Linux Foundation Releases Report on Data and Storage

LOS ANGELES — The Linux Foundation is sharing a report on enterprise use of data and storage as they relate to cloud services and workloads.

The Linux Foundation released the 2021 “Data and Storage Trends” report “in the era” of cloud-native, edge computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and 5G solutions, according to the foundation last month.

The report was produced in collaboration with the SODA Foundation.

Key report findings

• Storage requirements move from terabytes to petabytes
  • Mainstream annual data growth is between 1-100 TBs per year as reported in the study. However, 9% of the sample is seeing annual data growth of 1 PB or more. This is 10 to 100 times greater growth than the mainstream and is likely a harbinger of where many enterprises will find themselves within a few years.
• Enterprises pivot to cloud-based containerized environments
  • 48% of enterprises are using cloud VMs in production and development environments, while 75% use Kubernetes or a hybrid Kubernetes on-premises and public cloud combination
• Software-defined storage could revolutionize how data is managed
  • When asked what storage technologies are included in the enterprise’s storage infrastructure, three technologies shared a leadership position. File storage (65%), software-defined storage (60 percent), and public cloud storage (60%) are the storage technologies of choice for most enterprises.
• Containerized cloud-native storage is not without pain points
  • Performance was identified by 49% of end-user enterprises as the number one pain point when using containers and/or cloud native storage. Performance was followed closely by availability at 46%.
• Open source projects are shaping data and storage infrastructure use
  • 37% percent of enterprises are engaged with SODA Foundation, the number one response, while GlusterFS and Alluxio followed.
• Enterprises fixated on data protection and security
  • Data protection and availability at 61% as well as security and compliance at 57% were the top two capabilities identified by end users.

Several organizations were partners in the survey: Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF); Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA); Japan Data Storage Forum (JDSF); China Open Source Cloud League (COSCL); Open Infrastructure Foundation (OIF); Mulan Open Source Community; and Storage Performance Council (SPC).

“Data has changed the nature of both enterprise computing and business operations,” said Steven Tan, chair, SODA Foundation, and VP and CTO of cloud storage solutions at Futurewei.

“No longer can companies take a passive or reactive approach to market changes or customer behaviors. Understanding how to collect, manage, and consume data is a competitive advantage in today’s digital economy.”

The Linux Foundation’s collaboration with the SODA Foundation represents “our service to industry and community as a research center for understanding key technology trends that inform open source development and resource allocation,” said Hilary Carter, VP of Linux Foundation Research.

Report Methodology

The worldwide survey was conducted by the SODA Foundation and The Linux Foundation from April 15 to August 19, 2021.

The survey was completed by 247 people.