Sunday, 8 May 2016 Blog ehdf

Data Storage Is On A Rise. Choose The Right Storage Model For Your Bus

With the wealth of options presented to businesses in regard to data storage these days, it is difficult to determine which solution is appropriate for which type of business. Further muddying the water has been the rapid development of cloud storage solutions. From private to public to hybrid, businesses, particularly SMEs, can become rightfully confused. eHDF explores storage options and how to determine which solution is a good choice.

Common options for data storage

•Storage Area Network (SAN): This technology stores data on a centralized storage network, making it more manageable and accessible. Operating on a LAN or WAN network, SAN enables better disk utilization. SAN is an ideal option for enterprises with mission-critical data, as it provides backup and disaster recovery solutions. SAN technology ensures data duplication in a short span of time, contributing to overall business continuity

•Network-attached Storage (NAS): This device can be connected to an enterprises’ existing network infrastructure, providing central access to users on multiple platforms. NAS also increases the storage capacity of the various devices connected to any network, ensuring remote accessibility and convenient management of IT assets. Many SMEs utilize NAS as it is cost-effective and user-friendly

•Storage as a Service (STaaS): In this model, a third party provider rent out storage space to their customers, helping them reduce their business CAPEX, lowering their IT maintenance and labour costs and their backup hardware costs. Small and medium sized businesses and start-ups outsource their storage to STaaS to mitigate risks and build a solid foundation for their data storage and backup systems at an off-site location

Benefits of outsourcing

•Cost Savings – By using a cloud services provider in the Middle East for data storage needs, enterprises can benefit from economies of scale. This is because the company can leverage shared systems of the service provider and does not need to invest in hardware, servers or other capital expenditure (CAPEX). Often, service providers offer subscription-for-service, or pay-per-use model, with a monthly subscription fee

•Greater Reliability and Availability – Service providers often offer a round-the-clock service desk to answer questions or address to crises. They also guarantee availability and up-time.

•Maintenance – Storage hardware or software, when located on-premise, needs to maintained in relation to its environment, temperature and security. It would be more secure when maintained in a managed data centre, handled by experts who have 24 x 7 monitoring mechanisms, controlled facilities and contingency plans in cases of disasters or emergencies. Handling this on-premise may be tricky, as not all companies are aware of best practices for data storage maintenance

•Off-Site Backup Beneficial during Emergencies – Having a third-party location for your data storage needs is beneficial in cases of emergencies or natural disasters

•Core business focus – Organizations are turning to outsourcing because of the need to focus on its core-business activities.

Steps to make an informed decision

To determine what type of data storage fits enterprise needs, companies must ask questions regarding their data, type of IT infrastructure and any regulatory concerns regarding critical or sensitive data.

•Nature of data (Structured or Unstructured) – Companies need storage to cater to either structured, easily searchable data (which is done using simple algorithms and computer operations) or unstructured data, which is a more time consuming and complicated process

•IOPS (input/output operations per second) requirements

•Data replication requirements – Companies must determine whether they require information transfers from a shared server to a distributed database, subject to internal policy to access data conveniently and without interfering with other IT operations

•Data retention policies – CIOs must also take into consideration the company’s protocol for retaining data on operational or regulatory bases. This is done internally by considering value of data over time. It is an important practice within hospitals, government agencies and regulation authorities as all data cannot be maintained and securely stored indefinitely

•RTO and RPO associated with the storage application – Businesses who cannot afford downtime, must clearly state their recovery time objective (RTO) and their recovery point objective (RPO) to the service provider, who can then put in place an adequate business continuity planning

•Sensitivity / Confidentiality of internal data – Organizations often choose hosted platforms such as public, private or co-located cloud, based on the level of control of accessibility they and any third parties may have to their data. They must select storage techniques on the basis of their security needs.