Users should be able comprehend the most important properties of a file when accessing their data via storage devices. This is particularly true for storage media that have unique features, such as molecular storage media or new media that are still in http://virtuadata.net/ development. The ideal user interface would let the user visualize these properties with various visual methods and display them in order of importance to the user.

When using the hard disk drive for instance, people often discover the capacity property to be among the most critical. Early systems offered built-in tools that provided specific information about the user’s storage device, but they primarily focused on displaying the capacity of the device in bar charts that were stacked and their variants (e.g. doughnut charts).

Modern systems provide users with a range of attributes, including the file’s capacity. For instance, some systems display the life span of the file in an image or pie chart that also lists the number of accessed segments in the storage device and supplemental information such as the likelihood of a lifetime is displayed when the user hovers over the stacks.

The issue is that IT teams are now required to collaborate with departments and users to enable more efficient storage, as well as faster and secure access to the right data sets to support new initiatives and ideas. This requires IT departments to focus less on the acquisition of technology, configuration and budget management and more on empowering users to serve their needs.