IT Infrastructure Insights

Two Issues Enterprise IT Departments Need to Resolve in 2021

Jan 05, 2021

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2020 and 2021 have not been typical years, as the COVID-19 pandemic challenges companies across all industries and sectors. The pandemic has only heightened the need for IT departments to optimize resources and drive business-transforming infrastructure decisions. If companies are to be successful in 2022 and beyond, they need IT departments that can provide agility, scalability, and innovation. Businesses will continue to feel the implications and repercussions of the crises through 2022 in the form of containing costs and effectively utilizing IT resources. IT teams need to transform from reactive operations into proactive models, further uncovering opportunities for operational efficiencies.

Contain Costs with a Single-Pane Storage View

A multi-purpose tool – something with pliers, a screwdriver, maybe even a flashlight – is handy in a pinch, but it will never do as good a job as a single purpose-built tool. Data often resides in a number of separate data sources. Tier 1 storage is optimized for your critical, frequently accessed data, while tier 3 is optimized for long term durability. That means that data needs to be stored in the right tier, matching your storage environment to the data being stored.

Data centers are becoming full of storage arrays that are purpose-built. These purpose-built solutions, focused on addressing specific workloads, have many benefits for IT departments, particularly in regards to the ever-increasing quantity of unstructured data.  IT leaders know that unstructured data is growing faster than any other data set, and those files are increasing in size. The result of this growth is that most companies have a wealth of unstructured data that far exceeds their structured data. Purpose-built solutions can be designed to deliver maximum performance for their environment.

While purpose-built solutions have many advantages, they also come with a drawback; they can cause data to be hidden within the silos of various systems. Without easy access to critical data, IT departments are left with an incomplete view of the business. This kind of limited access makes it difficult to pinpoint problems that arise. While it’s easy to blame the network or a storage array, without an end-to-end view in a multi-storage system environment, it can take hours, days, or even weeks to find a problem. IT leaders need an integrated view of all of their storage in order to ensure an efficient IT infrastructure. Visual One pinpoints problems before they happen and tells IT leaders precisely where to go to fix any problems.

Utilize IT Resources More Efficiently with Better Tools

IT leaders have faced unprecedented challenges this year, and heading into 2022, IT leaders are feeling additional pressure to reduce costs while still delivering sound strategic recommendations and providing IT excellence. Many IT departments are stretched thin, spending their days tied up with timely manual processes. For companies with IT teams still working on Excel sheets, spending weeks pulling data reports, these inefficient processes are wasting time and money and still delivering unreliable data.

Complex data storage environments mean that IT leaders are often operating without the data transparency they really need. Without clear data visibility, organizations struggle with reactionary decision making, and they are continually at risk for downtime outages. Depending on what goes out, pinpointing the specific problem could take hours, days, or even longer. The more complex the storage environment, the more details could be missed when running manual processes.

Not only are these situations frustrating, but they pull resources from other areas and require a fire drill response, all hands on deck until the issue is solved. While this damage control mode is commonplace, it also leads to decreased productivity and monetary waste. Rather than having to throw all of your effort behind trying to quickly pinpoint a problem, your IT team could stay aware of opportunities and risks with a single-pane view across the enterprise as well as weekly email reports analyzed by a seasoned data consultant.

With more efficient and reliable tools, IT teams can transform from reactive operations into proactive models, uncovering opportunities for operational efficiencies along with amazing cost savings. Tasks that once took hours or minutes can be executed instantaneously, allowing IT departments to reduce busywork and better utilize employees.

Visual One helps IT leaders with actionable intelligence through consistent reporting. With a visual data management solution that instantly delivers transparency across your storage environment, IT leaders can help companies scale by being a more proactive and strategic decision-maker. At Visual One, we know that equipping IT leaders with superior visibility into their data management across the enterprise allows them to save time, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. Schedule a demo to talk to a Visual One data expert.

Key Takeaways

  • The pandemic has heightened the need for IT departments to optimize resources and drive business-transforming infrastructure decisions.
  • In 2021, IT teams need to transform from reactive operations into proactive models, further uncovering opportunities for operational efficiencies.
  • Companies need IT departments that can help with containing costs and effectively utilizing IT resources.
  • Visual One equips IT leaders with actionable intelligence through consistent reporting, helping them save time, reduce costs, and improve efficiency.