OREANDA-NEWS. April 14, 2016. The explosion of data ̶ an estimated 44 zettabytes by 2020 ̶ is causing enterprises to rethink their data infrastructures. And for good reason: The sheer volume of data is outstripping the enterprise’s ability to store, access, move, process, analyze and protect it. Fear not, there are answers to these complex challenges.

This month, we introduced the Equinix Data Hub, which allows enterprises to securely keep huge amounts of data at the crossroads of communication, closer to users, applications, analytics engines and clouds. It’s similar to the way manufacturers of durable products locate their warehouses near shipping hubs to take advantage of railroads or waterways and deliver their products to market more efficiently. A smaller, more cost-effective space at a port for shipping goods, with a larger space for storage or manufacturing a short distance away, is the best solution.

The best way to illustrate how enterprises can leverage Data Hub is to share some real-world use cases.

But first some basics: You can connect your headquarters and branch offices to the nearest Equinix data center via high-speed fiber connections or metro Ethernet connections from a variety of telecommunications providers who reside within Platform Equinix. Once there, you have access to Equinix’s global data centers, rich interconnection solutions and dense industry ecosystems, including network and cloud providers. Now you are where the action is. 

Cloud Integrated Tiered Storage

Data silos not only limit access to active data and metadata, but moving data in and out of these repositories over legacy WAN networks or the Internet can be painfully slow. Also, archiving data in the pubic cloud over these open internet connections can pose security risks. By storing performance and capacity tiers of data and metadata in Data Hubs, close to data sources (enterprises, Internet, clouds), you put the actionable data at the right place to safely get it to your users, applications and analytics for making informed decisions faster.

For example, a global fitness/apparel company wanted to move collecting, storing and analyzing its data from on-premises infrastructure to public and hybrid cloud deployments. The company deployed Data Hub and directly connected to Amazon Web Services (AWS) for greater cost-efficiency and performance moving data in and out of the cloud.

Big Data Analytics

Copying large data sets for analysis over the WAN can be expensive and time-consuming. Enabling private data processing clusters in Data Hub, like Hadoop, enables you to leverage instantaneous, cost-effective direct interconnection to scalable public clouds for accessing real-time analytics and business intelligence applications.

A global, brick and mortar e-commerce retailer needed greater customer insight and a better user experience. The company launched a new platform with advanced analytics and deep omnichannel integration within Equinix data centers in multiple metros, using Data Hub for big data analytics and the Equinix Cloud Exchange to access Microsoft Azure for scalable application development and testing. The results: shorter application release cycles, improved user quality of experience and increased customer loyalty, resulting in increased sales.

Data Protection and Replication

Data protection and replication can come with high CAPEX and OPEX. Placing data within a multi-tenant data platform that supports high-availability between regional sites allows you to set up a more cost-effective business continuity and disaster recovery infrastructure. Data Hub enables you to continuously replicate data and deploy backup solutions that are optimized for locality and performance.

A world-leading mining and construction equipment company needed to relocate its disaster recovery data center to enable greater collaboration, improve customer experience and gain private access to public clouds. It deployed Performance Hub and Data Hub globally and directly connected to AWS. This tiered backup and recovery strategy gave the company enhanced data protection and laid a solid foundation for a more reliable Internet of Things and analytics architecture.

Learn more about Equinix Data Hub.