I was recently interviewed by SearchCIO.com to discuss how data virtualization technology is moving into the strategic realm for CIOs, why this is happening, and the problems it’s solving for companies.

Data virtualization tools move into strategic IT realm

Data virtualization tools have been around for years, but the technology is shifting in importance from tactical to strategic, as businesses look to integrate and access data from across Web sources, social media and the Internet of Things (IoT).

In this Q&A, data management expert Rick Sherman, founder of Athena IT Solutions, explains why data virtualization should be on the CIO radar, the benefits it brings over traditional data integration tools, how it can be used for competitive advantage and which industries the early adopters are in.

Why is data virtualization an important issue for CIOs?

Rick Sherman: For CIOs, most companies — small, medium and large — are trying to access information from a lot of different sources both internally and externally. They might want to get information about their customers, share information with partners, buyers or whatever. In the old days they controlled the data, they could get to the data, they’d integrate the data. But now … data’s coming from everywhere, not just from applications. Companies don’t have the time or the money to physically integrate the data. Data virtualization is the ability to … extract the data from different sources and virtually be able to look at the data, analyze the data, combine the data with other sources. It’s a perfect way in this fast-changing world to be able to get to data in real time … and analyze [and experiment with] the data. … it’s perfect for what CIOs are confronted with: the onslaught of data they have.

>>>read the complete interview on SearchCIO.com