Data size is about to get out of control

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: MIKE KARP ON STORAGE IN THE ENTERPRISE
08/30/05
Today's focus: Data size is about to get out of control

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Reasons why data size is growing rapidly
* Links related to Storage in the Enterprise
* Featured reader resource
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Today's focus: Data size is about to get out of control

By Mike Karp

My friends in Seattle tell me there are two types of weather in
that city, and that there is an easy way to tell which is which:
if you can't see Mount Rainier, it is raining; if you can see
Mount Rainier, it's about to rain.

It occurs to me that Seattle's weather might serve as a pretty
good metaphor for data storage. If you are not managing your
data, it is out of control and you are likely being inundated;
if you are managing your data, the inundation is about to happen
anyway.

One group of IT managers in particular is skating on the edge.
You are likely a member of this company if the data under your
care supports any of the following sorts of projects:

* A plan for turning analog data into digital data (this might
  include scanning old CAD drawings or other paper records into a
  database for archiving, but also likely takes in almost any kind
  of cataloging project that captures an image).

* Managing healthcare data such as MRI, x-ray, or other such
  records that are drawn from a technology that has markedly
  increased its accuracy lately, and which now provides an
  appreciable increase in the granularity of its images - and by
  doing so has significantly increased the size of the data files
  that are produced.

* Creating, storing and moving content for HDTV, the files for
  which are exponentially larger than content for the old NTSC,
  PAL and SECAM formats that we all grew up with.

The change in the total amount of data under management is an
obvious difference of course, but data growth, even "exponential
data growth" (no one ever tells us what the exponent is, by the
way), is sort of like eating baked beans for lunch - you will
have a reasonably good idea what is going to happen, and the
more well-considered - and considerate - among you will plan
accordingly. I am concerned about something beyond the
quantitative issue.

Newer kinds of data - high definition TV content in place of
content for older formats, MRI images that are 100 times more
accurate than the ones you stored even two years ago - will be
used differently and will have to be managed differently than
were their predecessors. In fact, I am willing to bet that in
each of the situations I mention above, and assuredly in
numerous others as well, you will find that the quantitative
issues of storing data on disk will pale to relative
insignificance when compared to the changes that are made
necessary by the ways the new data must be managed.

We'll look at one aspect of this next time.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Google dives deeper into networking
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage6106>

2. 2005 salary survey
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage4039nlstoragealert6020>

3. Intel-Cisco deal may be big for Wi-Fi
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage6107>

4. VoIP season about to heat up
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage6108>

5. Cisco aims to simplify switch mgmt.
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage6109>

Today's most-forwarded story:

Google dives deeper into networking
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage6110>

_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Mike Karp

Mike Karp is senior analyst with Enterprise Management
Associates, focusing on storage, storage management and the
methodology that brings these issues into the marketplace. He
has spent more than 20 years in storage, systems management and
telecommunications. Mike can be reached via e-mail
<mailto:mkarp@enterprisemanagement.com>.
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Avocent
Network World Executive Guide: Reviewing Trends and Insights for
SMB Executives

Life is different for IT professionals at small and mid-sized
businesses, which don't have the luxury of hiring legions of
network experts. Read how network executives are keeping a firm
footing on an ever-shifting product landscape. Learn about
trends and insights surrounding VoIP and VPNs; plus get
commentaries from leading experts on storage strategies for
smaller businesses.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=111797
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the Storage newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/stor/index.html

Breaking storage news and analysis:
http://www.networkworld.com/topics/storage.html
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WEBCAST: Winning with Endpoint Security

Protecting an enterprise from worms and other attacks is a
struggle. Learn proactive strategies for making sure that no
matter who your users are, or how they access your network, you
are protected.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=111538
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FEATURED READER RESOURCE
IT STAFF SHORTAGE LOOMING

Outsourcing. Automation. Downsizing. The industry has been awash
in unemployed IT pros. But experts are now predicting an IT
staffing crunch is just around the corner, and the implications
for U.S. technology innovation are sobering. What might be
causing the shortage and what might need to be done to prevent
it? Click here:
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage5857nlstoragealert6024>
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