Emerging IT Trends at this Week’s Gartner Data Center Conference in Las Vegas

At the Gartner Data Center Conference in Las Vegas this week ,Acronis’ CMO Scott Crenshaw was among the great technology minds attending (and tweeting!) on the future of the IT landscape. The hashtag #GartnerDC was created to allow attendees to share their thoughts, engage in conversations and discuss industry trends – and let those of us not as fortunate to be in attendance follow along. Some of the trending topics stemming from this week’s show included issues surrounding Big Data, data storage and, of course, the cloud.

The explosion of data was among the trending topics early on in the conference. The amount of data an enterprise produces is rapidly growing and traditional ways to handle data storage needs to be addressed. The cost of storage has created a dent in IT’s budget, meaning the industry needs to find innovative and cost-effective ways to store the influx of data in a way that is conducive to their bottom line. One solution Scott relayed to the Twittersphere is a hybrid cloud storage solution, which will meet the needs of data backup, data protection and BYOD (bring your own device).

Additionally, the future of cloud backup and recovery took center stage as businesses examined their backup and recovery plans to better integrate them into their cloud strategies. During his Tuesday morning session, “Backing Up the Future,” Gartner analyst Dave Russell noted that, when purchasing a backup and disaster recovery solution, it is best to choose one based on the needs of the business. He went on to say businesses must protect their data in the cloud and taking a hybrid approach to reduce latency is one pragmatic solution. Dave also named us as an emerging player in the enterprise backup and recovery space.

From additional conversations at the Gartner Data Center Conference, it’s clear the IT landscape is shifting from traditional views on data storage to the well-known cloud.  Cloud adoption has become commonplace in the enterprise and new solutions are being offered to meet this need, as evident by Gartner analyst Ray Paquet’s keynote session: “Rethink Infrastructure and Operations to Dramatically Reduce Costs.” Ray’s prediction was that, by 2017, major public cloud architectures will be common within the enterprise. Moreover, as BYOD and Big Data infiltrate the enterprise, it is essential for businesses to develop data protection solutions to ensure their data is constantly available and accessible.

Didn’t make it to the conference, but want to stay up-to-date on the conversation? Follow the hashtag #gartnerDC and Acronis’ Scott Crenshaw at @screnshaw for more on the future of IT.