Pure Storage unveils Enterprise Data Cloud for unified control
Pure Storage has announced the availability of its Enterprise Data Cloud (EDC) platform, an approach designed to address the data management and storage requirements facing organisations today.
The EDC aims to assist organisations in navigating growing volumes of data driven by artificial intelligence initiatives and shifting business demands, which often lead to fragmented storage systems and increased data sprawl. Rather than focusing solely on storage hardware, Pure Storage advocates for a model where organisations concentrate on understanding and managing their data estate irrespective of its location.
Centralised control
Within the EDC architecture, information technology teams can manage data centrally across on-premises, public cloud, and hybrid environments. The intention is to provide organisations with the flexibility to govern, access, and automate data management using a unified control plane.
The Pure Storage platform is positioned as a means of implementing an EDC, enabling a single point of management and control over diverse data assets. The platform offers the ability to deliver data as a service, unifying disparate datasets and policies for streamlined operations.
"It's time to stop managing storage and start managing data. With AI increasing the potential value of enterprise data, and cyber-threats imperilling it, data storage architectures and the tools for managing data have not kept pace. Only Pure Storage has innovated an architectural approach that enables enterprise customers to manage their global data estate. Pure Fusion allows customers to create their own global Enterprise Data Cloud empowering them to manage their data with the control, automation and tracking needed to lead in a data-driven world," said Charles Giancarlo, Chairman and CEO, Pure Storage.
Central to the platform is Pure Fusion, which operates by unifying storage as a resource pool. This pool is adaptable, with arrays that support self-discovery, making it possible to expand the managed fleet of storage systems without detailed manual configuration. Every storage array is an access point, allowing fleet management from any endpoint.
Feature upgrades
The latest iteration of Pure Fusion introduces workload automation and new management presets for file, block, and object storage, supporting remote provisioning and reducing the necessity for administrators to undertake manual configuration or detailed pre-planning. These presets are intended to help lower the risk of non-compliance and improve resiliency by ensuring correct provisioning at the outset.
Automation is extended across the platform to cover multiple functions, including provisioning and migration, with policy-driven orchestration and self-service capabilities implemented to reduce human error. Compliance and security features are embedded into the platform, aiming to increase cyber resilience and lower operational risk.
The workflow orchestration system enables organisations to apply application or infrastructure automation by using existing connectors with third-party software such as Cisco, Microsoft, VMware, ServiceNow, and Slack. Administrators can run standard recipes or create bespoke automations that match their business processes.
Security partnerships
New integrations with Rubrik and CrowdStrike are expected to bolster cyber threat detection and recovery capabilities for customers.
With Rubrik, Pure Fusion's new workflow orchestration integration allows for automated management and recovery following cyber incidents. If Rubrik Security Cloud detects an anomaly, Pure Fusion labels indelible SafeMode snapshots that Rubrik's ransomware scanning can identify as free from compromise. Should more precise recovery be required, Rubrik's backups are also available as a fallback. These tasks are managed through Pure1 Workflow Automation, aiming to reduce manual intervention and improve recovery times.
Working with CrowdStrike, Pure Storage now offers an on-premises storage solution optimised for Falcon LogScale deployments. This new solution brings together Pure Storage's high-performance infrastructure with Falcon LogScale's log analytics for improved scalability, search, and security insights within environments that need to retain on-premises control.
Disaster recovery and AI Copilot
The Pure Protect system has expanded to support recovery from VMware to VMware, in addition to previous options like AWS and on-premises to cloud. The offering supports business continuity through flexible recovery workflows and assessment tools.
The AI Copilot assistant is now available with capabilities to provide context-aware insights across various operational topics, such as security, performance, and sustainability, and is designed to operate continuously with updated contextual awareness of the managed storage and data fleet.
Industry commentary
Matt Kimball, Vice President & Principal Analyst, Moor Insights & Strategy, commented on the EDC approach:
"Pure's Enterprise Data Cloud represents a tangible shift in how enterprises manage data and represents real change at the architectural level. By abstracting the complexity of hybrid environments into a unified, policy-driven platform, Pure is enabling organisations to bring clarity and control to data management at scale. With automation, intelligence, and simplicity built in, Pure is delivering on the vision of an enterprise data cloud in a way that's actionable today. It's a bold, thoughtful approach — and one that sets a new bar for the industry."
Pure Storage asserts that its platform has been created to underpin the EDC model by combining infrastructure, intelligence, and integrated services to simplify data management for organisations dealing with increasingly complex requirements.
