De-duplication take-up hits snag

Moreau: Market needs to educate end users about the cost and storage savings it can bring

A lack of understanding and cost concerns are stymieing adoption of data deduplication with most VARs struggling to convince end users to deploy the technology, research has claimed.

Vendor Acronis recently surveyed 105 resellers with more than nine in 10 reporting that less than half of their customers had invested in deduplication. More than three fifths of VARs claim less than 10 per cent of end users are using the technology.

A third of resellers claimed the expense of deploying deduplication is the biggest obstacle to widespread adoption. But customers would be quick to buy into deduplication if they perceived it as affordable, said 98 per cent of respondents.

Kevin Moreau, UK and Ireland general manager for Acronis, claimed the development of software-only deduplication offerings would help drive SME adoption.

“Deduplication has been sold as a combined software and hardware solution and the hardware has been too costly to justify purchasing for most organisations,” he said.

“The market needs to educate end users about the cost and storage savings it can bring.”

The survey revealed more than a third of resellers believe end users do not know enough about deduplication to implement it.

Phil Cambers, managing director of virtualisation reseller SITS Group, claimed the channel had to ensure it articulated the benefits of deduplication clearly.

“Because it is a new technology, a lot of people do not understand it,” he said.

“Like all emerging technologies, there is a responsibility on resellers to demystify it.”
Cambers added that EMC’s agreed $2.1bn acquisition of deduplication vendor Data Domain could give the market a shot in the arm.

“It is good to see that a technology that we bought into a while ago is
held in high regard by a company such as EMC,” he said.