NetApp - Absolute Architect

I'm Just a Million Miles Away.

I'm exactly half way across the globe and I feel like I need to blog and that makes me more of a globe-blogger than a globe-trotter.  I had the pleasure and privilege of presenting the Technical Breakout Session for the APAC Technical Partner Summit here in Kovalam, Kerela in India this week. 

It's always interesting talking to our partners and hence, indirectly to our customers,  to see the technology trends that are occurring out here in addition to the new ways they are doing business in light of the economic crisis.  My counterparts out here are feeling quite positive about it all and feel that it's in fact a phenomenal opportunity to capitalize on this and really relay NetApp's value proposition and help our customers now more than ever.  I couldn't agree more.

 

One of my colleagues who works for NetApp and resides in Amsterdam, Holland jokes that we can no longer draw parallels and be analogous between our Thin Provisioning and the ways that banks loan money.  The irony was both humorous and sad at the same time.

 

So, here's to the wonderful people of NetApp India and the NetApp Partners who have so much faith and hope and drive that it would warm anyone's heart.  Well, maybe not the hearts of Evil Machines but anyone who's warm blooded would indeed share the sentiment.

Go NetApp!  ONE Team!

All Data is Not Created Equal.

We create data.  We create even more data.  Then we back it up, and then we replicate it.  Then we do it again onto tertiary storage.  & then some more.  How many copies of that data has been created?  More importantly, how much of that data warranted being copied so many times?  How do we apply business value to data which we spend our time & money backing up and replicating for a final archival?  Grab your magnifying glass and take a look... it's time to drill down and gain some visibility into what it is we are protecting & replicating.

Indexing and Classification engines have been doing this for quite some time now and are becoming borderline requirements in some organizations.  Whether it's to classify data, tag it for standard migration purposes, or for avoiding litigation and fine for compliance reasons, it has become a very useful tool in determining the business value of data.  After all, not all data is created equal.  How many of you out there are classifying your data to tier it best?  This topic is of much interest to me.  More to come on who out there is doing it best!