Boosting Financial Data Management with OceanStor Dorado NAS

Zhang Guobin

Chief Scientist, Huawei Data Storage and Intelligent Vision Product Line

This blog series on Network Attached Storage (NAS) looks under the hood of the latest tech in file services & storage and dives into how enterprises can skyrocket efficiency with NAS.

The digital transformation of the financial industry has come a long way in recent years, with fintech companies adapting to these market changes. Today’s contactless technologies are much more commonplace in digital strategies, cementing both continuity and customer experience.

Here are two simple examples:

• 70% of all sales of a Spanish digital bank took place on digital channels in Q1 2022.
• A major insurer in the Chinese mainland implemented a video-based insurance platform for investigating claims, helping complete the process in an average of just five minutes and settle 93.2% of auto insurance claim payments in one hour.

Have you wondered what digital channels, contactless capabilities, and online services mean for the future of the finance field? While business models are prioritizing digital technologies to innovate their practices, this industry-wide trend has caused the growth of mass unstructured small files (such as camera identification and authentication info), especially on banks’ data exchange and cheque imaging systems.

The small files housed by a single cheque imaging system can reach hundreds of terabytes or even several petabytes.

Online banking and the surge in unstructured data

Whereas structured data comprises clearly defined data types with patterns that make them easily searchable, unstructured data is the opposite. Data types are diverse, including formats like audio, video, and social media posts, which makes performing queries hard. The research group FinTech Futures states that up to 80% of banking data is encrypted in an unstructured format, spanning online forms, images, signatures, blueprints, and PDF documents, and this figure is set to grow.

The core banking system, for example, involves back-end production and transaction systems that connect multiple branches with HQ to deliver unified operations, like loan management, withdrawals, deposits, and payment services in real time. At any one time, the core banking system handles huge amounts of data volumes from different locations. On top of this, the system is expected to run without interruption, with even the shortest downtime inviting scrutiny from regulatory bodies and customers, and potentially leading to lost revenue.

These challenges have driven the need for better performance, scalability, and reliability when it comes to data storage:

• Higher capacity to store ever-growing data such as transaction images and files
• Faster I/O processing for core systems
• Smarter resource provisioning and O&M, including fault diagnosis and prediction

NAS: The solution for unstructured data

NAS, or Network Attached Storage, refers to a system where storage devices connect to a network and provide file access services, similar to those provided by a private cloud.

NAS systems enable effective data collaboration and sharing across distributed networks, such as those connecting remote access or offices in different time zones, ensuring easy access to files from any desktop or mobile device. NAS is a superior choice for many enterprises thanks to its competitive advantages in access, capacity, and cost.

Consider how banks are moving their business and services online and to mobile channels so as to mitigate the impact of the global economic downturn caused by the pandemic. This change from conventional business strategies is not just limited to mobile payments, but instead extends to all finance (e.g., digital insurance, mortgages, loans) and everyday life services (e.g., travel and e-commerce). Solutions must meet customer demands anywhere 24/7, enable anytime digital banking, and handle data surges from online retailers during seasonal sales events like Black Friday.

NAS systems offer key capabilities to ensure reliable data continuity and accessibility.

Huawei OceanStor Dorado NAS builds better systems for your data

Huawei makes all-flash storage affordable, achieving innovations in performance, reliability, and power consumption that are transforming network-attached storage servers.

• Hardware, protocol, and file system innovations work with software algorithms to deliver 30% higher NAS performance than the industry benchmark.
• SmartMatrix architecture ensures storage system services remain stable and can tolerate the concurrent failures of seven out of eight controllers to deliver high reliability and always-on services.
• Full-lifecycle data management (eService, DME, and DeviceManager) accelerates resource provisioning and simplifies O&M.

Moreover, Huawei HyperMetro enables two storage systems in a data center to work in active-active mode, simultaneously providing services to hosts. If a storage system goes down, services will continue with no data loss.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, products, and technologies of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. If you need to learn more about the products and technologies of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., please visit our website at e.huawei.com or contact us.