What is data storage?

Every piece of information you gather in your business is potentially important. Whether it’s a database of customer accounts and their purchase histories, human resources records for every employee, financial information such as payroll or accounts receivable, or intellectual property such as specifications for your products, that information needs to be stored somewhere so you can access it as needed to operate your business.

Forms of data storage

File storage Also referred to as file-level or file-based storage, this type is presented as files that are stored in folders and subfolders in a directory. If you’ve used a PC and saved a document to the hard drive, for instance, you have experienced file storage. Files are accessible through a path that users must know. File storage is the most common type of storage on computer hard drives and network-attached storage (NAS) devices. Block storage Rather than storing data in a complete file, block storage breaks apart data and stores it in blocks that can hold 256 KB up to 4 MB. The blocks are then placed randomly on the storage device – which doesn’t hinder access speeds because each block is tagged with a unique identifier. When a user or application needs a file, the computer queries the block storage system, which rapidly identifies and collects all the needed blocks and reassembles them into a complete file. Block storage is ultra-efficient because it doesn’t use metadata, which takes up room on the storage device. Because it’s so fast, businesses tend to use block storage when they want to scale up quickly and when read/write performance is a critical priority. Object storage This type of data storage separates information into distinct objects with unique identifiers and metadata. It doesn’t form a hierarchy like file storage and is considered “flat.” Metadata is a critical component of object storage and each object can have quite a bit of metadata, such as information about the creator of the data and keywords, as well as policies for security, privacy, and access. Object storage works well with APIs so it’s simple to use with existing software and systems. It also scales very well. It could be spread across hundreds or thousands of devices and locations and still be super speedy because all the data is stored in one namespace. It’s the storage type of choice for public cloud providers, such as AWS, and organizations that deal with a lot of unstructured data such as video files, emails, IoT sensor data, social media content, and more.

Types of data storage solutions

Direct-attached storage (DAS)Network-based storage: NAS and SAN

The importance of data storage

Long-lasting preservation of data – Digital data storage makes it easy to pool large volumes of information for long periods of time. Easier accessibility – Everyone can get the information they need, right from their desktop computers instead of having to physically go to a room full of file cabinets.More efficient data recovery – Stored data is easily backed up by making copies, so recovery is faster and simpler if a file gets lost or corrupted. Smaller physical footprint and easier scalability – There’s no need for physical file cabinets, which take up lots of room over time, and adding more digital capacity is simple.Potentially increased security – For very sensitive data, there are many more ways to secure and protect that information digitally using today’s advanced security tools and features.Easier collaboration across teams – Centrally stored data is accessible to every authorized user and can be accessed and shared among teams as they work together. More efficient document management – It’s easier to categorize and organize data digitally, and it can be done from a computer desktop or other connected device. Enhanced productivity and workflows – Saving data digitally takes less time than printing out physical pages and creating files, which must be stored in file cabinets.

How does data storage work?

When you store data on a computer, the digital information is saved to a device, where it remains until deleted. Storage differs from computer memory in a major way: While you can access information quickly from your computer’s RAM, that data is only available in RAM until your computer is turned off. Data storage, however, retains data whether the computer is powered on or off. That’s how it can store data long-term.Saving data on a computer storage device lets you access that information when you need it. For example, the accounting department can retrieve stored data about employee work hours and use it to carry out bimonthly payroll tasks. A sales rep can pull up information about a customer before a sales call to see recent orders and go over the last visit to remind them of the issues they discussed.

Types of data storage devices

Cloud storageHybrid cloud storageSSD and flash storageBackup storage

What is the best for storing data?

DAS can be a good choice for:Small businesses, branch offices, and home offices that want a cost-efficient solution and don’t need networkingHosting just one application and its dataSecuring and isolating data for compliance purposesSAN can be a good choice for: Large data centers or business-critical applications that need centralized storage resourcesLarge numbers of employees and an IT staff with skills to manage and maintain the solutionApplications that require very high performance, such as transactional databases Hosting large relational databases that need high performanceLarge enterprises that need a high degree of storage scalabilityA fault-tolerant environment for critical applicationsNAS can be a good choice for:Reliable, cost-effective storage for many users that doesn’t compromise performanceLarge volumes of unstructured data that need to be shared among usersApplications that aren’t performance-sensitiveArchiving or backing up dataServers hosting virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and virtual machines (VMs)Cloud storage can be a good choice for: Archiving or backing up data for disaster recoveryData lakes and data analytics platformsApplication development and testing Storing workloads during a data migrationStorage for cloud-native applications and their dataStorage for industry and regulatory complianceIoT and machine learning data

What is the safest form of data storage?

DAS can be considered secure in the sense that a hacker cannot infiltrate a network and carry out an attack. Many removable storage devices such as SSDs, USBs, and so on are considered “air gapped” if they aren’t on a networked system. However, if the device is damaged or lost, the data could be irretrievable. NAS is a fairly common target for hackers. The storage system is only as secure as your network and router, so it’s important for NAS users to take proven security measures such as regular updates, two-factor authentication, single sign-on processes, encryption, and so on. SAN is inherently more secure than NAS because its data protection algorithms stay consistent and because if your LAN is attacked, having your data stored on a separate network keeps it protected. Cloud storage is typically considered the most secure type of data storage because major cloud service providers, such as AWS, Google, and Microsoft have put billions of dollars into making it secure. It’s also secure because providers make multiple copies of your data to create a high degree of redundancy – so if a cloud server goes down, you can still access your data because it’s stored in various servers and locations.

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The Next Evolution of Elevate: Why Partners Should Build Their Business With Nutanix

September 28, 2023 | min

As technology continues to advance at an extraordinary pace, organizations across every sector are eager to harness the power of digital transformation, data-driven insights, AI, and the cloud. This allows them not only to stay competitive, but also to pioneer new frontiers in efficiency, agility, and customer experience.

As Nutanix steps into its new fiscal year, we are excited to showcase to partners the wealth of opportunities to grow their business, elevate their skills, and maximize earnings. This includes a revamped incentive structure and channel-led selling motions that empower partners with deal control throughout the sales cycle.

Enhanced Incentives Framework to Earn More

At Nutanix, we understand that a strong partnership is built on mutual success. To that end, we are thrilled to introduce enhancements to our Elevate Partner Program’s new incentives and Performance+ Deal Registration Program for FY24. Our commitment to partners’ success goes beyond just words; it's reflected in our revamped incentive structure, which includes:

Larger Payout for New Business Individual Incentive: Now partner sellers and sales engineers (SEs) can earn a 2% incentive, up to $7,500 per deal, for identifying, registering, and winning new business with Nutanix. This incentive program complements our New Business Rebate for partner reseller organizations, which maintains its lucrative structure from FY23.
Increased Discount Advantage for Deal Registration: FY24 brings an enhanced discount advantage to partners who register deals and quote Nutanix simplified product portfolio SKUs (PnP 2.0), as you’ll now see over a 40% greater discount advantage versus non-registered discounting. Registering deals not only provides you with deal protection but can drive even greater profitability for each deal.
Performance Bonuses: Top-performing partners will have the opportunity to earn even more through the Outperformance Rebate program.

Channel-Led Selling Motion Brings Empowerment for Full Lifecycle Ownership

At Nutanix, we’re focused on placing our valued partner ecosystem into the driver’s seat of the sales cycle. Channel-Led selling provides Nutanix partners deal control throughout the sales cycle for customers and prospects in select accounts. This gives partners the ability to drive deals their way, fostering more intimate customer relationships by showcasing their full Nutanix capabilities and value-added services to deliver customer success.

To achieve this, we’ll be backing partners with new levels of sales support and resources to guide partners towards selling success, including:

A lucrative channel-led selling rebate incentive in the FY24 Elevate Partner Program built to make partner success even more profitable as partners win new deals with these select accounts.
Dedicated Channel-Led sales resource centers across the world, purpose-built to support partners on deals with select accounts when needed in any facet of the sales cycle.
Robust new enablement pathways launching mid-October in the updated Nutanix University platform to ensure partners have the sales, technical, and services capabilities needed to be successful around hybrid multicloud solutions.

Additionally, helping our partners deliver customer success throughout the lifecycle is paramount to achieving business growth and satisfied users. That’s why Nutanix is taking proactive steps to empower partners with increased visibility into Available To Renew (ATR) data in our new fiscal year.

By offering partners a comprehensive view of renewal data, Nutanix will enable our partners to proactively address issues, to ensure their customers are not only satisfied, but also thriving. The result? Renewals become a natural byproduct of customer success, simplifying the process and ensuring long-term relationships that benefit both our partners and their valued Nutanix customers.

Getting Customers to Hybrid Multicloud Faster

Nutanix enables partners to help solve cloud complexity struggles — whether that be cost, performance, or security risk challenges — by taking advantage of our single platform that gives customers complete freedom to choose their cloud, apps, and platform. With the Nutanix Cloud Clusters™ (NC2) solution, partners can deliver on the promise of hybrid, allowing their customers to seamlessly manage and migrate virtual machines (VMs), containers, and applications without expensive retooling or reworking, delivering freedom from cloud lock-in.

Starting now, Nutanix also delivers the ability to leverage cloud marketplaces as a new route to market, including integrations with both the Microsoft Azure® and AWS® marketplaces. Most importantly, partners receive the same discount advantages as they would through traditional transaction avenues. Partners can now take advantage of seamless transactions and reduced sales cycles with their customers using programs such as the AWS Channel-Partner-Private Offer (CPPO) and Azure Multiparty Private Offers (MPO) where available.

Making Your Business Stronger with Nutanix Innovations in FY24 and Beyond

Nutanix is focused on helping partners drive customer success in the ever-evolving IT landscape. This includes continued product innovation such as the recent unveiling of the Nutanix GPT-in-a-Box™ solution for customers looking to jump-start their AI and machine learning innovation. Nutanix also recently announced a global strategic partnership with Cisco to simplify hybrid multicloud and fuel business transformation.

As we embark on this new fiscal year, Nutanix is fully committed to partner success. I encourage you to deepen your partnership with us to help build your business with Nutanix. Here's to a prosperous and rewarding year ahead!

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