While a lackluster economy has forced organizations to delay new IT
purchases and upgrades, an industry wide refresh cycle is well
underway. The latest article published by Processor – Inside the
Storage Refresh Cycle – advises IT managers to investigate the latest
storage technologies, but also use common sense.
Why?
Because upgrading your storage goes beyond replacing old equipment. Although systems slowdown can be a telltale sign, there are many other benefits to refresh your storage: Improved backup/disaster recovery plans, energy efficiency, speed and capacity improvement, and overall support. In other words, creating a long-term storage refresh strategy can actually extend the life cycle of your equipment, increase efficiency and save time and money.
And that makes good business sense.
On the technology front, key storage technologies to watch: Connectivity options (iSCSI, Fibre Channel), automated Tiering (mix and match the storage/drive technology for the optimal results), Thin provisioning (eliminate pre-allocated but unused storage), Virtualization (storage virtualization paired with server virtualization) and cloud-like models.
But as any good business decision, IT needs to assess the current situation (access rates, company’s policy, data protection need), investigate and plan carefully (avoiding vendor lock-in, for example). But most of all, forecasting data growth to make sure the selected solution will scale well.
Most companies have a policy that will dictate when a storage refresh should ideally occur but it is up to IT managers to determine the length between refreshes. New technology and delivery models (such as virtualization and the Cloud) are attractive but they also generate an increased need for storage at first.
To meet those challenges, IT needs to think strategically, to keep a good balance between adopting the latest and greatest technology and recognize what makes good business sense…
