[Washington] The pandemic has seen exponential growth in data consumption, especially with the rapid digitalization that businesses have had to undergo. A study found that data-driven businesses in the Asia Pacific were more resilient and confident during the pandemic as they could remain agile and ensure business continuity more efficiently than companies that rely less on data. With 61% of non-data-driven companies seeing data as non-critical, there remains a disconnect in how businesses value and use data, and the potential for businesses to benefit from it.
As we enter an era of analytics ubiquity amid an increasingly uncertain environment, the role of data has proven to be vital. The biggest hurdle for organizations is a change in mindset – data culture is no longer a nice-to-have but rather a must-have for organizations to transform their data into valuable insights and intelligence for actual business value.
We sat down with Bill Richter, President and CEO of Qumulo, who brings over 20 years of leadership experience to his role, to learn more about what he is building on the power of data.
What are the current trends of data consumption in the Asia-Pacific region?
As many parts of the world were quickly forced into remote work, learning, and socializing, the use of the internet to obtain daily essentials like groceries, news, entertainment and more soared. It goes without saying that this global increase in data consumption was driven by the pandemic’s impacts on the economy and society, including in the Asia-Pacific region.
Within the region, many data center markets recorded unprecedented growth in 2020. This comes as no surprise given that Asia Pacific has always been on the cutting edge of digital transformation, and with that, comes a huge amount of data consumption especially as it relates to digital media and entertainment. In 2015 vs. 2020, internet data consumption spiked – in China from 30 million terabytes to 181 million terabytes; India from 4 million terabytes to 40 million terabytes; Indonesia from 2 million terabytes to 15 million terabytes and Japan from 23 million terabytes to 100 million terabytes, respectively.
Streaming services have been at the forefront of this data consumption trend. Take China, for instance. More than 92% of the country’s internet users watched streaming or downloaded video content at least once a month in 2020. As the digital and physical worlds continue to merge, some industry experts say the growth of streaming services will only expedite. According to an eMarketer report, Netflix will reach 145.3 million users by the end of 2024 in the Asia-Pacific region.
At Qumulo, we believe that unstructured file data like images, video, and digital documents are at the center of the modern human experience. Thanks to the capture and transformation of unstructured file data, everything from movies to medicine, education, autonomous vehicles, and more exists. We are excited to be part of this ongoing journey, paving the way and making it simpler to store, manage and create with file data at a massive scale.
Why is there a disconnect in how businesses value and use data? What are the common perceptions/misconceptions of the power of data among non-data-driven businesses?
The common misperception is when people think of data-driven businesses they are typically referring to using structured data analysis to make decisions like optimizing inventory, marketing campaigns, or sales lines. However, we need to broaden the definition of “data-driven business” – 80-90% of data in a business is unstructured and most of that data doesn’t get used. That data is the type of thing you need to develop AI applications; automate workflows to distribute content; create movies and research discoveries. The real growth and challenge for most companies are unstructured file data like movies, images, and documents that are exploding with the digital transformation. That’s why having the ability to fully manage and embrace data has become a massive competitive differentiator in a world where the amount of file data is growing exponentially. The recognition of the potential of unstructured file data to create better outcomes is nothing short of a game-changer.
What are the opportunities and challenges for businesses to take a more data-driven approach? How does Qumulo plan to support them through its expansion in the Asia-Pacific?
We’re experiencing a shift from “big data” to “massive data,” and businesses are facing a critical moment of truth: They can either harness the power of that massive data, or they can get buried underneath it. So the opportunity and the challenges are one and the same: How do you manage the vast, exponentially growing piles of unstructured file data that your organization is generating, and turn it into something useful?
The answer is simplicity. Taking a data-driven approach can be daunting because as your business grows, the complexity of your data grows. But a simplified data solution makes it easy to do all the things that enable organizations to take full advantage of their data, from machine learning to multi-cloud storage.
For instance, a VFX studio can access real-time data analytics in the cloud to understand which artists’ workflows are using the most bandwidth. A hospital can quickly compile high-quality medical images from multiple machines in order to provide an accurate diagnosis. A research institute can dramatically increase its storage capacity on a seasonal basis to take on flu modeling for the Centers for Disease Control. All of these tasks would normally take IT teams weeks – even years – to manage, but a simple platform makes it possible in a matter of minutes.
Unfortunately, when it comes to modern data management, the art of simplicity is hard to come by. Complex products and licensing scenarios have dominated the technology landscape for decades, and that complexity has helped vendors lock in customers to ineffective solutions, all while extracting more money from those customers in the process.
That’s where Qumulo comes in. Tackling data growth with a radically simple solution that is capable, affordable, and ultimately delights the user, is what Qumulo strives to achieve each day. Qumulo is extending that simplicity to the Asia Pacific, offering businesses across the region a better way to store, manage and create with unstructured file data. The Qumulo solutions create opportunities for both private and public sectors in APAC to modernize their IT infrastructure holistically and the Qumulo File Data Platform affords enterprises the ability to focus on creating new innovations across the Asia-Pacific region. Seventy percent of our customers already have over a petabyte of data, and we anticipate seeing that same massive data growth in APAC customers.
What would this mean for Qumulo and the Korean market?
The Korean market is an exciting one for Qumulo. The region has seen an impressive growth in recent years across infrastructure, software, and platform providers. As one of the world's most technologically advanced and digitally connected countries, Korea’s digital transformation is well underway, meaning that the country’s unstructured data growth is significant and picking up the pace.
South Korea is now home to many of the world’s most innovative and valuable technology startups. Over the past several years, the South Korean government has been leading a program to help Seoul become a major hub for startups and we are excited to be able to help both startups and established companies, on-premises and cloud, be successful in their ability to leverage their file data to create, collaborate and innovate. Recognized for having the highest government backing per capita for startups, according to Forbes, the demand for technology platforms that can meet the Korean market’s growing data needs is thrilling to Qumulo. We are expanding our customer list and our overall presence within the Korean market, and are looking forward to helping each and every customer be successful with the Qumulo File Data Platform.
