HubbertSmith | Data Center Storage ... Spend Less, Deliver More

Why should a CIO or IT Manager read this Book on “Data Center Storage” ?

The short answer:

Today, we overspend on data center storage and still often fall very short of business needs for storage.

This book takes a balanced “business-meets-technology” approach to deliver data center storage service levels and avoid over-spending.

The longer answer:

Today, we overspend on data center storage; and Business Data is expanding fast; and therefore our storage-related overspending is accelerating. This book reveals where and why we overspend and how to deliver same or better storage service levels, storage capacity and data protection at a lower cost to your company.

This book is for those motivated to apply financial responsibility when spending on data center storage. The alternatives which exceed business needs, are clear, quantifiable, and understandable by the CIO, and the CFO allowing communication, understanding, agreement and execution.

At risk of ruining the ending …

Step 1

Replace direct attached storage and compartmentalized storage with consolidated SAN-attached storage. Consolidating direct attached storage into shared storage saves money on backup. Consolidation creates the opportunity to create Tiers. It creates the opportunity to establish SLAs which help identify Tier-1 storage and treat separately from Tier-2 storage. Establish the concept of storage tiering.

Step 2

Use Service Levels as a clear and simple way to communicate with your business unit customers. Establish service levels and assign Service Levels to applications. Reserve Service Level-1 for only those applications where performance impacts user productivity, where storage performance impacts the company’s ability to earn money. Push all other data to Service Level-2 and Service Level-3 in the interest of avoiding over-spending for storage for non-critical applications.

Step 3

Use time and data aging as a tool to work in your favor to save money. Push cooler data to affordable capacity-optimized storage. Implement processes to protect data and to clear data off Service Level-1 storage: migrate data as it ages and migrates from performance tier -> to capacity tier -> to archive.

Step 4

Selectively deploy to managed hosting and cloud storage. Steps 1, 2 and 3 change your storage to allow your company to take advantage of managed hosting and cloud, selectively where it makes sense, efficiently and without excessive risk.

That’s the easy answer.

The more aggressively you can apply the storage tiering/service level model, the better off you’ll be in your task to deliver storage services which meet and exceed business unit needs and avoid overspending.

The harder questions addressed in this book:

Overcoming the barriers to change, changing attitudes and behaviors to get these implemented in your organization to deliver “better for cheaper”. This book includes CIO-relevant analyses to get funding, get staffing to implement projects to deliver on service levels, economically.

Data Center Storage !