Opportunity knocks in storage

With mountains of data piling up and data warehouses getting out of control, the data storage market is predicted to boom in the next few years.

With mountains of data piling up and data warehouses getting out of control, the data storage market is predicted to boom in the next few years.

You may have read about this and wondered where the reseller can get involved. Throwing more hardware at the problem of where to store data is only part of the story and may win you short-term business, but may not do you many favours beyond that. Data also has to be managed in a cost-effective way.

Presuming you know about the software for managing data, you can sell 1Tb (terabyte) disk storage and arrays of disks. But resellers should be seen to be making responsible recommendations, as the disk option is not only expensive but also not always in the best interest of data management. Some data warehouses, for example, are on the verge of suffering from data anarchy. Data is filling up disks very quickly, while the volume of data is threatening to reduce performance and raising questions about just where to put all that data and how to manage it.

The reseller should lower the total cost of ownership and put good data management back on the agenda. You should be smart enough to realise that you cannot keep on selling expensive hard disks as the only answer. You have to have something else to offer, if you want to be seen as someone who looks after your customers and their long-term interest.

The benefits of nearline storage

Customers may grudgingly buy hard disks now, but they might soon be saying: "I can't afford this any more. And by the way, why didn't you tell me about nearline storage earlier on?"

Although 'nearline' storage can be just 10 per cent of the cost of hard disk storage, it provides a turnover stream from upgrades and support and a profit on the product itself. Resellers that think long term and creatively can still make money and keep the customer for many years.

Once a customer moves data onto nearline storage, it is unlikely to opt for another solution. It is often easier for a customer to stay, as there aren'tmany alternatives out there. Also, there is more to nearline storage than people think. So what is nearline?

Nearline software constantly monitors data usage and automatically transfers little-used data to tape or optical disk systems. The user can still access the data; the whole operation of transfer to nearline, and access, is transparent.

Data usage and disaster recovery

According to Bill Inmon, independent data warehousing consultant, 70 to 90 per cent of a hard disk is taken up with data that has not been used for 90 days. Even when this is removed to nearline, the hard disk fills up again with little-used data, hence the need for software that monitors data usage and moves it off the hard disk.

Nearline also provides backup strategies, while reducing time spent backing up hard disks. And it can make multiple image copies to any designated system at any remote site, on another continent if need be, making it an ideal disaster recovery tool.

Being creative can help, but resellers must also be aware of what technologies are 'hot' in which areas. As the only solution that can keep up with the explosive growth in data, nearline storage is hot.

Nigel Dear is European director of sales and marketing at UniTree Software