We recently announced a partnership with GRAU DATA to integrate Panzura Symphony with GRAU DATA's MetadataHub. Combining the data operations capabilities of Symphony with advanced metadata extraction from MetadataHub transforms unstructured data insights and orchestration using actionable intelligence across a range of metadata endpoints.  

This novel integration empowers data-intensive organizations and specialized teams to rapidly derive deep insights from their data, accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics initiatives, and optimize storage costs.  

According to research, unstructured data has a 55-65% annual growth rate. Still, IDC estimates that only about 10% of this data will be stored, and even less will be analyzed despite its potential value. This is because traditional data management and analytics tools are unable to handle such large volumes of information. 

Intelligence often resides in metadata which can contain hundreds and even thousands of tags that describe the content and context of data files. Metadata is much lighter compared to the actual files themselves, making it extremely fast and efficient to extract the metadata attributes for quick processing without the overhead of handling large files. The solution lies in a powerful integration that leverages the strengths of two innovative technologies – Panzura Symphony and GRAU DATA’s MetadataHub. 

Panzura Symphony is a data operations platform built for the complexities of today’s unstructured data landscape. It enables exabyte-scale data discovery, policy-driven management, and seamless orchestration across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. GRAU DATA’s MetadataHub complements Symphony by extracting and evaluating metadata tags from more than 400 file formats, creating a rich "proxy" for original files. 

This proxy is a comprehensive metadata catalog. Symphony then leverages this metadata catalog, acquiring only the needed data attributes and sidestepping the unnecessary transfer of large datasets. This significantly reduces network traffic and storage demands, dramatically improving performance and efficiency.  

Seamlessly capturing the critical content and context from data files, integrating the two platforms delivers comprehensive data visibility and insights that accelerate informed decision-making across departments, teams, and roles like data stewards and those responsible for compliance and security policies. 

For example, it enables on-demand access to data so storage operations, business analysts, data governance officers, and even AIOps can leverage high-quality data for more accurate analysis or to feed automated processes and pipelines without the need to transfer massive datasets. 

A Symphony of Metadata: Unparalleled Data Control and Insights   

The integration of Symphony with MetadataHub allows data delivery and assessment based on specific file attributes, application-specific metadata, datatypes, and business context classifications, ensuring data is categorized and handled according to its characteristics. Dynamic Workload Placement from Symphony and the metadata-aware capabilities of the integrated solution contribute to reduced operational costs and enhanced data visibility and control.  

At its core, Symphony streamlines the process of accessing, analyzing, and sharing data. It acts as a single portal where all reporting and data can be connected. One of the standout features of Symphony is its ability to integrate with existing analytics tools such as SQL Server, Oracle, and Snowflake, using common interfaces and open standards.  

The technical specifications of Symphony include support for many data sources, including file systems, protocols, and object stores. Designed for scalability, Symphony is built to handle vast volumes of data without compromising performance.  

While Symphony excels at unified data discovery, assessment, and orchestration, MetadataHub focuses on unlocking the value of unstructured data. MetadataHub extracts and exposes metadata from these files, turning embedded metadata into valuable insights. Its capabilities are extensive. It allows users to search, analyze, and comprehensively evaluate files without reading the file itself.  

One of the key strengths of MetadataHub is its ability to automate data extraction and analysis processes, reducing the need for manual intervention. MetadataHub also supports the custom development of special extractors, enabling technologists to tailor the platform to specific contextual needs. 

Initial support is offered for On-Demand Data Provisioning and Policy-Driven Data Management usage scenarios. With On-Demand Data Provisioning, MetadataHub serves essential file information to users and processes, eliminating the need to access the original file. Leveraging Symphony’s policy-enforcement features, Policy-Driven Data Management defines rules based on captured metadata and details such as usage patterns to optimize storage and automate workflows. 

