When it comes to data storage, consolidation is key.
This is according to Brent Lees, senior product manager at Riverbed Technology, who spoke to ITWeb last week about the importance of implementing a definitive storage strategy.
The mainframe era supported a centralised storage strategy, then the industry moved towards a more distributed storage model and now there is a movement back towards a consolidated approach, said Lees.
He noted that most organisations are storing their data in disparate branches because this has become an accepted way of doing things. For Lees, a concern with this method of storage is that the different branches often lack the expertise to backup the data properly, which results in data loss should there be a system outage or a natural disaster.
"In some cases, the financial loss does not outweigh the embarrassment of losing the data as this can affect a business's standing with its customers."
There are a number of reasons why organisations want to consolidate and put everything in one place, generally in a data centre or in the cloud. "This method is not only more cost-effective, but it makes it far easier for the organisation to protect the data," he said, adding that having data in remote branches, or in "scary places" as he terms it, makes it more vulnerable.
Consolidation results in lower costs, increased security and reduces the hassle of having to do remote backups, Lees pointed out. "Putting all of this information back into a central location means that the IT professionals working in the data centre can work far more efficiently enabling them to better secure and back up important information."
When discussing this data in scary places dilemma, Lees uses a recent earthquake in Iran as an example of why a centralised data storage strategy is favourable, adding that natural disasters are not the only threats to data security.
"In some areas, crime serves as one of the biggest threats to data security. When office equipment is stolen, the actual equipment may not be as valuable as the data stored on those devices."
For those who are concerned about data security in the cloud, Lees asserted that selecting a reliable cloud partner is essential. "From a security perspective, whether your data is stored in the cloud or in the data centre, organisations need to make sure that they have taken the necessary precautions to guard against hackers," he noted, adding that this protection comes in the form of firewalls, encryptions and selecting a partner with competent security people.
According to Lees, the main drivers towards consolidation in SA are risks associated with criminal activity and a general lack of IT expertise. While he does see southern African favouring consolidation like its European counterparts, high bandwidth costs in the region are affecting this progression.
"Storage has been a problem for business for some time," concluded Lees, stressing that consolidation just makes storage easier.
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