Getting Rid of Data Made Easy
Embedding and optimizing de-duplication for block and file primary storage solutions is an important milestone in delivering an improved information management stack to end-users. With data duplication ratios, particularly for unstructured data, the fastest growing segment of the digital universe, still hovering at 10:1-to-20:1, the availability of fast and efficient storage optimization capability as a software library (aka a commodity) for primary storage original equipment manufacturers is an important turn in the road for de-duplication and effective enterprise information management practices.
For end-users, CTOs, CIOs and application heads alike, dedupe as a software commodity means storage efficiency and optimization can be obtained as a basic feature from storage providers, no longer requiring a bump in the wire appliance. De-dupe is finally going the way of data encryption and compression – no longer a proprietary, inline device, nice to have or even desirable feature. The future of data de-duplication is as a basic, mandatory, check box function designed to be embedded first into the infrastructure stack and shortly thereafter further up into applications.
Market Timeline
For storage OEMs, the market timeline looks something like this:
- Today inline dedupe as a no/low cost, high performance basic feature provides strategic differentiation in the storage market,
- By 2011, it is table stakes to get into the market, and,
- By 2012, if you don’t provide an integrated, invisible, and optimized solution, you’re at a significant competitive disadvantage.
But the commoditization of de-dupe and its general availability as a library of capability to the storage market place doesn’t solve the problem of data over retention, poor records retention policies, or ineffective information management programs. Over-retention of data is still a big problem and risk for most enterprises. However de-duplication optimized for and embedded with primary storage solutions is an important CIMO tool for improving information practices across the enterprise.
It’s a must have for getting rid of unwanted and unnecessary data.
Action Item: Get a plan together to aggressively get rid of unnecessary data and storage. Make de duplication a commodity part of that plan for all storage use cases – primary/OLTP, backup, and archive. Measure the success of the initiative to affect ongoing information management improvement.
Footnotes: Peer Incite on Storage Optimization