2024年10月17日
By 肖恩·李首席执行官OpenDrives
博客

为什么要为你不用的东西付费? 可组合存储解决方案的论证

In the words of Lily Tomlin, "The road to success is always under construction." This sentiment rings particularly true in the realm of software development. 尤其是在媒体和娱乐领域, customer business needs are in constant evolution, 由新技术形成和塑造, 消费的方法, 甚至是社会压力. 随着时间的推移, the quest to provide solutions that meet these goals leads to a proliferation of new features and ideas; many times, these are created to solve very specific problems in targeted verticals. 虽然出发点是好的, 这种对创新和解决更广泛问题的不懈追求最终会导致“功能膨胀”——一种由无数花哨的功能组成的笨重的足迹，可能会让客户感到不知所措. 更重要的是, 所有这些功能都不是免费的, which can put solutions out of reach for smaller companies.

功能蔓延的问题

让我们以你家为例. 这对很多人来说都很常见, 你可能在车库有一个指定的房间或一个架子，专门用来放那些曾经在你生活中有用的东西, e.g., 来自善意的亲人的礼物, tools purchased for that one home improvement project from two years ago, and other items that have started to collect dust. 随着时间的推移, 你最终会向这个空间中添加更多的东西, even though these items aren’t offering you any benefit today. 一旦这堆水溢出来, 这使得东西更难找到, 你意识到这种混乱现在已经成为一个问题. 那些曾经有用和感性的东西现在占据了宝贵的空间，让你的生活变得更加复杂. In the software engineering world, this problem is known as feature creep.

当公司将软件引入不同的市场时，这些市场都有特殊的和非常具体的工作流需求, 它的功能经常变得支离破碎. 什么开始作为一个专注, 以用户为中心的解决方案可以迅速膨胀成一个庞大的平台，具有针对不同用例的无数特性, some of which may be valuable to only a small selection of the total installed base.

Blindly offering excessive features complicates the user experience, making the software harder to use and less appealing. Too many features end up taking up valuable space on the user interface, which makes it harder to locate the features and tools that are most useful. Just as cable cord-cutters reject paying for hundreds of channels they never watch, software users are reluctant to pay for features they don’t need, 更不用说与这些特性相关的隐藏成本了，比如额外的支持开销或研发. All of these things end up contributing to the overall price tag of the software solution.

While some users would appreciate a complete suite of features, 即使他们知道他们可能不会全部使用, the majority requires a more streamlined offering. 事实上, 随着许可证价格的上涨，中小型公司被挡在门外，转嫁给用户的管理费用也随之增加, barred from affording the solutions they need by features they do not need. These organizations would benefit instead from a solution that offers not just the basics, 但是核心要素.

可组合软件101

Smart software companies are turning to composability, 这是基于一个简单的, 强大的概念. 和可组合性, 模块化的特性和功能可以独立运行，也可以组合成针对特定用户群体的定制解决方案, therefore preventing the build up of too many unused features. 针对特定问题的特定功能可以组合到有针对性的包中，这些包可以提供给那些看到价值的人. 例如, 如果有人不喜欢运动, why should they be made to pay for 15 different professional, 大学, 还有高中体育网络? Customers demand choice and proven ROI for their investment, and composability makes this possible.

Composability may be in its adolescence in the media and entertainment industry, 但在其他市场的采用是显著的. 事实上，美国.S. 可组合应用市场受到重视 1美元.2023年将达到810亿美元预计将达到9美元.到2033年将达到190亿美元，复合年增长率为17%.从2024年到2033年的70%. It’s time for the media and entertainment industry to make this transition.

和可组合性, 组件被设计为执行不同的任务，并交付可以动态重新配置以适应不断变化的业务需求的功能集. This approach meets customer demands with simplicity, 灵活性, 和互操作性, without sacrificing essential features or functionality. 当然, 它还允许客户将预算应用于功能选择，从而更好地平衡成本和价值回报.

Composable Software Levels the Playing Field in Storage

可组合性为我们提供了工具集，可以更细致地考虑不同的细分市场，并针对整个行业的特定需求进行开发. Instead of building one software platform to address all of these needs, 我们现在可以建立专注的, value-packed feature bundles that align closely with the user’s needs. 添加更多的功能就像添加一个升级包一样简单，以确保软件随着用户的目标不断增长和灵活. This modularity enables customers to only pay for what they need, even as those needs change.

我们可以进一步利用可组合性来解决媒体和娱乐领域的一个常见问题：存储容量和相关成本. 将单一功能集分解为更垂直或更适合市场的功能包的能力为客户提供了内在的效用，并成功地取代了事务性按容量付费模式——商品化存储硬件的过时特征. Composability ensures the relationship between OpenDrives, as the software company and our customers stay mutually beneficial in terms of ROI. We’re financially motivated to develop tools to solve more problems; our users gain a platform that will continue to grow with their needs.

我们的可组合软件定义存储平台可以很容易地开启新功能，从而带来新的收入途径, 防范大宗商品市场变化带来的成本突然飙升，或项目在产能许可方面造成不可预见的飙升. Customers can add another 500 TB or even 2 PB without additional software fees, up to the capacity limits of their storage hardware. 随着他们的工作量不断增加, unlimited capacity licensing brings the peace of mind that comes with predictability and control.

Competitive Edge and Growth Through Composability

无论大小, 所有的企业都在寻找新的方法来降低成本和简化操作，以获得竞争优势和提高他们的底线. Current economic conditions can be especially hard on startups and smaller businesses. 这些公司需要获得能够帮助它们在同一领域与大型企业竞争的技术, but they have less capital on-hand to gain access to the tools they require.

Media production businesses typically run lean, 经常项目, 并且只能根据自己的预算支出. 可组合软件的可伸缩性选项允许各种规模的公司根据需要扩大或缩小规模，而不会出现成本高昂且通常出乎意料的许可价格上涨. 可组合存储软件通过提供可扩展的解决方案来支持增长，这些解决方案可以随着业务需求的增长而增长，并培养新一代的有前途的企业客户.

Composability Addresses the Biggest Pain Points

The biggest draw for composable storage software is the tangible and measurable value it provides. 高性能, 效率, and scalability are still required to remain competitive, 但可组合性通过帮助客户管理日益紧张的预算和更大的盈利预期，并解决这些问题，增加了额外的维度共同的挑战:

涓滴技术的障碍 Traditionally, high-performance features trickle down from enterprises to smaller markets. 可组合软件打破了这一障碍. By making advanced capabilities accessible to all, smaller businesses can enjoy top-tier performance without the premium price tag.

硬件商品化 In the past, hardware dictated storage solution performance. 今天，软件驱动价值. 可组合软件使高性能存储解决方案更经济实惠，并允许客户选择自己喜欢的, 通过初审的硬件.

能力成本模型 Traditional models charge based on storage capacity, discouraging customers from growing their capacity estate. 可组合的软件, 然而, 按功能收费, enabling businesses to scale without escalating costs. This unlocks access to features for customers of all sizes and budgets.

可组合性是数据存储的未来

数据存储的未来在于无缝的数据访问和更有效的工具，以帮助内容创作者实现他们的创意愿景. The pace of change is never going to slow down. 软件公司总是会为客户创造功能和新方法，使他们的投资最大化. Composability now becomes part of the overall solution: helping customers control their costs; provide cost predictability in times of growth; and get access to the tools their businesses demand at a sustainable cost. 现在是软件开发人员和工作流存储业务人员向可组合性发展的时候了.

[Editor's note: This is a contributed article from OpenDrives. 流媒体 accepts vendor bylines based solely on their value to our readers.]