Soaring data volumes put pressure on IT infrastructure

Many companies are finding that a sharp rise in the amount of corporate data being created and stored is putting pressure on their IT infrastructure, according to the latest survey from PMP Research. The research was commissioned by the Evaluation Centre (www.evaluationcentre.com).

The majority (83 percent) of those polled reckon their storage requirements have increased significantly compared with two years ago, and 79 percent report that data volumes have also grown substantially.

Many organisations are now struggling to keep the lid on a data and storage explosion. 10 percent, for example, calculate that their requirements in this area have gone up by between 150 percent and 200 percent in the last two years.

The main culprit emerges as the widespread adoption of e-mail, followed by the introduction of more desktop PCs and the use more departmental-based systems. Companies are starting to crack down on improper or inappropriate e-mail use, with 73 percent looking to take active steps to control the situation.

However, much e-mail correspondence relates to important business topics, so more e-mail use means more archiving and back-up requirements. Most (69 percent) of companies are either rationalising or planning to rationalise the number of servers they have, in order to improve their business continuity and disaster planning arrangements.

IT security remains a key concern, with 69 percent of the sample rating the need to keep data safe and secure as the top priority when it comes to making infrastructure decisions. This is seen as more critical than making the IT infrastructure more responsive or easier to monitor, while reducing the cost of a company’s IT infrastructure comes bottom of the scale.

External factors come into play here, with 56 percent agreeing that recent events have made their organisation more aware of business continuity and security issues.

Perhaps in recognition of how complex the requirements can be, around half of those polled (53 percent) say they already make some use of managed services or outsourcing suppliers to handle their business continuity needs. A further 13 percent are contemplating such a move.

But organisations are certainly not adopting a ‘hands-off’ attitude to IT infrastructure and security. Virtually all (91 percent) report they have someone who is responsible for overseeing all investment and performance in systems, and in two-thirds of cases (64 percent) this is a board-level appointment.

•Date: 6th Feb 2007 • Region: World •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
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