Users must be able be aware of the most important file properties when accessing their data via storage devices. This is particularly true for storage mediums with unique features like molecular storage media and upcoming novel media that are still in development. The ideal user interface would allow the user to visualize these properties using a variety of visual means, and ideally present them in order of importance to the user.
For instance the capacity property is one of the most important for users when using the traditional hard disk drive. Early systems included tools that provided detailed information about a user’s storage device. However they primarily focused on showing the capacity of the device in bar charts that were stacked and their variations (e.g. doughnut charts).
With the advent of more modern technology, however, the capacity of a file is typically only one of the many aspects that are displayed to the user. For example some systems display the life span of the file in a graph or a pie chart, which also shows the number of segments that have been accessed within the storage device and additional information like life expectancy is displayed when the user hovers over stacks.
IT teams are now challenged to collaborate with users and departments to offer more efficient data storage and quicker, secure access to the proper data sets needed for new ideas and projects. This requires IT teams to focus less on technology procurement and configuration, as well as spending management and more on empowering line-of business users to assist themselves with their own self-service needs.