2021. What an interesting year. With the world turned upside down by a pandemic that seemingly had its sights set on...
Phased migrations make it easier for NonStop users to automate file transfers!
DataExpress
DanThere have been so many articles being written of late saying, to paraphrase Archimedes, if we have access to enough data we can move the world. There is barely a day that passes by without headlines from one enterprise or another talking of how it is leveraging not only data but deep learning, machine learning, artificial intelligence and augmented reality none of which could be approached without having data to input.
One of the characteristics of enterprises considered modern, is data – and no enterprises are capitalizing on data as much as the multitude of Silicon Valley startups. In a January 6, 2018, business column published in the Economist, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty is quoted to have said, “The digital revolution has two phases. In the first Silicon Valley firms make all the running as they create new markets and eviscerate firms in sleepy industries.” As for the second phase, she said, it “favors the incumbents.” When it is all said and done, Rometty notes, “They summon the will to adapt, innovate to create new, digital products and increase efficiency.”
There are many enterprises running NonStop systems today who have been running NonStop for decades. The mission critical applications that NonStop supports are crucial to the ongoing operations of the enterprise – the reason these enterprises run NonStop is that they simply cannot afford outages. But does this put them at a disadvantage when compared to new arrivals in their markets? Take, for instance, the news surrounding FinTechs versus traditional banks – is the digital revolution destined to relegate traditional banks to just a footnote of history or will they fight back?
Turns out that this discussion ultimately will hinge on data and what will separate the winners from the losers will be just how well they adapt to leveraging all the information the data contains. According to IBM’s Ginny, “Incumbents have a lot going for them. They own 80% of the commercial world’s data.” Furthermore, “Incumbents have vast resources: Among S&P firms, their total cash flow is four times that of tech firms and 18 times what VCs invest each year.”
When you stop and think about this you realize just how well placed NonStop is today when it comes to helping enterprises with their data – the tables, files and databases housed within NonStop contain some of the most important data of all. This was the theme of the latest post to the DataExpress News Blog You wouldn’t just leave packages with gifts on your friends porch so why would you send files without oversight? “With as much talk as there is today about transformation, modernization, and the emergence of hybrid configurations made up of traditional computing along with clouds, the need to move files around is only getting more urgent and obviously more complex. Not having access to a file when needed can disrupt procedures and go so far as to delay the opening of an application business depends upon.”
DataExpress is all about data and with “80% of the commercial world’s data” owned by traditional enterprises where NonStop has a presence DataExpress plays an important role in ensuring data always ends up where it is needed. If you aren’t running a managed, secure, file transfer product today and rely on scripts and other utilities then the task of transforming your operations and migrating to DataExpress has become a lot easier.
While we often compare DataExpress to FedEx in that whether you give us the packages or we go and collect them from you, we make sure the package arrives and provide tracking information that keeps you fully informed every step of the way. But there is one other consideration to be made – FedEx isn’t an all or nothing approach – many times, you still may use the postal service or even UPS along with FedEx. In so doing, you have the option to move between carriers in a phased approach – start with some packages being transported by FedEx and then over time, decrease dependency on other carriers.
“When it comes to our product,” said DataExpress CEO Billy Whittingotn, “We believe that a similar phased approach adds significant value to DataExpress because it enables our clients to step into the process of full automation with a clear vision of what they want to achieve. Each batch of files, services or end-users they add, gives the DataExpress user increased visibility to the checks and balances throughout the on-boarding process. At no times is the enterprise required to pursue the highly risky rip and replace option when considering a migration to DataExpress.”
Whether you call them traditional, incumbent or established, the enterprises today relying on NonStop have an opportunity to remain a dominant present in the verticals where they operate as they have most of the data. And it is this data that will play an increasingly important role as they look to new technologies to improve their products and services. DataExpress is well positioned to help ensure the data an enterprise possesses makes it to where it is intended and if you would like to join with the NonStop users who have already made the migration to DataExpress then give us or our partner comForte a call. We would be only too happy to discuss how we can phase in DataExpress within your own data center operations.