85% of organizations want cohesive storage and information management
Research revealed that 85% of organizations want to get their data storage, information and content management, and application development out of their silos and into an IT process that enables businesses to add value.
While the study of over 400 storage professionals showed that people want a more cohesive approach, the current situation is far from ideal, with figures revealing that 75% of organizations often have their information management and data storage working in separate silos.
Steve O’Donnell, Managing Director, ESG EMEA, believes that multiple barriers need to be broken down in order to make progress and bring storage and information management out of their silos. He said: “The first and most obvious point is organization. With information management reporting to the CIO and data storage reporting to the CTO, there is a conflict of objectives. While the CIO wants data tightly integrated into functional business applications, somewhat regardless of costs, the CTO wants a single storage platform that he can squeeze costs out of.”
The most effective way for organizations to start getting data storage, information and content management and application development out of their silos and into an IT process that enables the business to add value was by combining an effective IT systems architecture with a business aligned technology set management process.
Mr. O’Donnell identified three steps organization should take:
1. Define a strategy and requirements for effective information management that deals with structured and unstructured data, public and private sources, security, copyright and privacy requirements.
2. Define a technical architecture, including software, tools and infrastructure that can support this vision.
3. Use financial and business governance processes to migrate to this vision over time as part of the businesses natural cycle of systems refresh and upgrade. Refuse to invest in non strategic solutions and systems unless they can be shown to be special cases.
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