Vendor lock-in means that customers are dependent on the products and services of a provider. Changing the provider is only possible with great effort and high costs and is therefore unlikely. In data storage and archiving, vendor lock-ins are often seen in hardware and software.
Due to the limitations and disadvantages of proprietary archive storage solutions, the question arises as to what future-proof systems could look like. If long-term data storage and archiving were a dream and should not turn into a nightmare: what should the solution look like in a perfect world?
- The solution does what it is supposed to do: Store data from different sources for the long term and meet all regulatory requirements
- Sources of errors are detected and corrected independently by the system
- Administrators have little or no work with the system
- Capacity grows with requirements and can be expanded easily and indefinitely
- Total costs are transparent and low
- The system is robust, secure and highly available
- The solution is designed for future changes and is independent of specific vendors and technologies
- Investments in software, hardware and services are protected
- IT can rely on the system and concentrate on the core business
This scenario is closely intertwined with the idea of Software-Defined Archiving. When selecting long-term storage, it is critical for organizations to remain adaptable and agile. A software-based solution approach offers flexible and future-proof options here, as in other areas of professional IT.
