The average SMB has most of the same data protection needs as its larger competitors. But most SMBs can't afford a trained staff assigned specifically to storage management and protection. As a result, when they buy storage management software they look for solutions that are both less expensive and easier to use than traditional products.
IBM Storage Management for SMBs:
Data Protection on a Mom-and-Pop Budget
SMB Storage Management: All the practices, including storage management, don't pose a risk to their business.Risks, None of the BudgetThe average SMB (small to medium business) has most of the All these and many other requirements apply equally to SMBs and same data protection needs as its larger competitors. It must to their largest competitors. An SMB, of course, will rarely if ever quickly store and retrieve information about products, customers be able to make the protective investment that its enterprise-sized and transactions; protect data from loss and recover rapidly from competitors can. How then can SMBs compete with companies everything from the simplest user error to natural and man-made which can afford high-end storage management software, the disaster. In an increasing percent of cases, SMBs must also meet best storage hardware, and large staffs of experienced and skilled regulatory requirements for storing email, financial and customer storage experts?data for years or even decades. But most SMBs can't afford a trained staff assigned specifically to storage management and Investing in Storage Management protection. Instead, what passes for storage management is done Since they cannot compete in dollar-for-dollar storage spending, by whichever employee happens to sit closest to the tape library, SMBs must take extra care when they go looking for solutions or is interested enough to volunteer for the job. The reality is to meet their storage requirements. A good Rule Of The Road: that SMBs aren't likely to find the extra money to hire trained SMBs should not focus on technology and building storage infrastructures; storage staff anytime soon, and will continue to make do with rather, they must first identify business needs and then make IT investments IT generalists. As a result, when they buy storage management that ensure those needs will be met. What does this mean? Their larger software they look for solutions that are both less expensive competitors think in terms of recovery point objectives (RPOs and easier to use than traditional products in order for their - how "current" or "granular" a backup and restore must be); staff of generalists to meet their storage management and data recovery time objectives (RTOs - how quickly data can be recov-protection requirements. ered so applications become productive again), and service level Such requirements go far beyond a simple daily or weekly backup agreements which specify the uptime and reliability of critical (which many SMBs find hard enough to perform consistently). applications. SMBs should think in the same business-oriented SMBs competing in a 24/7 global Web economy also have 24/7 terms to assure they have access to data when they need it and data protection responsibilities, including the need to retrieve in the form they need it.data whenever and wherever a user needs it. But even those Obviously, SMBs need simple tools that do not require a highly-requirements are often just the beginning. Companies operating paid expert staff. Beyond that, their need for persistent access to in tightly regulated industries such as financial services or health data translates into a set of storage needs that generally parallel care must also comply with state, national or industry regulations those found at their much-larger competitors: governing the security, availability and integrity of sensitive information. For example, in the securities industry, brokers and . Immediately available primary disk-based storage dealers must preserve customer and transaction records for at systems which provide data for daily use at the least six years, with the data being kept in "an easily accessible highest levels of reliability and performance.place" for the first two years. Pharmaceutical and biotech com- . L ocal, immediately accessible data backups to panies must comply with the Food and Drug Administration's enable quick recovery from day-to-day problems.Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations (Part 11 which covers the . Remotely stored data, made up of data role of electronic signatures in medical records, as well as areas replicated from the primary systems, to allow such as data retention and data access. Small medical practices, recovery from more severe emergencies.medical labs, billing processors and others must compl... [download for more]
