Dell Technologies Acquires DataFrameworks

This week, Dell Technologies completed the acquisition of DataFrameworks, a technology partner that provides a key data analytics and management solution for both file and cloud storage. To help our customers and partners better understand this move, allow me to provide some context.

This spring I shared my thoughts about Digital Transformation and data capital, and I posited that organizations that are able to put their data capital to work will thrive, while those who can’t will lose. Of course this evolution can have many challenges, but we are committed to delivering the solutions that enable organizations of all sizes, in every industry, to transform their infrastructure as a means to accelerate Digital Transformation. Dell EMC Unstructured Storage systems provide the foundation to capture and organize massive amounts of data, allowing organizations to unlock the value of their data capital.

◈ Dell EMC Isilon enables the consolidation of file data onto a single, massively scalable, high-performance NAS cluster with automatic tiering to low-cost storage or to the cloud.

◈ Dell EMC ECS helps businesses further modernize their IT infrastructure by bringing cloud-scale object storage into the data center.

While modernizing the IT infrastructure is an essential first step to driving digital business initiatives, being able to effectively manage the data is imperative. One of the major challenges organizations still face is the ability to properly align data with business goals. While IT staff are able to use tools and policies to move files, their limited understanding of the actual data can be an impediment to determining the optimal location. This could result, for example, in a situation where files are archived to a low performance tier even when the workloads they support are active and require high performance.

Ultimately, no one knows the value of the data better than the people who create it.

That’s why I’m excited that our acquisition of strategic technology partner DataFrameworks (DFX) is now complete. DFX ClarityNow is a data analytics and management solution that gives organizations a holistic data view across file and cloud storage, and allows end users to locate, use and align their file-based workflows with business schedules. Production workflows, like those we see in industries such as Media & Entertainment (M&E) and Life Sciences, are demanding, time-sensitive and fluid. Ensuring that the right data is in the right place at the right time requires more than storage management – it requires data management. ClarityNow does just that – it is designed to help organizations be more productive and efficient by empowering the individuals who have deep knowledge of business workflows and the relative importance of the data that powers those workflows.

By bringing DataFrameworks into the Dell EMC unstructured data portfolio, we are helping to bring IT and business together to unlock data capital. DFX allows customers to:

Break down data silos: We hear from our customers that they rely on a variety of file and object storage systems, both in the data center and off-premises. DFX allows IT admins and content owners to get a “single pane of glass” view across heterogeneous file and cloud storage to better understand where all project assets reside. The powerful search capabilities of DFX can locate data in seconds, no matter where it resides ̶ something that would take many days with a standard tool like Linux find.

Empower the business user: While tools like Isilon CloudPools allow storage administrators to move data to lower-cost storage in an automated, policy-driven manner, some of our customers find that certain workflows are too complex or unpredictable to be served by file system policies. In such situations, content owners prefer the capability to move data in a self-service manner when their workflows require it. With an interface that’s as intuitive as a file browser, DFX allows content owners to easily and quickly move data from high-performance file storage to the cloud for archive and back again as the project demands.

Data-enable the business for more efficient collaboration DFX enables fast discovery of shared data across multiple users and facilitates integrated data movement within business workflows. In industries that rely on large data sets or those with multifaceted projects involving disparate teams, DFX allows all contributors to have a collective understanding of where project assets are available and where they reside. Content owners can find, use, and organize content to accelerate the creation, processing and delivery of workflows.

Now IT can work with business users as partners to provide a business-centric view of data to help unlock its value. We’re excited about the possibilities and are glad to welcome DataFrameworks to the Dell Technologies family, joining us as new members of our Dell EMC Unstructured Data Solutions team.