Storage 

& Backup

 

Data is unquestionably the lifeblood of today's digital organization. Storage solutions remain a top priority in ICT budgets because the integrity, availability and protection of data are vital to business productivity and success. But the role of information storage far exceeds day to day functions.

Organizations are also operating in an era of increased uncertainty. ICT personnel find themselves assessing and planning for more potential risks than ever before, ranging from acts of terrorism to network security threats. A backup and disaster recovery plan is essential, and information storage solutions provide the basis for its execution.

Data Governance is of concern to any individual or group who has an interest in how data is created, collected, processed and manipulated, stored, made available for use, or retired. ICT Management usually decides how to do the day to day tasks of data management, but the enhancement of their roles with a defined process for making those decisions is required,  that is where Data Governance comes into play. There are organizations such as the  Data Governance Institute can assist as an independent organization in parallel with CNS Advisory services..

Data needs to be managed. There are daily, weekly, and monthly tasks to ensure an effective backup and retention policy. It is dynamic and requires significant planning and control to be effective.

Storage is at the very heart of every ICT system. There are technologies that are integrated into servers, PC’s, etc that have limited scope for choice in size and type ranging to Data Warehouses where you will need to carefully select the right technology and supplier for your on-going needs.

There are limited Open Storage solutions and most Storage vendors are still proprietary. Avoiding lock in to a particular product should be avoided where possible. The main choice will be in secondary and tertiary levels of storage where there is choice. IS NAS, SAN, etc the best for secondary? Is tape or optical the best for Tertiary?

The key factor is price versus performance. CNS will help you match your budget with the requirements of data availability and protection.  Data is classified into Tiers, with fast T0 high cost RAM memory being close to the CPU and slow T3 low cost Tape storage being remotely located.