In 2007, the amount of digital content created, captured or replicated exceeded available storage for the first time, about 10 percent more than previously forecasted, according to new findings from tech research firm IDC Corp.
The EMC.-sponsored IDC study also projected a worrisome prospect: by 2011, the digital universe will be 10 times the size it was in 2006. Although not all information created and transmitted gets stored, IDC said that by that time, almost half of the digital universe will not have a permanent home.
Abacus Solutions, a Marietta, Ga.-based EMC reseller, has been seeing greater and greater growth of digital content, especially with its media customers such as Turner Broadcasting, The Weather Channel and Cox Communications.
"One of the biggest problems we see is: how do we deal with the tremendous amount of information out there continues that continues to grow?" said Abacus senior storage consultant Tom Sellers. "Just as importantly, how do we not only store but maintain information for disaster recovery and compliance with the storage limitations we have now?"
Data de-duplication is one answer, Sellers said, optimizing the process of storing large amounts of digital media in archive formats. Virtual servers are another possible remedy, Sellers said, giving customers a consolidated infrastructure with increased storage. The IDC predictions don't seem to worry Sellers.
"It's not a problem for us running out of space because we can always scale out and continue to add islands of storage, while maintaining a single repository and along with de-duplication we can meet demand." Sellers also believes that IDC's forecasted scenario presents the channel with good opportunities.
"It gives us the ability to get into a year-over-year account, show our expertise, work with and provide unique solutions to overcome storage problems," he said. "Companies don't have to deal with different vendors as they need more storage. It becomes our job to come up with unique solutions."
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