protecting data sit at opposite ends of the privacy and cybersecurity spectrum. Add to this the interest in moving data to cloud-based solutions and one can quickly see why this is one of the core challenges for today’s CIO.

DELPHIX REDUCES THE FRICTION TO DATA ACCESS

At Tech Field Day’s Cloud Field Day 3, I had the opportunity to meet with the team from Delphix.

Fundamentally, Delphix is a cloud-based data management platform that helps enterprises reduce the friction to data access through automation of data management. Today, one-third of Fortune 500 companies use Delphix.

Going back to the core issue, users have a hunger for accessing data. However, regulatory and compliance requirements often hinder that process. Today’s methods to manage data are heavily manual and somewhat archaic compared with solutions like Delphix.

Delphix’ approach is to pack up the data into, what they call, a Data Pod. Unlike most approaches that mask data when it is shared, Delphix masks the data during the intake process. The good thing about this approach is in removing the risk of accidentally sharing protected data.

In terms of sharing data, one clever part of the Delphix Dynamic Data Platform is in its ability to replicate data smartly. Considering that Delphix works in the cloud, this is a key aspect to avoiding unnecessary costs. Alternatively, enterprises would see a significant uptick in data storage as masked data is replicated to the various users. Beyond structured, transactional data, Delphix is also able to manage (and mask) databases, along with unstructured data and files.

THE CIO PERSPECTIVE

From the CIO perspective, Delphix appears to address an increasingly complicated space with a clever, yet simple approach. The three key takeaways are: a) Ability to mask data (DB, unstructured, files) at intake versus when pulling copies, b) ability to smartly replicate data and c) potential to manage data management policies. Lastly, this is not a solution that must run in the corporate data center. Delphix supports running in public cloud services including Microsoft Azureand Amazon AWS.

In Summary, Delphix appears to have decreased the friction to data access by automating the data protection and management processes. All while supporting an enterprise’s move to cloud-based resources.

CIO · Cloud · Data

Why are enterprises moving away from public cloud?

Tim Crawford9 Comments

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We often hear of enterprises that move applications from their corporate data center to public cloud. This may come in the form of lift and shift. But then something happens that causes the enterprise to move it out of public cloud. This yo-yo effect and the related consequences create ongoing challenges that contribute to several of the items listed in Eight ways enterprises struggle with public cloud.

In order to better understand the problem, we need to work backwards to the root cause…and that often starts with the symptoms. For most, it starts with costs.

UNDERSTANDING THE ECONOMICS

The number one reason why enterprises pull workloads back out of cloud has to do with economics. For public cloud, it comes in the form of a monthly bill for public cloud services. In the post referenced above, I refer to a cost differential of 4x. That is to say that public cloud services cost 4x the corporate data center alternative for the same services. These calculations include fully-loaded total cost of ownership (TCO) numbers on both sides over a period of years to normalize capital costs.

4x is a startling number and seems to fly in the face of a generally held belief that cloud computing is less expensive than the equivalent on-premises corporate data center. Does this mean that public cloud is not less expensive? Yes and no.

THE IMPACT OF LEGACY THINKING

In order to break down the 4x number, one has to understand legacy thinking heavily influences this number. While many view public cloud as less expensive, they often compare apples to oranges when comparing public cloud to corporate data centers. And many do not consider the fully-loaded corporate data center costs that includes server, network, storage…along with power, cooling, space, administrative overhead, management, real estate, etc. Unfortunately, many of these corporate data center costs are not exposed to the CIO and IT staff. For example, do you know how much power your data center consumes and the cost for real estate? Few IT folks do.

There are five components that influence legacy thinking:

  1. 24×7 Availability: Most corporate data centers and systems are built around 24×7 availability. There is a significant amount of data center architecture that goes into the data center facility and systems to support this expectation.
  2. Peak Utilization: Corporate data center systems are built for peak utilization whether they use it regularly or not. This unused capacity sits idle until needed and only used at peak times.
  3. Redundancy: Corporate infrastructure from the power subsystems to power supplies to the disk drives is designed for redundancy. There is redundancy within each level of data center systems. If there is a hardware failure, the application ideally will not know it.
  4. Automation & Orchestration: Corporate applications are not designed with automation & orchestration in mind. Applications are often installed on specific infrastructure and left to run.
  5. Application Intelligence: Applications assume that availability is left to other systems to manage. Infrastructure manages the redundancy and architecture design manages the scale.

Now take a corporate application with this legacy thinking and move it directly into public cloud. It will need peak resources in a redundant configuration running 24×7. That is how they are designed, yet, public cloud benefits from a very different model. Running an application in a redundant configuration at peak 24×7 leads to an average of 4x in costs over traditional data center costs.

This is the equivalent of renting a car every day for a full year whether you need it or not. In this model, the shared model comes at a premium.

THE SOLUTION IS IN PLANNING

Is this the best way to leverage public cloud services? Knowing the details of what to expect leads one to a different approach. Can public cloud benefit corporate enterprise applications? Yes. Does it need planning and refactoring? Yes.

By refactoring applications to leverage the benefits of public cloud rather than assume legacy thinking, public cloud has the potential to be less expensive than traditional approaches. Obviously, each application will have different requirements and therefore different outcomes.

The point is to shed legacy thinking and understand where public cloud fits best. Public cloud is not the right solution for every workload. From those applications that will benefit from public cloud, understand what changes are needed before making the move.

OTHER REASONS

There are other reasons that enterprises exit public cloud services beyond just cost. Those may include:

  1. Scale: Either due to cost or significant scale, enterprises may find that they are able to support applications within their own infrastructure.
  2. Regulatory/ Compliance: Enterprises may use test data with applications but then move the application back to corporate data centers when shifting into production with regulated data. Or compliance requirements may force the need to have data resources local to maintain compliance. Sovereignty issues also drive decisions in this space.
  3. Latency: There are situations where public cloud may be great on paper, but in real-life latency presents a significant challenge. Remote and time-sensitive applications are good examples.
  4. Use-case: The last catch-all is where applications have specific use-cases where public cloud is great in theory, but not the best solution in practice. Remember that public cloud is a general-purpose infrastructure. As an example, there are application use-cases that need fine-tuning that public cloud is not able to support. Other use-cases may not support public cloud in production either.

The bottom line is to fully understand your requirements, think ahead and do your homework. Enterprises have successfully moved traditional corporate applications to public cloud…even those with significant regulatory & compliance requirements. The challenge is to shed legacy thinking and consider where and how best to leverage public cloud for each application.