Drive Business Agility with On-Demand Data Provisioning  

The integration of Panzura Symphony and GRAU DATA’s MetadataHub ushers in a new era of On-Demand Data Provisioning. This powerful combination automates the delivery of precise data to users and processes exactly when and where they need it. MetadataHub analyzes and extracts crucial information from file metadata, creating a rich metadata catalog. Symphony leverages this metadata catalog, acquiring only the needed data attributes and sidestepping the unnecessary transfer of large datasets. 

This eliminates the traditional bottlenecks associated with data silos and slow, manual provisioning processes. With its Dynamic Workload Placement, for example, Symphony intelligently and automatically positions data for optimal processing in AI pipelines. It leverages various triggers and transformation functions, such as webhooks and pre- and post-run actions, to efficiently handle diverse data workloads and ecosystems. This optimization of data placement and tiering, guided by metadata, reduces storage costs and maximizes network resources. 

Furthermore, this integration enhances data accuracy and reliability through comprehensive metadata enrichment. MetadataHub’s catalog acts as a detailed map of target data, providing valuable information about its structure, content, and relationships. This "map" significantly improves data quality and reduces preparation time when staging data for analytics applications. 

Granular metadata allows for precise data selection and transformation, reducing errors and inconsistencies that can arise when automating data pipelines. For example, suppose a data scientist needs to extract specific features from a dataset for machine learning. In this case, they can use the metadata to identify the relevant data fields and apply the appropriate transformations, ensuring that only the correct data is acquired and made ready for analysis. 

This streamlined approach improves data governance and provenance and facilitates the creation of valuable new data products. Automated report generation and distribution gives stakeholders timely insights into system health and performance, enabling faster incident response and improved collaboration. 

Instead of manually compiling reports, for instance, DevOps teams can configure automated reports delivered to relevant stakeholders at predefined intervals or triggered by specific events. This ensures that everyone is informed and aligned, fostering a culture of collaboration and proactive problem solving. 

Tame Data Chaos with Policy-Driven Data Management 

The Symphony integration with MetadataHub also provides a platform for implementing Policy-Driven Data Management. It leverages metadata and automation to address many of the key challenges IT and data teams face. 

For instance, MetadataHub extracts valuable information from files, such as content, sensitivity, and usage patterns, enabling the creation of granular policies that optimize data storage. Data can be stored more efficiently based on its value and access frequency, reducing storage costs. 

Moreover, the integration of Symphony and MetadataHub enhances data security by automating the enforcement of security policies. Sensitive data can be automatically encrypted and secured based on its metadata-derived attributes. Granular access controls can also be implemented to prevent unauthorized file access and data breaches. This protects valuable information and ensures compliance with data privacy regulations such as GDPR, CCCA, and HIPAA. 

Beyond security, this integration streamlines DevOps, DevSecOps, and AIOps workflows by automating tedious data management tasks. Data classification, policy enforcement, and other time-consuming work can be automated, freeing up IT teams for more strategic initiatives. This increased efficiency allows organizations to utilize their resources better and focus on higher-level tasks. 

Organizations can also improve data security through automated encryption and access controls and ensure compliance with data privacy regulations. 

Accelerate Innovation in Data-Intensive Industries 

The benefits of this integration extend across a wide range of data-intensive industries. In life sciences, it can accelerate breakthroughs in genomics, drug discovery, and clinical trials. In finance, it can enhance environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing strategies and risk management. In environmental research, it can unlock insights from vast datasets generated by climate models and satellite imagery. 

Providing a comprehensive and easily accessible view of the data relevant landscape, the integration of Panzura Symphony and GRAU DATA’s MetadataHub empowers IT teams and data stewards alike to work with data more cost-efficiently and effectively. 

This novel integration is a significant step forward in unlocking the value of unstructured data. Combining the strengths of both the Symphony and MetadataHub platforms, we're giving specialized teams the tools they need to derive actionable insights, accelerate AI initiatives, and optimize storage and network costs. 

To learn more about this integrated solution and how it can benefit your organization, please visit the Panzura and GRAU DATA partner page.