Channel partners guide firms through AI-driven data surge

Channel partners are advising companies on storage architectures and operational plans as AI-generated content, high-resolution video and system logs drive rapid data growth. Global data volumes are projected to rise from about 149 zettabytes in 2024 to roughly 394 zettabytes by 2028, increasing pressure on IT teams to provision capacity, meet compliance and support AI workloads.

Partners recommend hybrid placement and mobility strategies. Most large organizations use both on-premises and public cloud storage. Partners assess when data should remain local for latency or regulatory reasons and when it should move to cloud for scale or cost. They run growth scenarios, noting that a sustained annual growth rate near 40% produces roughly tenfold data increases in seven years, and advise clients to factor in egress charges and migration ease when choosing platforms.

On-demand consumption models and storage-as-a-service offerings are presented as ways to add capacity quickly for unplanned projects and to measure growth patterns for new applications. For on-premises environments, advisers deploy systems that can burst capacity or tier to cloud to smooth variable demand and reduce large upfront hardware purchases.

Security and data resilience requirements are increasing storage needs. Rising ransomware activity and stricter regulations lead organizations to keep multiple copies and replicate data across systems. Channel partners recommend cyber resilience approaches that aim to reduce storage overhead while enabling faster recovery and lower recovery time objectives than many traditional backup tools provide.

Sustainability and lifecycle costs factor into storage planning. Partners evaluate hardware for capacity per watt and performance per watt and include carbon costs across manufacturing, transport and disposal. They compare long-term archiving options and highlight differences in total cost when data is rarely accessed versus occasionally retrieved, including cloud retrieval fees and off-site tape handling and transport times.

Video storage is addressed separately because of its volume and changing use. Video is estimated to account for a large share of global data. Advances in compression and sampling have reduced storage needs, but video is shifting from passive archive to active input for AI analytics. Partners recommend architectures that combine high-capacity flash for performance with dense storage to support AI-based video analysis.

Partners also assess workloads and AI readiness. They map structured versus unstructured data, forecast growth for AI use cases and recommend scalable object storage or storage-as-a-service where appropriate. Technologies such as high-density flash and always-on deduplication are suggested to increase effective capacity and reduce latency without relying on post-process scans.

New storage innovations, including materials designed for long-term durability and platforms built for cloud-native mobility, are under review by channel firms. Advisers monitor these developments and recommend platforms that match customers’ access, security and resilience requirements so systems can support current workloads and projected growth.

Firms working with channel partners receive planning support on cost trade-offs, migration paths and recovery requirements, enabling storage decisions that account for AI-driven data growth and changing operational needs.