Paolo Fontana, Country Manager Italy, Pure Storageindicates three forecasts on the trends that will characterize 2024 on the business front.
Prediction 1
The difficulty economic conditions will favor the demand for flexible pay-as-you-go models. The difficult economic climate we are experiencing shows no signs of improvement ahead of 2024. The biggest obstacle for companies in the next 12-18 months will be to be able to spend money with caution. Knowing full well that short-term cost reductions must not come at the expense of competitive advantage.
Costs and objectives
In the year ahead, the need to balance budget pressures with the insatiable demand for more capacity storage will fuel demand for subscription models. There are many reasons why this happens, depending on both costs and objectives:
savings on the total cost of ownership (TCO). By moving from owning technology (capital immobilization) to a subscription (operating cost), companies can obtain savings significant on the long-term TCO over the lifetime of a product.
Services drive demand. Customers know that SLAs are the point of value in models subscription. So they expect vendors to have robust guarantees to ensure maximum value from every subscription. 2024 forecast on the business front
No more risks of overcapacity. With a pay-per-use model, companies no longer have to worry about activating subscriptions with capacity in excess of actual needs, incurring costs that are higher than necessary.
More liquidity to invest elsewhere. The current business scenario makes the ability to innovate more than competitors essential to maintain one’s advantage. Eliminate technological assets from balance sheet items free liquidity, opening up new opportunities to invest and be creative.
More value to sustainability objectives. Subscription models allow companies to consume only the storage they need, reducing data center power and cooling consumption and significantly reducing the impact of data on CO2 emissions.
Investing in innovation
The technology behind subscription models is just as important as the simplicity of how you consume them. Access and use of new innovations must be simple. As is the case with flash storage, where some vendors are evolving to provide the performance needed to handle data growth. Together, ease of use and economic benefits will make attractive subscription models in the year ahead.
Prediction 2
It’s time to take responsibility for sustainability goals seriously. Sustainability goals have changed once again. While the current climate crisis is no secret, there remains a notable disconnect within companies when it comes to ESG. Businesses are not assigning tangible incentives to purchase sustainable solutions and this lack of direction and responsibility it is the cause of the limited progress recorded.
More responsibility on the part of companies
Sustainability and consumption go hand in hand, there is a real interest in measuring the cost per watt and taking it into account in the decision-making process. In fact, 80% of a data center’s carbon footprint comes from operations daily. Yet this element is not considered for purchasing purposes. This situation can be changed through three empowerment processes:
2024 business forecasts according to Pure Storage apply sustainability-related savings to the objectives and rewards established for decision-makers. Link the entire company’s sustainability progress to performance with energy consumption KPIs. Assign goals and evaluate employees to drive meaningful change.
Sustainability, costs, flexibility
In 2024 all companies will have to be motivated to consider ESG elements in their activities and be accountable for their actions. They will have to be more sustainable and reduce costs by adding flexibility to the infrastructure. This includes actions such as reorganize teams, evaluate suppliers, rethink the cost of technological assets. And again: minimize electronic waste and only use the storage that is actually needed.
The government line
Government obviously plays an essential role in all of this by identifying the means that bring about the necessary changes. For example investing in technology to reduce energy consumption rather than resorting to emissions compensation practices. Beyond this, it is necessary to define some standard prosecuted by companies, otherwise they will continue to create unnecessary waste to the detriment of safeguarding the planet.
Prediction 3
Customers will ask for support to deliver value to AI. Analysts predict that global spending on artificial intelligence (AI) will reach $154 billion in 2023. While the focus on AI and generative AI is ever-present, there are still hurdles to overcome when it comes to implementing truly impactful AI. Next year, organizations will ask for support to deliver AI projects that go beyond the heat of the moment and have a impact real about business. Processes and technologies obsolete they hinder organizations from achieving growth and innovation with AI, and next year customers won’t be willing to waste time.
2024 forecast on the business front: aim to reduce manual processes
Suppliers will need to support customers to ensureefficiency operational. AI Ops is an ally here and should be implemented to help teams be more effective and reduce manual and labor-intensive processes. This way people will be free to do what they want concentration on higher value assets. The elimination of cumbersome and wasteful processes is the oxygen that makes innovation flourish. While AI and generative AI are the latest technology trends, the true value will be realized by those who have both the technology as an enabler and the business model and culture to truly create positive change and ensure success.