AI/ML
DataCore AI is a new AI assistant simplifying enterprise storage management and helping admins troubleshoot issues faster.
We are used to CLIs (command line interfaces), and GUIs (graphical user interfaces) and now we are getting CAIs - Conversational Admin Interfaces using AI text input recognition and response generation; an admin chatbot. It enables admins to ask questions in ordinary language and receive instant, actionable insights into storage performance, potential issues, and data protection. This AI Assistant works in the SANsymphony environment running on whatever hardware storage base system is being used.
DataCore’s Chief Product Officer Abhi Dey said: “For too long, storage teams have carried the full cognitive load of managing complex infrastructure, manually chasing alerts and piecing together clues before they can even begin to solve a problem. That model has to change, and DataCore AI is how we change it.
“We’re giving teams the instant information and guidance they need to make confident, proactive infrastructure decisions, dramatically reducing the time spent troubleshooting and freeing them to focus on what really matters.”
Administrators can ask questions such as “Why is this storage pool degraded?”, “Is this virtual disk experiencing abnormal latency?” or “Is my data protection configuration healthy?” and receive a clear answer they can act on.
We think a next step could be to have the AI Assistant become an agent and carry out the recommended actions. It might also get a name.
Dey said: “This is the first step in DataCore’s AI vision, and we’re just getting started.” It wants to extend more of the benefits of AI to its customers. Back in July DataCore loaded up its AI development coffers with $60 million to fuel the integration of AI technologies.
DataCore AI is now available for customers running SANsymphony 10.0 PSP21 or later. It will be followed by support for Swarm for object storage environments, and further DataCore products thereafter.
In the future, DataCore said it aims to progress from assisted insights and troubleshooting towards guided remediation and agentic workflows.
Comment
We think AI assistants for storage and other IT estate system components, like networking and servers, are going to become common place. And they will increasingly get supported by AI agents doing the work they recommend. Initially this will rely on human-in-the-loop authorization but then that will weaken over time as suppliers say an AI agent monitoring a system's behaviour and optimizing it is the equivalent of a thermostat for regulating temperature. Just set it and forget it.