Users should be able comprehend the most important file properties when they access their data on storage devices. This is especially true for storage media with unique features like molecular storage media as well as new media that are under development. The ideal user interface permits the user to visualize the properties of the media using a variety of visual means and present them in order of importance to the user.
For instance, the capacity property is one of the most important for users who are using the traditional hard disk drive. The early systems came with tools that provided precise details about the storage device. But, they focused on displaying its total capacity through stacked bar graphs and their variants (e.g. doughnut charts).
Modern systems present the user with a variety of attributes, including the file’s capacity. Some systems, like show the duration of a file by using graphs, or a pie chart, which also displays the number of segments used within the storage device. Additional information, like the probability of a lifetime is displayed when a user hovers over the stacks.
The issue is that IT teams are now required to collaborate with departments and end-users to enable more efficient storage, as well as faster and more secure access to the right data sets to support new initiatives and ideas. This change requires IT teams to concentrate less on procurement of technology, configuration and spending management and more on empowering line-of business users to assist themselves with their own self-service issues.