The development of digitization contributes to the increase in the volume of data produced by companies. However, their management requires the involvement of specialized services. Cloud storage is a better option for companies in development and beyond. GTS Telecom, one of the main local providers of data storage solutions, has continuously invested in recent years to develop its capabilities in this field and ensure the best performance of its data centers in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca. We spoke to Sorin Dragici, Commercial Director of GTS Telecom, to learn more about current trends in this segment and expectations for the coming year.

Reporter: How has the amount of data received by the companies you work with changed over the past two years?

Sorin Dragichi: It’s no secret that the need for cloud data storage is growing every year. The amount of data each customer chooses to store is also increasing with easier access to storage tools. This trend can be observed globally and based on analysis of GTS Telecom’s performance, where storage capacity has tripled between 2020-2022.

R: What trends do you see in this area?

SD: When a company’s basic IT needs are met, customers turn to other solutions, such as external backup solutions. Companies have become more aware of the consequences of possible data loss and tend to store their copies in another place, away from the headquarters of the organization. Whether it’s earthquakes, fires, floods, or cyberattacks, customers recognize the need for allies to protect their data in situations where a company’s IT resources become unusable.

There are also customers who take this need very seriously, also opting for disaster recovery solutions that allow for data recovery in a minimal amount of time. They are more concerned with quickly restoring services, recovering data, and ensuring the health of the company’s IT resources and applications.

A: What storage solutions do you offer? What should the client pay attention to?

SD: GTS Telecom’s storage capacity has tripled over the past two years. For data storage, the capacity and performance of the proposed solutions are important. We offer three types of storage solutions.

SATA is suitable for large volumes of data that do not require high write speeds. It’s an economical option, ideal for storing reasonable amounts of data in a decent range. Over the past three years, GTS Telecom’s SATA storage capacity has increased by more than 120%.

SAS data storage solutions are growing the most, demand for which has tripled over the past two years. SAS devices continue to be the backbone of storage systems, being ideal for complex applications where, however, there are budget constraints.

Obviously, we’re also seeing a growing demand for SSDs, which work on different principles than mechanical hard drives, offering higher speeds for both writing and reading. GTS has invested in these technologies and continuously increased the amount of SSD memory by more than 150% during the mentioned period of time.

A: What role does the cloud play in managing today’s volume of data? What conclusions can we draw?

SD: The cloud is an extremely important resource that offers many services that are otherwise unavailable to a start-up or growing company. First, it represents a cost-effectiveness advantage in the sense that the company will only pay for the contracted resources.

Then the cloud is a scalable solution, the most efficient in terms of the use of hardware resources and very secure.

GTS Cloud can provide computing resources, storage and data protection services while adhering to cybersecurity guidelines. Communication between these elements is ensured by a secure and high-speed network, the Internet and VPN services. In addition, the GTS cloud is constantly expanding. We are currently working on the expansion of the data center in Bucharest, precisely to support the offer of cloud solutions.

A: What risks do companies face when it comes to managing generated data?

SD: Cyberattacks have become the norm, but the real problem arises when companies don’t realize the risks they expose themselves to if they don’t take preventative measures. Without proper protection, any company can turn from a colossus into a ruin overnight. GTS provides clients with specialist advice and expertise to minimize cyber risks. Backup and disaster recovery measures can save a business in many situations: hardware failures, natural disasters, viruses, military conflicts, cyber attacks, and more. GTS has the in-house skills to design, implement and manage any backup and disaster recovery scenario.

A: What is the role of scalability in enterprise storage solutions?

SD: For growing companies, efficiency is key. It is important that resources are not wasted and purchases cover more needs. In this sense, the cloud is incredibly powerful because of scalability. The cloud also turned out to be a profitable solution in the conditions of blocking in the semiconductor market, which led to the increase in the price of physical equipment, its delivery could take even months, which is an obstacle for a company that bets on constant development. All this is now being accelerated by rising electricity prices, which are a significant component of costs. GTS Cloud offers important benefits. Here, customers use only contracted resources and can always expand resources to meet new needs. Such flexibility is not possible in on-site data centers where purchased equipment is either not being used at full capacity, thus wasting resources, or, conversely, has limited upgradeability that cannot support further developments.

A: How was 2022 and what news do you expect from 2023 in the field of data management?

SD: 2023 will be the year of digital data storage speed. Existing technologies have reached a high degree of maturity, and reliability and storage capacity are no longer major concerns. There is room for growth in the speed of writing and reading data. The new solid-state drives can achieve speeds 23 times faster than SATA drives or six times faster than SAS drives.

We already have customers interested in these technologies because the performance of the IT systems they manage provides a significant competitive advantage. We focus on the needs of our customers and constantly explore new trends in technology, and we are currently considering the possibility of including new data storage devices in our offer, such as NVMe – interfaces that provide an increase in the amount of data transferred. , and the delay decreases.

We also see that more and more companies are considering moving from on-premises servers to cloud solutions. In 2023, we will be able to offer more options in this regard. Cloud storage performance is increasing, and customers will no longer have a reason to prefer on-premises infrastructure. We are ready to use new technologies in our cloud.

Article supported by GTS