Commvault GO – Space and Time

Space and time. Kant, Einstein. Long-haul truck drivers, marathon runners, 747 pilots.
Kid on her way home from school. Data. Networks. Storage. Security.

While Einstein and Kant talk about time and space relating to each other in specific ways, we know their correlation, practically speaking, like the back of our hand. Distance often means “how fast?” What period of time will it take to traverse the space?

When I first heard of Commvault GO, it seemed so far away. But today, I get on a plane, and I’ll be there in no time.

 

Time is what gives space meaning. How would it matter that DC is 370 miles from Cleveland if not for how long it takes to get from one to the other? Sure, there are a few other ways like the relationship between fuel efficiency and the number of miles, for example. But even that involves compromises because of our desire to get somewhere faster.

1100 feet doesn’t sound very far. But when it’s up the side of a granite face on El Capitan in Yosemite, it takes all day.

And when things don’t all go as planned, you end up spending the night on top in the cold. But sometimes traversing space is a about beauty and adventure, not efficiency.

 

The Star Trek Transporter is more distance related than time: But, of course, the need for “beaming” somewhere is driven by expediency—covering distance fast.

On the other hand, there are aspects of time that have nothing to do with space. Like, Billy Joel says in “Vienna,” “take the phone off the hook, you can afford to lose a day or two.” Time is something we good use or poor use of. Or lose track of altogether. Or, he continues, “You’re so ahead of yourself that you forgot what you need.”

Time and distance will matter intensely to Robert Swan who will be hiking to the South Pole with his son shortly after speaking to the Commvault GO audience in a general session. And how data management has makes his adventures more well oiled, more safe.

Indeed, much of what Commvault does is about managing the IT balance between space and time. How to store more data more efficiently? How to keep data and transactions secure without compromising time too much? They want to use simpler interfaces to speed up deployments. Managing multiple clouds is about distance and time, too.

GO should be interesting on many front. Meeting old friends and new. Learning more about managing cloud and security. Being in that space for some time—with all of that expertise and focus in one place—should be enlightening and stimulating. Let’s see where innovation is headed. And maybe we’ll all get “there” faster.