SMARTER SERVICES AND SOLUTIONS Lenovo Creates ‘Easy Buttons’ For Data Management In an era of exponential data growth and accelerated digital transformation, Lenovo sees a huge upside for partners. David Mooney, vice president, Worldwide Storage Sales, Infrastructure Solutions Group, and Michael White, director, Channel Operations, Infrastructure Solutions Group, North America, at Lenovo explain why data management must not only be a core business priority for organizations but is also a fast-growing opportunity for partners.
Q. What are the market dynamics that are driving such an explosion of data and creating so many challenges for organizations to manage their data? David Mooney: The pandemic has changed how people use data. Much of the data is now stored outside of the data center. Remote work means there’s a greater need to manage and protect data. There are a lot more bad actors who are getting access to data and holding it ransom. Data governance is increasingly complex, and organizations need many more layers of data protection. Where the data is stored is changing, too, moving from the data center to the cloud. There’s a much stronger push on “why not” move to cloud or a cloud-style purchase environment. Businesses rely on hybrid cloud and use multiple cloud providers at the same time.
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Annual compound data growth for data creation and replication from 2020-2025 Source: IDC
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Michael White: Greater intelligence on the edge is also driving a massive growth of data. 5G, video surveillance, analytics, autonomous driving and IoT are just a few examples. Devices on the edge pull in that data, which needs to be stored in the core or moved to the cloud. AI is everywhere. Just about any company with an engineering team is doing AI, and it’s often done on high-performance workstations and storage. If a channel partner isn’t investigating AI with their customers, they’re missing out on a big opportunity.
Q. Lenovo has been quietly making a name for itself in the enterprise storage business. What should partners know about Lenovo’s growing clout in this segment? White: Lenovo has been in the storage business for some time, but we haven’t been splashy about it or made acquisitions. Lenovo has a long history in the enterprise storage business. We also partner with NetApp for data management software for our ThinkSystem storage systems. Lenovo has a strong portfolio of data management products with highly reliable software stacks. Our solutions are adaptable to a variety of different applications for the edge, core, cloud and multicloud. We also have a deep bench of data management experts who can help our channel partners extend their reach in data management.
