This article is written for storage and IT management professionals interested in developing a storage capacity plan. Readers will learn what a storage capacity plan is, how it's used, what the impacts of implementing a plan are, how to develop a storage capacity plan and how to keep a plan current.
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What is a storage capacity plan?
a storage capacity plan is a vital component of infrastructure management. It is a forecast of storage resources needed to support application and business requirements. Typically, storage capacity plans include growth parameters, key procedures for storage management and technology planning. Frequently this responsibility is overlooked due to tactical business pressures.
How is a storage capacity plan used?
A storage capacity plan is used to forecast storage consumption, provide adequate levels of service to applications and set budgets for storage acquisitions.
What is the business impact of developing and implementing a storage capacity plan?
A storage capacity plan reduces the risk of running out of storage resources and thereby improves cycle time and time-to-market. It also reduces waste by allowing organizations to better forecast storage needs and purchase only what is required for applications. This is important as storage technolgies, like many IT assets are constantly declining in value from an accounting perspective.
How is a storage capacity plan developed?
A storage capacity plan is developed by 1) establishing clear and measurable goals; 2) assessing the high level parameters of a business such as growth, expansion plans, geographic factors and economic trends; 3) assessing application service level and growth requirements; 4)observing historical trends and 5) forecasting storage requirements.
How to keep a storage capacity plan current?
Once a capacity plan is developed the implementation and ongoing management of the system is critical to extract business value and receive a payback for the investment required to create the plan and acquire and manage requisite tools. Automation, tools training, communication of results and taking action are all necessary components to realize value. This page has been created to assist in the development of best practices in implementing an ongoing capacity planning function.
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