Updates to Dell's PowerStore, PowerMax and PowerFlex product lines are aimed at boosting automation, data mobility and security. Credit: Vladimir Timofeev / Getty Images Dell will implement an array of new features for its storage platforms aimed at “cloud-ifying” its systems and improving support for hybrid environments, the company announced this week at its annual Dell Technologies World event in Las Vegas. Dell touted more than 500 software advancements in three key platforms: PowerStore storage appliances, PowerMax mission-critical storage and PowerFlex software-defined storage framework. The main updates for PowerStore are improved support for native file replication and third-party file monitoring and ransomware protection, along with improved networking speeds, NVMe support, and deeper integration for VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes (vVols) virtualized SAN/NAS arrays and disaster recovery. PowerMax is getting new features such as multi-array smart provisioning, new workload optimization, and the ability to quickly move snapshots of data to and from public cloud services for backup and recovery. Finally, PowerFlex’s existing integrations with cloud and container orchestration will be broadened, allowing customers to consolidate physical storage with cloud in a single logical framework. Dell also announced a new collaboration with cloud data analysis firm Snowflake, with the aim of allowing data stored in Dell’s family of enterprise storage to be processed in Snowflake’s cloud without raising data sovereignty concerns. Sid Nag, vice president of technology and service providers at research firm Gartner, said that the manifold updates all point to a tighter integration of cloud and on-site storage, and that customers in heavily regulated industries – like healthcare and finance – are the likeliest to have interest in the new features. The cloud has long posed data sovereignty and governance concerns for industries subject to tight regulations; HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley are two of the major laws limiting use of the cloud. “What they’ve basically done is taken the things in the storage space and tried to ‘cloudify’ them, for lack of a better term,” Nag said. “If I have a workload that requires me to leverage analytics, but the data cannot travel through the cloud, they’re partnering with Snowflake, and the analytics engine is running in the cloud, but the data itself is sitting in an estate on the premises.” The new storage technology is also thematically related to Dell’s centralization around its Apex line of -as-a-service solutions, Nag added. Unifying different types of data storage into a smaller number of frameworks follows the pattern. “Apex is the big aha that Dell has been pushing for a year now – taking all their solutions and offering them in a cloud-like consumption model.” Related content how-to Compressing files using the zip command on Linux The zip command lets you compress files to preserve them or back them up, and you can require a password to extract the contents of a zip file. By Sandra Henry-Stocker May 13, 2024 4 mins Linux news High-bandwidth memory nearly sold out until 2026 While it might be tempting to blame Nvidia for the shortage of HBM, it’s not alone in driving high-performance computing and demand for the memory HPC requires. By Andy Patrizio May 13, 2024 3 mins CPUs and Processors High-Performance Computing Data Center opinion NSA, FBI warn of email spoofing threat Email spoofing is acknowledged by experts as a very credible threat. By Sandra Henry-Stocker May 13, 2024 3 mins Linux how-to Download our SASE and SSE enterprise buyer’s guide From the editors of Network World, this enterprise buyer’s guide helps network and security IT staff understand what Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and Secure Service Edge) SSE can do for their organizations and how to choose the right solut By Neal Weinberg May 13, 2024 1 min SASE Remote Access Security Network Security PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe