AI for storage management gets real

AI brings to mind many images, from HAL 9000 to C-3PO to Skynet, all the stuff of science fiction.

In the real world, Amazon focuses on machine learning, pattern recognition and problem solving as a way to improve the customer experience and optimize the speed and quality of order fulfillment and product delivery. Amazon has joined Apple, DeepMind, Google, IBM and Microsoft to create the Partnership on AI. While aspirational, the emphasis of this collaboration appears to be augmented intelligence rather than artificial intelligence — less emulating the human brain and more performing routine tasks at scale.

The good thing about the Partnership on AI that has gone mostly unreported is it’s an effort to standardize approaches and define best practices for the industry as a whole. However, it mainly applies to AI applications for business; I see no comparable efforts in the storage industry.

In the realm of storage, where AI is a buzzword mostly used to market the latest kit or software, vendors are using their proprietary algorithms, protocols and models to keep up with the cool kids.

IBM recently applied its Watson technology to enhance its storage management software and provision its cloud storage in an elastic fashion. With this effort, IBM has set something of a gold standard. But, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), with its deep learning initiative, and Hitachi, with its H technology, are starting to reap the benefits of their research. Other vendors are deploying AI for storage management technologies they hope will be alternatives to the big guys that have deep pockets to fund RD or acquisitions.