Early on, CommVault understood that the information Simpana manages in the ContentStore is an asset in the sense that it offers further value beyond simply sitting and passively waiting to be restored. As a result, the company has expanded Simpana 10's capabilities to include:
Search: One way simple data can be turned into valuable information assets is through effective search. However, search can be time consuming, so CommVault has implemented what it calls deep content indexing as well as a scale-out architecture that it claims can cut the time required for some complex searches from hours to seconds.
Access: As noted, Simpana 10 enables self-service access to information stored in CommVault's ContentStore, but part of its capability is to enable mobile users to have anytime, anywhere self-service access. In addition, Simpana 10 introduces an enhanced search engine for legal and compliance to improve e-discovery processes.
Healthcare data management : Simpana 10 introduces healthcare data management functions. Picture archiving communication system (PACS) solutions that manage medical images--such as MRI, X-rays and CT scans from vendors (i.e., Cerner and Epic)--can now store those images in a ContentStore. This illustrates not only how CommVault can successfully address the requirements of a particular vertical, but also how Simpana 10 can deal directly with archiving data without going through a backup process first, including true unstructured (i.e., bit-mapped) data.
Mesabi Musing
Trying to briefly define a broad, comprehensive new software product like CommVault Simpana 10 is not quite as hard as trying to describe an elephant in a single Tweet, but it's not easy. Storage customers focused on traditional data management functions, from snapshots to disaster recovery, can find much to appreciate about what Simpana 10 will do for them. Those that are taking advantage of the ContentStore capabilities will also see a lot to like in the product's improved search and access capabilities.
However, whether or not you are a CommVault customer, where the company is going illustrates a very important perspective. Traditional data usage has long focused on application-based software intelligence functions, such as online transaction processing. While data-driven software intelligence that acts on already created data has been around for a long time (backup/restore software is one example), there is a lot more that can be done.
In a data-driven world, use cases for stored information are much broader than just for restoration. Instead, businesses want their information assets to be repurposed to provide insights for decision making (such as predictive analysis from big data) or to deal with legal issues, such as e-discovery. CommVault understands that ContentStore is not only a repository in which to store data; it should also improve the ability to manage stored information through features, including search and access. As Simpana 10's new and enhanced features attest, CommVault plans to leverage these capabilities to continue to build on its information management vision in an increasingly data-driven world.
CommVault is not a client of David Hill and the Mesabi Group.
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