Data is a business’ most precious asset, and in this data-driven world, any company that isn’t collecting, storing and using data will be devoured alive by those who are. Given that, the issue of storing all that data becomes a prime concern. Costs on data storage are dropping, but one bottleneck remains; the cost of employing people to perform the mad dance we call data management.

“The big thing is all about automation, you want to automate as much as you can,” said Eric Herzog (pictured), vice president of product marketing and management, storage and software defined infrastructure, at IBM Corp.

Herzog spoke to John Furrier (@furrier) and Dave Vellante (@dvellante), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile live-streaming studio, during the IBM InterConnect 2017 conference in Las Vegas, NV, covering topics including on-premises and cloud-based data storage.

Moving data, moving applications, cutting costs

The world is no longer a place where data can sit in a box somewhere. It has to move. Herzog took a moment to mention how new technologies are helping to move that data back and forth. These developments can also move applications across the cloud, allowing companies to process closer to the data.

This sort of innovation illustrates how software-defined solutions have found their legs. The whole software-defined concept has gone from nothing to a significant part of the market, according to Herzog. These changes in the landscape make storage a white-hot market right now.

Hot markets are good for dropping prices. While storage technology has improved, going to all-flash arrays and slashing the price to do so, hardware is only one side of the deal. People need to manage that data,including oversee where it goes, what it does, and pick up the pieces when something goes sideways. Skilled people are an expense with a rather high floor.

Automation is key for reducing those people costs, Herzog explained. Automating data movement and activity is important for the future of data storage. IBM is doing its part by embracing the cloud, automating processes, and bridging the mobility gap between on-premises and cloud storage.

“We can be on any cloud,” Herzog said.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of IBM InterConnect 2017. (*Disclosure: SiliconANGLE Media’s theCUBE is a media partner at InterConnect. Neither IBM nor other conference sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE