Habib Mahakian, vice president of Southern and Sub-Saharan Africa, Dell Technologies.
The traditional case for storage modernization often focuses on the benefits of upgrading to new environments. A strong case starts with understanding the costs of staying in the present. That cost is increasing rapidly and is becoming less visible in day-to-day operations. Making it visible turns the modernization conversation into a compelling business case.
What is the real cost of enterprise storage inactivity?
As data volumes grow and AI workloads increase, the role of storage becomes more central to business performance. Without ongoing modernization, technical debt can begin to accumulate at the storage level, creating a gradual gap between evolving business needs and infrastructure capacity. This challenge typically appears in five areas:
1: Operational complexity that increases as workload increases
With each quarter as organizations run AI workloads on infrastructure not originally designed for them, the gap between capability and business need can widen. This may increase pressure on security and compliance as well as slow adoption. Industry Research shows that many businesses are already shifting a significant portion of application spend toward modernization. Additionally, adding new workloads to existing environments can increase complexity over time, making a more structured approach increasingly important. Acting in advance helps manage this change more efficiently and avoid unnecessary overhead costs.
2: Delayed modernization creates complexity that does not need to exist
The longer storage modernization is postponed, the more interconnected the environment becomes. Legacy storage often sits alongside new systems, creating additional data relationships, integrations, and compliance dependencies over time. A structured refresh program can develop into a more complex program if left too late. Enterprises that act first are generally able to move faster with less disruption and more predictable outcomes.
3: Expanding flexibility in a high-risk regulatory environment
Environments designed for earlier resiliency expectations may not fully align with today's recovery needs. In South Africa, regulators such as the Prudential Authority and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) are raising the bar for documented retrievability through frameworks such as the 2024 Joint Standard 2 on Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience and the Operational Risk and Resilience Standards. These requirements reflect global developments such as NIS2 and DORA in Europe.
Businesses running legacy infrastructure are increasingly being asked to close gaps they didn't plan for and that they can't close quickly. Addressing these through modernization can help strengthen flexibility while supporting evolving regulatory requirements, while ensuring compliance with both local standards and international expectations.
4: Climbing energy costs on infrastructure built for a different era
Older storage consumes more energy per unit of useful work than modern alternatives. Global data center electricity demand is projected to grow 17% in 2025 and total data center electricity is projected to double by 2030. IEA – In line with South Africa's explosive growth in data center power demand. For businesses with sustainability priorities, improving storage efficiency is becoming a key benefit that can help reduce energy intensity while supporting performance and scale.
5: Engineering talent is engaged in maintaining the existing environment
Expert teams often spend a lot of time maintaining and customizing existing environments. Although this work is important, it can limit the time available for innovation and new ideas. As demand for skills increases, freeing up engineering capacity becomes increasingly valuable. Modernization can help shift focus from maintenance to supporting business priorities.
Why the ROI case for storage modernization starts before migration
Storage modernization is no longer a capital expenditure decision. It is a competitive strategy decision that supports performance, flexibility and efficiency across the business. For many South African organisations, the question is changing. It's not only about where storage modernization provides value, but also about how to approach it in a way that aligns with broader transformation goals. Taking action early can help businesses stay ahead of demand, reduce complexity over time, and build a strong foundation for future workloads.