IT Briefcase Exclusive Interview: Leveraging Microsoft Platforms and Solutions Providers to Meet Your Goals and Unlock the Value of Your Data

Digital Transformation is in full swing across the industry – and for most, it is centered around data. However, many industries are faced with unique challenges that require new and innovative solutions to solve these problems – traditional strategies and technologies just won’t cut it anymore. In today’s IT Briefcase Exclusive Interview, we speak with Bill Tolson, Vice President of Marketing for Archive360, regarding how today’s business and IT professionals are turning to Microsoft platforms and Microsoft’s strategic solutions providers to help them meet their goals while unlocking the value of their data in the cloud.

• Q. You recently attended Microsoft Ignite 2017 – for you, what were the key takeaways or themes that emerged at the show? 

A. Almost all of the conversations I had during this year’s Microsoft Ignite 2017 revealed the following reoccurring top-of-mind goals and concerns:

1.)    Corporate movement to the cloud continues to pick up speed – there are huge numbers moving out of their on premise data centers for cost reduction, increased security, and accessibility.

2.)    SharePoint storage was a key priority for many of the IT professionals I spoke with – many were seeking strategies for increasing storage, but at a reduced price.

3.)    Archiving low-touch and regulatory data for the long-term to the cloud was also a prevalent topic.

• Q. As you spoke with colleagues – other vendors or end customer professionals, was there a common thread when discussing challenges that are being faced in today’s enterprise datacenters (both from a general and Microsoft specific point of view)?

A. Unstructured data continues to pile-up. It is almost impossible to get rid of due to internal governance, legal and/or compliance mandates, as well as simply a lack of time. Mounting data stores not only increases cost but risk as well, due to eDiscovery. And, increasing and sprawled data stores also reduce end-user productivity because finding specific data is slowed.

• Q. Microsoft announced Microsoft Azure Cognitive and Media Services, and its new Azure archival storage tier.  Could you explain the significance of these announcements for customers?

A. Azure Cognitive and Media Services utilizes Microsoft’s machine learning capability to add numerous features to native Azure applications. Now, storage and archiving applications can more effectively store, manage and use audio and video files, because now those files can be fully indexed (not just the top level metadata) and searched. These files are automatically transcribed and indexed so that finding all instances of keywords or phrases within these files is possible, while also taking you directly to each instance. This capability will raise productivity as well as greatly reduce the cost of eDiscovery. These new capabilities also include automatic real-time translation of documents into currently 54 languages.

• Q. Archive360 also made two very important announcements from Microsoft Ignite – what were they, and how do they address our above-mentioned conversation? 

A. Archive360 announced our day-one support for both the Cognitive and Media Services and the new Azure Archival storage tier with our Archive2Azure (native Azure) intelligent archive. This provides our Archive2Azure customers the ability to utilize the archival storage tier along with the hot and cool tiers for major cost reductions for long term storage of unstructured data. Moreover, the Archive2Azure archive can now effectively archive, manage, and search audio and video files within the Archive2Azure archive. We also announced our new FastCollect for SharePoint solution which enables customers to do two things: 1. Fully analyze their SharePoint Online instances so that smarter decisions can be made and, 2. FastCollect for SharePoint automatically “extends” SharePoint Online storage via policies into the customer’s Azure instance so that they don’t need to buy additional SharePoint storage at $0.20 per GB per month. (Both announcements can be read here respectively: https://www.archive360.com/news/archive360-delivers-day-one-support-microsoft-cognitive-media-services-microsoft-azure-archival-storage-tier/ and https://www.archive360.com/news/archive360-powers-planning-execution-microsoft-sharepoint-extension-strategies/.)