Drain the data lake and embrace the distributed data layer

The growth of AI and machine learning tools has meant that companies are using and storing data at volumes never seen before. Even indirect usage requires data processing and has increased volumes to, on average, 2 petabytes per year. Today, 80% of that data is unstructured.¹ Data volumes are expected to increase by 42% annually,² leaving companies with the growing complexity of what to do next.

This big data is a powerful tool for building sustainable growth as it gives fast, precise insights into business operations and offers automation opportunities such as digital twins.

Leveraging this data is where the challenge lies with IT leaders sitting at a crossroad - continue with the unstructured data lake or build a distributed data layer?

Nicknamed the data swamp, an unruly data lake can be a costly burden to companies attempting to use data to leverage business value. Data is often stored in multiple locations, with 30% stored in internal data centres and only 22% in cloud repositories. Understandably, companies are only putting 57% of stored data to use.²

It is precisely this challenge that has led to the adoption of the distributed data layer - a fast and efficient way to deliver data to the databases where it is needed.

The distributed data layer can bring challenges with interoperability but, when combined with fully cloud-based storage, can overcome these challenges otherwise multiplied by various storage locations.

With more companies choosing the multi-cloud approach and combining it with multi-cloud networking (MCN), that data becomes freer and can be put to more active use. This also provides access to more end users and enables the democratisation of data.

The flexibility and accessibility of the cloud are prompting more enterprises to move their applications and data to the cloud every day. However, using multiple cloud providers for different workloads of an organisation has resulted in added complexities within the system. Therefore, enterprises of the multi-cloud age require solutions that can help various applications and data stored on separate clouds interact with each other.

Enterprises now need to adopt the right multi-cloud networking solutions to operate a network that spans multiple cloud environments to deploy, enable, and manage policies, security protocols, governance, and visibility through a single point.

The multi-cloud network gives secure deployment across multiple cloud environments, thus providing the perfect tool for big data management. Operating on a scale needed to handle the increasing data needs of enterprise companies, the MCN also provides the solution for companies outgrowing their data lake.

The data lake's decreasing ability to resist cyber security threats has helped the increased uptake of the MCN. Using end-to-end encryption, versatile virtual next-gen firewalls (NGFW) and instant cloud-wide blacklisting or whitelisting, MCN is secure and scalable - perfect for both cyber resilience and increasing data storage needs.

Distributed data models have the power to build sustainable business growth and reduce wastage by giving form and structure to critical information.

Optimised data storage, schema and security can extract its inherent value by allowing easier access to insights from across the business. It powers the tools that power the people by enabling APIs and IoT technologies to make sense of data, in turn providing targeted information to the people that make decisions.

For companies adhering to ESG frameworks, this multi-cloud data management system also helps achieve the governance element by putting sensitive and customer data locked behind layers of security.

Data is both a help and a hindrance. It has the power to build sustainable growth by giving real-time insights but becomes an unmanageable burden without structure and access.

Embracing the distributed data layer with a multi-cloud approach overcomes this challenge and unlocks value while preparing for a future where AI is managing more of our business operations.