Storage And Backup Become An IT Priority

The major reasons to back up information are that the volume of critical data is increasing, as is the importance of stored data, and the cost of storage equipment is falling. The management of storage equipment is growing in complexity, and IT managers are becoming more comfortable outsourcing. So as storage needs increase in scope and complexity, there may be a significant move toward using storage services for backup needs.

Traditional in-house backup mechanisms tend to be inefficient. Different departments, or even specific servers or systems within a company, can have their own storage resources, and even if some are nearly empty, those that are full may still require expansion. That's where storage providers,formerly referred to as SSPs,come in. Storage providers can manage these needs more efficiently,and at a higher complexity,than many IT groups may be equipped for.

Many of the original players (SSPs) in the space no longer exist, and others are concentrating on software and professional services. Currently, the majority of storage services players are large carriers, hosting providers and IT outsourcers, which are partnering with the more focused companies to offer a better solution.

Outsourcing Storage

Although outsourcing storage may mean giving up control over business-critical data, there are many advantages:

• It simplifies storage responsibilities for the IT group and reduces risks.
• IT managers can focus on the primary company network.
• Hardware and software costs can be eliminated, and operational costs are reduced.
• Outsourcing gives much greater storage flexibility and efficiency, makes for easier technology updates and enables faster backup deployment.
• The disadvantages include:
• Having to hand over the management of sensitive business data to another company.
• Lack of experience among service providers and uncertainty about their ability to stay in business.
• Some businesses do not even have a disaster-recovery or backup plan. Without a plan specifying what to do in the case of mass storage loss, data storage itself is of little use.
• Further, there is really no point in having a sophisticated backup network if no one in your organization knows how to deploy the recovery plan, or if it can't be accessed immediately. Disaster-recovery and storage plans need to be updated as both the network and business grow. Specific needs will change as data volume and importance change, and as network topology is adjusted. As equipment is replaced or relocated, the recovery plan needs to be updated with these changes.
• Two models are deployed by storage providers: off-site and on-site. Off-site usually means the data is managed in a data center or other co-location facility and connected to the customer via a fiber network. This model has become increasingly popular since Sept. 11, as customers are considering the value of remote backup. With the on-site model, local equipment is set up and managed by a storage provider, with management either locally or remotely via secure connections; the equipment remains the customer's property. In both models, the service provider is responsible for making sure all networks (except the internal LANs) are available.
• Wrap-Up
• Despite telcos and other operators coming into the market,even with customers,no one has yet figured out how to make money from these storage services.
• Where to look for customers, and determining which ones to go after, are also problems for storage providers. Whatever the dominant customer bases and business models prove to be, there is a general consensus now from industry that storage and backup are beginning to become an IT priority, and once things bounce back out of recession, spending in those areas will increase.
• Liz McPhillips ([email protected]) is a research director of hosting and managed services at Probe Research, based in Cedar Knolls, N.J.