Any innovation that comes out in 2025 – whether it’s flying cars, highly advanced AI, or a breakthrough medical treatment – will be built on the back of an equally innovative IT foundation driven by data. Data that needs to be stored, managed and made accessible in the data centre, in the cloud or at the edge. Is it too much of a stretch to say the future of humankind is dependent on data storage? We don’t think so.
The ability to keep up with data storage advancements will be a competitive differentiator in this brave new world. Let’s take a look at the trends to watch in 2025.
Advanced AI models will drive storage growth
It’s no secret that data generation and consumption are skyrocketing, while organisations face pressure to derive value from this data quickly. Innovative companies looking to invest heavily in advanced AI technologies will be taking a closer look at how this data is created, managed and securely accessed. Efficiency through greater performance, lower power and higher capacity at scale will be key drivers, with data storage becoming an enabling technology for critical stages within the AI data cycle. New architectures such as NVMe-oF, that enable GPU direct architectures and advancements in high-capacity HDDs and QLC SSDs, will continue to drive storage optimisation, ensuring organisations get the most value out of their AI applications.
We’ll see a continued focus on sustainable data storage initiatives
Nearly every industry is introducing new, long-term sustainability initiatives and best practices to better our planet. For IT managers and data centre architects, managing the influx of new data will drive a constant search for ways to optimise storage, making it more efficient and more effective, and lowering the total cost of ownership. This includes investing in energy-efficient storage technologies such as newer HDDs and SSDs, which can consume less power per TB of data stored and help reduce energy and cooling costs; or there are data management practices like de-duplication and compression, or data lifecycle management practices that can help optimise data on the right tier of storage. Knowing what storage technologies will help you meet these internal goals and sustainability targets will be crucial when building storage infrastructures.
Evolving use cases will further drive bifurcated and hybrid storage solutions
Today’s evolving storage needs are transforming the way enterprise customers approach data management, especially in the context of the AI Data Cycle. High-capacity storage solutions emphasise cost-effective, large-scale data retention, while compute-optimised storage focuses on speed and low latency for performance-critical, time-sensitive applications. Many organisations require both capabilities. In this rapidly changing landscape, simply purchasing white-label drives as storage needs grow is no longer sufficient. Solutions must be tailored to specific use cases to ensure optimal performance and efficiency.
Autonomous vehicle advancements will drive the need for more edge and cloud storage
NAND flash storage needs are increasing with advancements in feature-rich in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving. While some data must remain in the vehicle for real-time decision making, much of the learning and improvements takes place in the cloud. Sensory data and new scenarios are uploaded to the cloud, where they are analysed; and new, smarter AI algorithms are updated over the air to the vehicle in a continuous learning loop.
HDDs are not going to disappear
No matter how you slice it, HDDs are going to be around for a long time. The amount of data generated continues to grow exponentially. AI/ML, big data and the cloud continue to expand and create more data that must be stored. HDD technology advancements have led to larger storage capacities than ever before. When deploying storage solutions at scale, one of the most important considerations is lower total cost of ownership. When factoring in data centre CapEx and OpEx requirements that include power, maintenance, repairs, and the initial acquisition cost for storage devices, high-capacity HDDs offer the lowest possible overall TCO. With HDDs enabling lower TCO, they can help organisations maximise efficiency and profitability. With that in mind, it’s easy to see why HDDs are here to stay.
Storage solutions as agile as tomorrow’s innovations
Honestly, no one knows what 2025 will really bring. But it’s clear the data centre will continue to evolve to meet the increasingly dynamic needs of a massively changing digital world. Enabling this innovation will be data storage – providing the IT backbone for creating, managing, accessing and processing the data that leads to game-changing breakthroughs.
For more information contact Zaina Tahboub, Western Digital, [email protected], www.wdc.com
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