IT leaders believe all data has value

Only just over half of enterprises are storing all available business data, even though a large majority of IT leaders agree that all data has potential value, research suggests.

A survey commissioned by Western Digital’s HGST shows that 86% of CIOs and IT decision-makers agree that all data has value if it can be stored, analysed and accessed. But 48% of respondents admitted that they were not storing all available data.

One reason is a lack of access to the right tools, with 78% stating that better analytics tools and storage systems would improve business efficiency and 22% admitting that they don’t have the right mix of structured, unstructured and semi-structured data storage to properly analyse their data.

Due to the growing popularity of big data and advanced analytics, data storage is now the primary driver of IT investment in many markets.

“Data has become the currency of the new economy and the ability to extract value from data is the ultimate competitive edge,” HGST President Mike Cordano said. “Smart organisations are harnessing the power of data to gain understanding, drive predictions and offer new insights.”

The biggest concern when it comes to data centres is around security and governments, and enterprises are increasing investments in long-term storage and data protection to address these issues.

Among respondents involved in a data centre project, the most important considerations include performance (41%) and cost or operational efficiency (25%).

Over 60% of IT decision-makers are investing in solid state drives (SSDs) to extend the life of hardware investments.

Image courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives under CC