Data Platform as a Service (DPaaS)


As mentioned in the introduction, Data Management (DM) begins with the elimination of the data silo, the storage of application-specific data that is accessible only by and through a particular application. Data stored in a relational database management system (RDBMS) would be a good example.


Structured and Unstructured Data

Data that is stored in a RDBMS, for instance, is considered structured data. According to Datamation, “structured data is comprised of clearly defined data types whose pattern makes them easily searchable; while unstructured data – “everything else” – is comprised of data that is usually not as easily searchable, including formats like audio, video, and social media postings.”

This definition is a good description of the 2 basic types of data. Today, industry estimates indicate that in a typical enterprise, about 70% of data is unstructured and 30% is structured. Big Data is a term we often use to reference the vast majority of data which is unstructured. It is this data that poses the greatest challenge when it comes to data management, as most enterprises have reacted to this data explosion by putting them into silos based on their technical formats and not based on their relevance and usefulness to the business.


Solution: Data Management Platform (Data Platform for short)

SMS is recommending a data management platform as a solution to this dilemma but a solution that you can subscribe to rather than having to buy. In line with the industry’s shift to preferring Operating Expenditure (OPEX) to Capital Expenditure (CAPEX), SMS is offering DPaaS to its enterprise customer base with huge volumes of data (measured in TB or PB) as well as to the SME (Small and Medium Businesses) marketplace whose volumes of data may be more modest but who nevertheless want to take advantage of the benefits of a data management platform and start small. SMS is making this platform available to Malaysian enterprises, regardless of size, with unlimited scale-out performance and capacity on a “pay-as-you-grow” incremental investment basis.


What are the Features and Benefits of DPaaS?

DMPaaS is made available from a local cloud managed by SMS providing all the platform features to SMS clients on a unique payment basis with no capital investment.

With DMPaaS you get access to a single storage space (sized according to your needs) that allows you to store your Big Data in a single convenient place to manage your data the way your business requires: share files and folders with those who need them and any changes made will be synchronized to give everyone access to the latest data available; version control, obviously, plays an important role.

The data deduplication feature allows you to reduce the amount of space needed compared to having your data stored in silos. This will also reduce the cost of the subscription as it is based on the amount of storage used.

Native cloud integration refers to applications and services built specifically for the cloud as well as the new approach toward developments that can take advantage of what the cloud offers, such as in Dev/Ops or Test/Dev environments allowing development and operations teams to work together for faster and more efficient and reliable applications. It creates an adaptable application infrastructure by breaking down functions into small “containers” that can be spun up and down quickly and easily

Unified Global Management is another feature of DPaaS that, as the name implies, allows the data stored on the platform to be managed from a single point, giving the assurance that nothing important or relevant has been overlooked or forgotten. A single view of a company’s or department’s data quickly enables the visualization of how the data relates to other data in order to provide a complete picture of what the user or analyst needs to know at any point in time.

Operational insights can also be gleaned at a high level for performance and security-related issues; however, if more focus is required for machine data analysis, SMS offers a powerful “Operational Intelligence” tool, also on subscription basis, for detailed analysis and prevention of potential problems or outages by clicking on the link.

Specific solutions for Dev/Test, Backup, Archive, File-Sync&Share – all protected against the most vicious of malware: ransomware – are also available.

By using DPaaS, enterprise IT departments and managers can expect to:

  • Reduce mass data fragmentation onto a single platform giving total visibility
  • Bring smartphone-like simplicity to enterprise data management
  • Reduce total cost of ownership by up to 70%
  • Ensure compliance for your particular industry and regulator
  • Gain the ability to extract value from data with a marketplace of apps
  • Grow and pay incrementally with your business, performance and capacity requirements
  • Do all of this without capital investment (CAPEX)

For further information or to request a free trial, click here