Storage virtualization pools physical storage from multiple devices into a single, centrally managed system.
It simplifies storage management by inserting an abstraction layer between the host and the physical storage. This creates a common set of management services across all devices, gives administrators a logical view of the storage network, and presents the host with virtual disks instead of physical ones.
Many data center operators are implementing virtual technology to reduce the cost and the power consumption required to operate data centers. It also offers flexibility, simplified management, elimination of vendor lock-in issues, and ease of data migration.
Geographical segmentation of the global virtualization market 2014
Source: Technavio, 2015
The global storage virtualization market is expected to reach $10.02 billion by 2019, growing at a CAGR of 24.13% from 2014-2019.
Technavio analysts have narrowed down three key trends expected to impact growth in the global storage virtualization market through the projected period.
SDS implementation
Many enterprises planning to adopt storage virtualization technology are considering implementing software-defined storage (SDS). This is a form of storage virtualization that separates software services such as data management, data protection, data placement, and input/output (I/O) capabilities from the underlying storage infrastructure, which increases flexibility, scalability, and automation of enterprise storage infrastructure.
SDS also helps reduce overall storage costs for enterprises. The technology enhances resource pooling, abstraction, automated management of storage infrastructure, and support for legacy applications, cloud-based services, and big data analytics.
Increased use of flash hypervisors
Data center operators are turning to storage virtualization because of efficient scaling, higher availability, and better use of the underlying physical infrastructure. However, I/O bottlenecks still hinder performance of application and storage systems.
To combat this problem, data center operators are implementing flash storage that enables better I/O operations per second for virtualized environments.
This has obviously increased demand for server-side flash and flash hypervisor software. A flash hypervisor connects multiple VMs to flash devices based on user-specified policies and delivers twice the performance at a lower cost than a storage area network. This enhanes read and write performance for all associated VMs, without requiring any change or upgrade to the existing storage infrastructure.
Internet of Things (IoT)
Analysts are projecting there to be around 30 billion Internet-connected devices by 2019, as the Internet of things (IoT) continues to grow. With the rise in smart cities and connected cars, homes and healthcare, a huge amount of data is being generated that needs to be managed and stored, which is expected to give the data center market a big boost.
By 2019, IoT-enabled devices will have increased data center traffic 40 times over, and these data centers will require constant upgrading to satisfy IoT requirements.
Storage virtualization will play a vital role in storing and processing this data by reducing the need for additional storage infrastructure, and helping enterprises improve the availability services.
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