Firms omit to archive data

Over a quarter of firms fail to perform daily archiving, research claims

Twenty-eight per cent of medium to large businesses do not perform data archiving, according to a survey of 300 senior IT executives commissioned by BridgeHead Software.

Of the companies that do, 67 per cent use a manual process, 25 per cent use an automated one, and the remainder use a hybrid method.

Tony Cotterill, chief executive of BridgeHead Software, said the figures suggest that many businesses still hold large volumes of data in primary storage. “It’s inconceivable that such a volume of email and other one-off files occupy such a high proportion of space,” he said.

Fifteen per cent of respondents had little knowledge of how long it would take to retrieve a lost file, and two per cent said they would never be able to retrieve a lost file. “This suggests some people are confusing backup and archiving,” said Cotterill.

Roger Smith, managing director of Solid State Solutions, said: “ Resellers will have larger opportunities for archival consultancy, software and hardware sales into such companies.”