Bad memory: How to manage the storage crisis
Is software-defined storage a real way through the memory crisis, or does it just move the problem somewhere else?
South African storage buyers are finding their budgets stretched this year as memory costs skyrocket. This sudden rise in expense is largely due to demand from AI data centers. Companies are now holding onto their hardware longer and pushing out refreshes. Daniel Teixeira, an engineering manager at Everpure, notes that businesses are delaying purchases and getting creative with software features and cloud solutions to cope.
Meanwhile, the software that manages storage is becoming increasingly complex. IDC predicts South Africa's software-defined storage (SDS) market will grow at about 17% annually through 2030, outpacing the global rate of 18%. Companies are investing more in the software layer because it allows them to decouple storage management from hardware, reducing vendor lock-in and enabling easier capacity expansion.
SDS splits storage management from the hardware it runs on, allowing businesses to use commodity hardware and pool drives from different vendors. This flexibility comes at a cost, as SDS still requires servers with DRAM, flash, and high-speed networking. While SDS offers cost savings and independence from a single hardware vendor, it also transfers the burden of running the storage infrastructure onto the buyer.
Analysts recommend a phased approach to SDS adoption, starting with discovery and cleanup, followed by small pilots to prove value before scaling. Ultimately, the decision to adopt SDS should be based on the specific workload, budget, and the longevity of existing hardware. There is no single solution, and organizations must carefully weigh their options.
Written by urgent.news from ITWeb's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
