Artificial intelligence may be the buzzword of the moment, but its power lies in the data it consumes and the processes it drives. Each company’s approach to AI differs, shaped by unique goals, risk tolerance and operational philosophy. Given its variability and versatility, how can companies harness data storage for AI?

Dell’s Geeta Vaghela and NVIDIA’s Premal Savla discuss data storage for AI.

“[AI is] a big buzzword, but it’s also a market that’s in flux. Everyone’s trying to figure out what it means to them,” said Geeta Vaghela (pictured, left), senior director of product management, unstructured data solutions, at Dell Technologies Inc. “One thing we’re taking away is that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all. Everyone’s doing it a slightly different way. They’re trying to solve a slightly different problem. What Dell has been looking to do is, one, provide some of that strategic advisory for when enterprises or customers need it to pick apart what your true goals are and how we can help you get there.”

Vaghela and Premal Savla (right), senior director of product management, deep learning systems, at NVIDIA Corp., spoke with theCUBE Research’s Rob Strechay at the Making AI Real With Data event, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the need for companies to understand data storage for AI, from navigating complex infrastructures to building scalable solutions. (* Disclosure below.)

Data storage for AI: Managing governance and security

Data governance and security are crucial to the longevity of AI systems. As organizations process vast amounts of data, ensuring data sovereignty — maintaining the origin, integrity and security of that data — becomes increasingly important. Data stewardship has fundamentally changed the AI game, especially as companies seek to manage and protect massive amounts of information, according to Vaghela.

“We want to be able to build the Lego blocks that can fit into the various environments,” she said. “And then, scale those as many of these enterprises go from test dev to production, and that becomes a whole different world, especially when you think about data. I live in storage, so data stewardship is a big part of what I think about, and that entirely changes the game for them.”

Besides an aligned approach to thought leadership in data management, Dell relies on NVIDIA’s technology to simplify AI adoption, with NVIDIA providing the compute power through its DGX SuperPOD infrastructure. Leveraging the system, Dell can facilitate seamless storage integration, supporting large-scale data management for AI applications, according to Savla.

“What Dell brought to the table was a lot of capabilities around what it’s already been doing with the enterprise, and that allowed us to partner together to create a solution with Ethernet-enabled storage so that we can take it to our customers,” he said.

Alongside storage, data stewardship and governance, there’s also the need for continuous education and awareness around AI technologies, Savla added. Many companies are still learning about how AI fits into their existing systems, the massive processing power AI requires, and how businesses need to rethink their storage strategies to handle such large volumes of data. From governance to data security, understanding the complex relationship between storage and AI is crucial for successful AI adoption.

“[We are] talking about all the different teams within a company and how they’re approaching these different projects is critical,” Savla said. “They have a certain way they have been doing things, but AI makes you think differently. The amount of processing power that it requires, the amount of data that is consumed is significant. They have to think through how this is going to be used as they move forward with whatever initiatives that they’re taking with AI in their particular company.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE Research’s coverage of the Making AI Real With Data event: 

Watch the complete event below:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the “Making AI Real With Data” event. Neither Dell Technologies Inc., the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE