Enterprise Strategy Group Lab Testing StorageX From Data Dynamics

Data Dynamics, Inc., in solutions for the discovery, policy based mobility and migration, reporting and on-going management of file-based storage, announced the results of an Enterprise Strategy Group Lab report that validates advantages for the company’s software solution, StorageX.

Key findings of the report reveal a simple and efficient approach to migrating file storage data that guides and automates processes to make complex migrations quick and simple. The solution eliminates excessive file storage optimization and migration planning, coordination, and troubleshooting that can threaten BC.

According to the report, “Data migrations are a necessary challenge that no administrator looks forward to facing. Movement of data is not the main problem because many products are capable of moving data around quickly. The challenge is the excessive planning, coordination, and troubleshooting that must go into the operation to make sure that disruption of business operations are kept to a minimum. Traditionally, migrations are pushed out until absolutely necessary due to the risks and downtime needed. Once scheduled, teams of internal resources, consultants, and vendor-supplied professional services are over-utilized to ensure that everything goes smoothly. Simply put, traditional data migration projects are extremely inefficient and are an irresponsible use of an organization’s valuable human and financial resources.”

In the review by ESG, lab staff performed three automated migration tests that included Windows file share migration with DFS, NetApp Cluster Mode migration and NetApp to EMC Isilon migration. The Lab compared the Data Dynamics migration processes against typical migration projects using traditional migration processes. The review procedures also included a series of end-customer interviews from administrators of large-scale operations that are currently leveraging Data Dynamics. These interviews provided an understanding of file-based data migrations before and after the use of StorageX.  

ESG Lab findings:

• Time Savings and Risk Reduction: StorageX simplifies and reduces the time to complete data migration projects by automating the time-consuming human-generated tasks of configuration, collection, script generation, and script troubleshooting for faster migrations with less impact on business uptime.
• Risk Reduction: StorageX helps to avoid many of the common migration headaches such as interoperability issues, misconfigured scripts, and typing errors, forcing administrators to spend more time re-executing migrations that leave users without critical access to their data.
• Operational Cost Savings: By automating the discovery of the environment, Data Dynamics is able to greatly reduce the initial planning and discovery phases that are traditionally and painstakingly completed by internal resources and expensive professional services. With StorageX organizations can more quickly remove assets and maintenance contracts from the books, while keeping additional power, cooling, and floor space costs to a minimum.  
• Capital Cost Savings: Using StorageX also allows customers the flexibility to make more cost-effective choices when it comes to hardware purchases. The cost reduction and ease of data migration helps to reduce vendor lock-in, ultimately allowing customers to take advantage of the most cost-effective hardware solutions.
• Comparison with the Traditional Process: While every data migration project is different in terms of data quantity, the number of migrations, the technologies involved, etc., StorageX allows for the reduction in both internal and vendor-supplied resources, as well as the reduction in the time required to discover, plan, and clean up after migration.

According to Brian Garrett, VP, ESG Lab, “Data migrations are expensive. Time is money, and the longer a data migration takes, the more it costs the organization. StorageX automates the process at every phase to greatly reduce the number of human resources needed, the possibility of issues prior to execution, and the amount of time spent throughout the process. Using Data Dynamics StorageX software can save an organization tens of thousands of dollars in operational expenses with each migration project, help users avoid vendor lock-in, and allow the freedom of making a more economical choice when purchasing new hardware.”

“The results of this report align with the feedback we receive on a regular basis from our customers. The faster an enterprise completes a file storage migration, the more it can lower downtime risks and reduce costs,” said Piyush Mehta, CEO, Data Dynamics. “As an increasing number of organizations transition to new storage platforms, including hyper-converged and cloud-integrated solutions, automated data movement and optimization will be a key requirement with StorageX ready to support these environments.”

Full ESG Lab report (registration needed)