Storage is going through a big evolution, with artificial intelligence enhancing storage optimization.

Historically, there has been a lot of waste when it comes to managing storage, according to theCUBE Research chief analyst Dave Vellante.

“I think there’s widespread acceptance now that data is distributed,” Vellante said during an analyst panel held at the IBM Storage Summit last year. “You’ve got to rethink your data architecture. You’re not going to shove it into one centralized container with one centralized group that manages it.”

The conversation these days has shifted toward how storage can enable AI to drive business results. For IBM Corp., the goal is to establish the future of storage through the use of AI in order to unlock data value and enable companies to anticipate and withstand market shifts.

Vellante and theCUBE Research executive analyst John Furrier will explore those areas of interest and more with industry experts to determine what comes next. Join theCUBE on April 25 for our coverage of the “IBM: Future-Ready Storage Redefining Data Center Boundaries” event live on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. (* Disclosure below.)

Check out what’s in store for theCUBE’s coverage of the IBM “Future-Ready Storage” event:

Rising to the AI challenge

In January, IBM released strong fourth-quarter earnings, beating analyst projections. Those numbers were anchored by software and consulting.

“For the year, revenue growth was in line with our expectations, and we exceeded our free cash flow objective,” said Arvind Krishna, IBM chairman and chief executive officer, in a release. “Based on the strength of our portfolio and demonstrated track record of innovation, for 2024 we expect revenue performance in line with our mid-single digit model and about $12 billion in free cash flow.”

Client demand for AI is accelerating, and its book of business for watsonx and generative AI roughly doubled from the third to the fourth quarter, according to Krishna. That signaled that IBM’s AI-related businesses were not only growing, but accelerating, according to Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT Inc.

“Projects like OpenAI’s ChatGPT get the majority of headlines, but enterprises are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in IBM watsonx and other AI platforms and services that measurably improve their businesses,” he said at the time of the fourth-quarter earnings release.

Over the past year, IBM has continued to reveal its strategy when it comes to embracing AI technology. It involves a critical balance between strategic implementation and investment returns, according to Stephen Rose, general manager of global industries at IBM.

“I think people trying to get their heads around that,” he told theCUBE during the MWC Barcelona event. “They’re trying to understand what is the efficacy of the use cases, what’s the strategic considerations around the implementation of the technology and particularly what’s the cost to do so. What’s the return on invested capital for those things.”

But amid a massive hype cycle, there’s room for a reality check around AI too. With that in mind, IBM has been focused on strengthening its capabilities for API deployment and management in hybrid cloud environments, according to Andrew Coward, general manager for software networking at IBM.

“The other topic that’s been happening has been around APIs, the ‘APIfying’ of the networks themselves,” Coward told theCUBE during MWC Barcelona. “That to me is the really important step that, finally, we’re taking seriously as an industry. Until we do that … we don’t have a fully programmable infrastructure and network.”

There have been other notable announcements from IBM over the past six months, including the company joining with the Linux Foundation in a post-quantum cryptography initiative, along with a number of other founding members. On the acquisition side, IBM announced plans in December 2023 to acquire Software AG’s StreamSets and webMethods application integration platforms for about $2.33 billion in cash.

AI at the helm of a new storage strategy

The world of storage is undergoing a big transformation, and the past year has seen IBM begin to reveal its thoughts on where it’s going from here. Though storage has presented itself mainly as a background service, it is increasingly looking to be at the forefront of what an appropriate data strategy needs to look like, according to Scott Baker, chief marketing officer and vice president of IBM Infrastructure Portfolio product marketing at IBM.

“The future of storage is expected to be characterized by the extensive use of AI to unlock data value and provide a solid foundation for businesses to anticipate and withstand market shifts,” Baker told theCUBE last year during the IBM Storage Summit event.

Flash, meanwhile, is changing the data-storage game, as the quest for simplification in IT has grown more important. The price for NAND for some capacities have crossed over that of hard disk drives, and there could be a point in time where at the same capacity point the NAND could be as cheap or cheaper than spinning hard drives, according to Steve McDowell, principal analyst and founding partner at Nand Research LLC.

“From a sustainability perspective, there’s no question that flash is more sustainable,” he told theCUBE during the recent “The Next Generation of Storage” event. “There’s also not just the power consumed, but the heat generated. Flash doesn’t generate the heat that a mechanical hard drive does. Thirdly, is the density story. I can pack a whole lot more bites into a flash array than I can a hard-drive-based array just in terms of the physical footprint.”

Given all of these trends, how might IBM be looking to establish the future of storage through the use of AI? And how might those moves unlock data value and help companies become better equipped to withstand market shifts?

Those questions and more will be explored during the “IBM: Future-Ready Storage That Redefines the Boundaries of the Data Center” event. TheCUBE will provide full coverage of the event to capture all the breaking news and provide analyst-driven commentary. You can follow theCUBE’s wall-to-wall coverage for firsthand insights.

TheCUBE event livestream

Don’t miss theCUBE’s coverage of the “IBM: Future-Ready Storage Redefining Data Center Boundaries” event on April 25. Plus, you can watch theCUBE’s event coverage on-demand after the live event.

How to watch theCUBE interviews

We offer you various ways to watch theCUBE’s coverage of the “IBM: Future-Ready Storage Redefining Data Center Boundaries” event, including theCUBE’s dedicated website and YouTube channel. You can also get all the coverage from this year’s events on SiliconANGLE.

TheCUBE Insights podcast

SiliconANGLE also has podcasts available of archived interview sessions, available on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify, which you can enjoy while on the go.

SiliconANGLE also has analyst deep dives in our Breaking Analysis podcast, available on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify.

Guests

During the “IBM: Future-Ready Storage Redefining Data Center Boundaries” event, theCUBE analysts will talk with industry professionals about the secrets of a new purchasing option that provides a modern approach to IT life cycle management and how it can future-proof your storage investments. Stay tuned for our complete guest list.

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for IBM’s “Future-Ready Storage Redefining Data Center Boundaries” event. Neither IBM Corp., the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

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