Many small to midsize businesses (SMBs) are eager to take advantage of the transformative power of AI. They’re prioritizing investments in systems and services that can support AI applications and workloads.
Storage, by contrast, seems far more prosaic. However, many SMBs are finding that an inadequate, outdated storage infrastructure can hinder AI initiatives. Legacy storage solutions may also lack the security and reliability SMBs need, creating business, operational and compliance risks.
Relying solely on the cloud isn’t always the best option. While the cloud offers inexpensive, easily accessible and readily scalable storage, it can’t deliver the performance needed for AI and other advanced applications. Storing sensitive data in the cloud can increase the risk of exposure and compliance violations. And, over time, cloud storage costs can add up.
Now’s the time for SMBs to take a hard look at their storage infrastructure. Here are three key reasons why storage modernization should be a priority.
You’re Investing in AI
AI requires access to vast amounts of data, and that access must be lightning fast to ensure adequate performance. Legacy storage platforms simply don’t have the speed, capacity and scalability to support AI applications. Moving data to and from the cloud also introduces latency that can impede performance.
Organizations need storage that can support large volumes of raw data, particularly unstructured data such as documents, images and videos. Storage should be fast — ideally, flash storage that enables efficient data transmission. It should also support multiple storage protocols to ensure seamless access across the IT environment.
Perhaps most importantly, storage needs to be scalable. Best-in-class storage solutions enable scale-out expansion, meaning that capacity can be added without disrupting operations. Scale-out storage also increases reliability. If one node fails, the system can continue to operate, and data can be rebalanced across the remaining nodes.
Cost and Complexity Are Causing Headaches
Much of the data stored by organizations today exists in silos. A storage device installed to support a particular application often remains isolated from other applications and services. File servers scattered throughout the IT environment are only accessed by one department or group. Cloud applications and their associated storage exist in their own separate silos.
In ESG’s 2025 Technology Spending Intentions Survey, organizations cited costs and complexity and top-of-mind concerns. Sixty percent of those surveyed said that their IT environments had become more complex in the past two years. Twenty percent said that complexity had increased significantly.
Storage modernization helps reduce costs and complexity by consolidating multiple legacy solutions onto a single platform. The latest solutions are also easier to use and manage, and offer seamless scalability so that organizations don’t have to invest in excess capacity or face the need for forklift upgrades.
You’re Concerned About Security and Compliance
Ransomware remains a top concern for organizations of all sizes. Organizations must also comply with a growing array of regulations that mandate data security and privacy. A data breach or the inability to respond to an individual’s request to remove their data could result in hefty fines.
Addressing these issues requires a comprehensive approach. Organizations need to conduct a complete inventory so they know what data is stored where. They need to set policies for the collection, storage, access, use and disposal of sensitive information, and follow best practices for data governance. They need to restrict data access, implement robust access controls, and encrypt data at rest and in motion.
Modern storage platforms can also help organizations enhance security and compliance. The latest solutions include AI-powered tools that can detect ransomware and data exfiltration. Storage modernization also helps eliminate data silos and a fragmented infrastructure, simplifying security and management.
How Verteks Can Help
The Verteks team has extensive experience in the design, implementation and support of modern storage platforms. As a longtime HPE partner, we have successfully implemented HPE storage solutions for SMBs, enabling our customers to take advantage of the performance, scalability and security that HPE delivers.
Our experts can assess your environment and data storage needs, and determine if HPE’s scale-out hybrid storage, flash-enabled storage arrays and NAS appliances would be a good fit. Let us help you modernize your storage infrastructure to reduce costs and complexity, enhance security, and lay the foundation for AI.
