With the recent surge in advancements around artificial intelligence, there is a spotlight on the transformative power of data for federal agencies and fulfilling their missions. The traditional role of IT as an operations center, solely focused on enhancing operational efficiency, is undergoing a significant shift. It is now transitioning into an agile innovation engine poised to facilitate transformation and change. According to IDC, this strategic shift globally is seeing digital transformation investment estimates exceeding $68 trillion between 2020 and 2025, across public and private sector.
Federal IT leaders desire to redefine their digital landscape, drawing inspiration from the adaptability and scalability of public cloud frameworks. The constraint of constructing individually optimized data infrastructure systems tailored to specific applications is perceived as a hindrance. The aspiration is to adopt a more programmable and scalable platform approach, aligning with the dynamic nature of applications and services that may undergo significant transformations over time.
The most successful organizations navigating this paradigm shift are those embracing a “digital first” approach. This approach prioritizes placing applications and data at the forefront of mission operations and support functions. By doing so, IT can surpass expectations, delivering non-disruptive, real-time services at scale and maintaining the highest quality standards. Furthermore, this approach strikes a harmonious balance by addressing both end user demands and each agency’s unique data requirements.
The imperative for these advanced IT capabilities is particularly pressing for midsized federal agencies, where demands parallel those of large commercial enterprises. Consequently, midsize agencies are replacing scaled-down performance, features, and functionality sets with midrange storage systems exhibiting high-end characteristics.
This necessitates the establishment of a unified architecture with common features and management, precisely tailored to varying degrees of requirements for capacity, price, and performance. A reliable architecture with out-of-the-box industry-leading data availability is foundational. The architecture must be designed to be flexible, NVMe flash-centric, and seamlessly integrate flash SSDs and hard disk drives for a hybrid approach, optimizing costs as needed. The current state of the art involves a data-driven architecture intelligently managed with AI-based predictive analytics.
As federal agencies evaluate their current storage setups, assessing whether they align with these progressive principles becomes crucial. Does the current infrastructure meet all the necessary criteria, or should agencies expect a higher standard from their storage architecture?
Check out these resources to learn more about Hitachi Vantara Federal Solutions:
- Industry Brief: Modern Data Storage: The Backbone of Agency Innovation
- eBook: The Top 10 Ways Federal Storage is Changing
- Solution Profile: Foundation for a Modern Government Infrastructure
